Legislation & Regulation

• WOTUS rule finalized
• Reminder on new claim fees

All 28 groups listed agree that Section 402 of the Clean Water Act does not apply and no dredge miner should be asking a state or federal agency for such a permit.

For now, MSHA is just collecting information. However, the information it collects will shape what comes next.

…the men sought to “inject false and misleading information about the genuine supply and demand for precious metals futures contracts into the markets, and to deceive other participants”…

• ESA changes for the better

Recently, a left-leaning Arizona federal judge, James Soto, who is an Obama appointee, shut down a proposed copper mining project for the flimsiest of reasons. He basically disregarded and rewrote federal mining law.

A two-pronged approach is necessary to restore suction dredging; federal preemption needs to be established as addressed above via petition; and clarification from the EPA is needed to establish that no Section 402 permit is necessary when there is no “addition” of a pollutant.

• Key appointment at BLM
• Current administration not waiting for Congress
• BLM relocating
• Kansas exempts bullion from sales tax

“The evidence is clear—mineral deposits alone are not enough to attract precious commodity investment dollars...”

Please note that new mining claims filed on or after September 1, 2019, will be subject to the new fee schedule.

Under the previous administration, the EPA declared the ditch was a federally-protected waterway, and Robertson needed a federal permit under the Clean Water Act.

• Administration issues proposals to fix mining access and permitting
• Online “webinar” and request for comments for proposed Forest Service NEPA revisions

The petition seeks specific changes to existing Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management regulations to restore the intent of Congress and federal preemption.

• House appropriations bills introduced
• Two Minnesota hardrock mining leases reinstated
• Equal Access to Justice Act

All of which brings us back to the question of why we rely so heavily on China in the first place. America’s economy is heavily dependent upon energy and telecommunications, but does that require Chinese manufacturing? Clearly not.

If you do not have the time to read the entire document, I would suggest starting with the Executive Summary that begins on page 80.

• Bernhardt confirmed
• State of Montana to appeal Rock Creek decision

• Bishop and Curtis seek to rein in Antiquities Act abuses
• Lands bill signed by President Trump

• Massive 660-page lands bill passed in the Senate

• Oregon miners petition US Supreme Court in Bohmker v. Oregon
• Wheeler receives hearing as EPA administrator