Magazine

PLP and Mining Districts

PLP Update

August 2021 by Scott Harn

Public Lands for the People completed their annual raffle and the results are listed on page 34 or on their website.

PLP continues to assist members who wish to utilize a suction dredge in California for reclamation purposes. There are certain steps that must be followed to comply with regulations and to qualify under reclamation guidelines, so they’ve been busy answering questions following an in-the-water demonstration they conducted for members last month.

The reclamation plan will likely remain the only pathway to dredging in California unless/until there is a change in administration at either the state or federal level. We were making headway in Washington, DC, in meetings with members of Congress, to get reasonable regulations established at the federal level, but a change in administration stymied those efforts. We will reassess the situation after the elections next year.

At the state level, there’s a possibility that California Governor Newsom could be removed and replaced during his upcoming recall election, which will be held in September. In California, the governor appoints all the members of the State Water Board, and a change in leadership could provide the opportunity for replacement of those board members who are ideologically against all forms of mining, including suction dredging.

Federal legislation would be preferable, as it could provide consistent, reasonable regulations across all states.