2022 Grand Raffle WINNERS!

Thank you to all our donors and all who participated by purchasing tickets! We are gearing up for the 2023 Grand Raffle, contact us if you would like to donate a prize.

The 2022 GRAND RAFFLE Winners are:
Razor Gators donated by www.goldrushtradingpost.com :Calvin Courtnier
Reinke Mining Adventure One year membership donated by www.reinkegoldmining.com :Bruce Madson
Reinke Mining Adventure One year membership www.reinkegoldmining.com :Roger Plata
One Day Trip with Reinke Mining Adventures www.reinkegoldmining.com :Marilyn Nunes
3 0r 4-day Roaring Camp Trip donated by www.roaringcampgold.com :Eras Gattshall
Quarter Ounce gold nugget donated by www.minerskeepers.com :Frank Benard
4-Stack Gold Cube donated by www.goldcube.net :Rocky Tester
Gold Fever Adventure Campground trip donated by http://www.goldfeveradventuresandresort.com/ :Eric Murray
Gold/Quartz specimens donated by MeetingoftheMines7@gmail.com :Tom Neumeyer
Thompson Puffer donated by www.madmining.com :Roger Plata
Minelab Equinox donated by www.theminerscache.com :Harry A. Phillips
Fisher Gold Bug 2 donated by www.fisherlab.com :Bob Carlson
Sierra Blaster donated by www.sierrablaster.com :Robert Daugherty
1 week Skookum Alaska Mining Trip donated by the Harmon Family www.skookumgoldcamp.com :Kim Holmes
New ’49ers LIFE Membership donated by PLP Member Richard Haynes :Stulc
20 Acre Placer Claim donated by Ron Kliewer :Rick Tucker

32 Silver Round winners, donated by PLP for 32 years fighting for your rights!
Jordan Ayotte (won 4 times)
Steven Sherer
Joyce Hughan (won three times)
Frank Benard (won three times)
Robert Davies
Steven Gessler
Calvin Courtnier
Dave Ridenhour
Roger Plata
George Montgomery (won twice)
Teresa Wyckoff
Bill Flint
Kim Holmes (won twice)
Walt Dupois
CO56 GPAA
Eric Murrey
Cindy Shodall
Bob Souza
Roger Sims
Jesse Jimenez (won twice)
Larry Nixon
Julie Hanson

September Newsletter/ FALLFEST Preview

Miner’s FALLFEST is coming! October 8-10 2021
All attendees will get a new PLP membership, or we’ll extend your membership a year for existing members. Each paid attendee receives a dozen 2022 GRAND RAFFLE tickets and free access to the metal detector hunts, common dig and Sat. night BBQ/ potluck! We are gathering at a great mining claim and sharing the gold (keep all you find!), food, fellowship, commercial drywasher common dig, detector hunts, huge raffle (gold nuggets, mining equipment and more!), plus we will be sharing more updates about the success PLP members have had with suction dredge reclamation. Cost is $60 per person, or $60 plus $15 per person for families, kids under 12 are FREE!
SIGN UP here: https://www.publiclandsforthepeople.org/fallfest-2021/
We will be gathering on a very large private mining claim in the historic Stringer Mining District just south of Randsburg, CA. The claim is a short distance from Highway 395, south of Red Mountain. The claim is RV accessible with an area for RVs to park, and tent camping is allowed most anywhere except the main area where we will be hosting the potluck dinner, panning area and group campfire.
We have PLP logo signs on wooden stakes to help guide you to the claim from Highway 395. The PLP registration table will be near the entrance to the claim which is less than a mile and a half from the highway on paved and good unpaved road. Our volunteers will be wearing bright yellow PLP Volunteer shirts and vests. Flag one of us down if you have any questions.
This historic gold and tungsten mining claim is still yielding gold in the washes, on the flat ground and even in the huge dirt piles. Rumor has it the piles were never run, just sampled by the government contractor looking for tungsten around the time of World War II. There have been nuggets found by attendees, and they never get them all! Bring your metal detector and drywasher and keep all the GOLD you find! It is a dry, high desert claim with ample area for dry camping. Be aware there is wildlife living on the claim, we are visiting their home (in the part of the desert that the claim is in, we’ve seen foxes, coyotes, snakes, lizards, jack rabbits, etc.). Do not dig near their homes. We have clean porta-potties on site, extra drinking water and a group campfire (conditions permitting), Friday night and Saturday evening after the potluck dinner, and Miner’s Church and Fellowship on Sunday morning. Please bring your own camp chairs and a folding table if you want to eat on a table, we are short on tables and will be using ours for serving the Saturday potluck/ BBQ dinner and for hosting the raffle. Bring your favorite side dish and or dessert share! After dinner we’ll be sharing what PLP has been working on regarding the PROVEN ways you can now exercise your legal right to mine and perform dredge reclamation. We will have the new PLP DREDGE Cards on hand that spell out exactly what to do to legally participate in suction dredge reclamation in CA. We will also be handing out our new and very useful PLP Forest Service cards specifically designed to keep the Forest Service working within their actual jurisdiction and not overstepping onto your legal mining rights.
It can be hot and cold, but usually not too windy this time of year, so be prepared for any weather. Please bring your favorite main course or side dish and desert to share with the group! PLP will be providing the main course of yummy BBQ. Home-made sourdough bread made by one of our volunteers was so awesome we are providing it once again.
You can check in beginning 11 am on Friday and stay until Sunday. Be sure and show off the gold you find, we all enjoy seeing that freshly dug up gold!
We want this to be fun and educational for experienced prospectors and newbies too. Once again, experts will be on hand to share tips and tricks to improve your gold recovery skills.
NEW! Adult detector hunt! Details at check-in along with published schedule of events.
Back by popular demand: The kids really enjoy the honing their metal detecting skills in the area prepared just for them. The smiles on their faces showed that they sure liked what they found!
If you are new and need help learning how to set up and run your equipment; we’ve got you covered. Need gear? The mining community is always willing to share. We will have some loaner equipment available, and there will be experienced folks willing to help you, but the best option is to join the common dig (learn how a drywasher works and pan the concentrates). Reach out to one of our volunteers on site. There will also be a panning station near the campfire/ potluck area.
Back by popular demand: Professional XRF analyzer which can provide instant assay results for your mineral specimens and gold nuggets. Find out the purity of your placer gold on the spot! What minerals are in that odd piece of ore you found? Bring it and find out! See cover article in the May 2021 Mining Journal to learn more about the XRF.
A HUGE thank you to all those who volunteered at Springfest! You guys made it a successful outing! We are ever grateful! If you would like to volunteer to help us with chores, please email or call us, we could use your help- we appreciate you! Many hands make for a fun outing for everyone.
A big SHOUT OUT to the Mining Journal for publishing the ‘PLP UPDATE’ article every month. They are planning to be at Fallfest and will have complimentary magazines available. A huge thank you to the Mining Journal! www.icmj.com
We are looking forward to seeing old friends and making new friends at our big gathering. Remember, we are still committed to “Exercising our granted Rights while we Make Mining, Reclamation and Multiple Use Public Land Great Again!”
Your PLP Board of Directors look forward to seeing you all out there!
Sign up here: https://www.publiclandsforthepeople.org/fallfest-2021/

