Magazine

Legislation & Regulation

Legislative and Regulatory Update

May 2012 by Scott Harn

• NEDC surrenders in Oregon
The Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC) has backed out of a lawsuit involving the Eastern Oregon Mining Association, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the suction dredge permit process in Oregon.

The NEDC decided to withdraw from the case rather than face discovery requests from the Eastern Oregon Mining Association and a deposition on standing.

That’s one less roadblock in the case as it moves forward. Congratulations to EOMA and attorney James Buchal.

• The California saga continues
Public Lands for the People (in conjunction with the Western Mining Alliance), the New 49’ers, and the Karuk Tribe (along with the Center for Biological Diversity) have all filed lawsuits against the State of California over the recent suction gold dredging regulations published by the California Department of Fish & Game.

In the meantime, a previous lawsuit filed by Public Lands for the People continues in San Bernardino County Superior Court. In this case, PLP is seeking an injunction against the state to get suction gold dredgers back in the water as soon as possible. Briefs from all parties are due at the end of April, and the next hearing is scheduled for early May 2012.

We can’t stress enough the importance of supporting these lawsuits. We have one shot to overturn this unlawful taking of our property rights and restore our right to mine.

PLP is supporting five lawsuits simultaneously involving the rights of miners. They don’t have big donors to support them—just us. We know times are tough for many of our readers, but we can win this with sufficient funding and PLP can seek reimbursement of attorney fees to fund future efforts.

PLP is a 501(c)(3) registered non-profit, staffed by volunteers. Donations are tax-deductible. Information on PLP is available at www.plp2.org