August 2021 Newsletter

FOR 31YEARS: PLP exists to “Represent and assist outdoor user groups and individuals interested in keeping public and private lands open to prospecting, mining and outdoor recreation through education, scientific data and legal means.”

August 2021

Many people have requested we offer our opinion of the June 4th Clean Water Act Federal decision in ICL v. Poe

The Idaho Conservation League (ICL) filed a lawsuit against gold miner Shannon Poe three years ago under the citizen suit provision of the Clean Water Act.  On June 4, 2021, Idaho district court magistrate Justice Bush ruled that defendant Shannon Poe had violated 42 counts of the Clean Water Act while suction dredging in Idaho in 2014, 2015 and 2018.  The maximum each pre-2016 count carries is a $31,000 per day fine and post-2016 counts carry a $51,000 per day fine.  The penalty or “bifurcated” part of the decision will be handed down sometime after March 2022.

Some quotes from the court documents:

ICL further notes that your past and ongoing violations of the Clean Water Act are willful, knowing, and deliberate.

Indeed, it could reasonably be said that Mr. Poe was intentionally advertising to the world not just the fact of his prior suction dredging activities, but also the fact of his intended future suction dredging activities.

The allegations within ICL’s Complaint adequately allege a sufficient injury in fact and, in turn, the allegations sufficiently trace the injury to Mr. Poe’s challenged conduct.  The alleged injury is redressable by enjoining Mr. Poe from violating the CWA and imposing civil penalties as a deterrent.

Finally, in either enjoining Mr. Poe from future discharges into the South Fork Clearwater River without an NPDES permit or imposing civil penalties on Mr. Poe, ICL has demonstrated that a favorable decision would redress its injuries.

*Defendant Poe establishes that suction dredge mining in general and, certainly recreational suction dredge mining, is a “discharge of dredge or fill material.”  See:  Defendant Shannon Poe’s Motion for Summary Judgment Page 2, ¶ 3.
(Emphasis added by PLP)

NOTE:  Additional quoted evidence established or admitted in the case which led the judge to his decision are at the end of this letter.

Defendant Poe waived his right to trial and chose the path called motioning for summary judgment.  This path is common when both sides of a lawsuit agree to the facts of a case but dispute how the law is interpreted or enforced, and this shortcut is generally favored as a savings of the cost to litigate a controversy.  Waiving trial in favor of summary judgment was not a wise choice by defendant Poe.  *To his own detriment and our astonishment, defendant Poe established in his own motion for summary judgment that he is (in fact), a discharger of pollutants which concurs with ICL’s position.  What Poe may not have known is that both 40 CFR 232.2 (EPA) and 33 CFR 323.2 (Army Corps) jointly share the same definition of the term “discharge” of material defined as the addition of such materials to the waters of the U.S.  That is why Justice Bush noted in his decision that:  “Neither ICL or Poe disputes that the material passing through Mr. Poe’s suction dredge and into the South Fork Clearwater River falls within the definition of a pollutant under the CWA.”  Mr. Poe tried to make a no addition argument but in the eyes of the law he had already legally canceled it out by accepting and setting forth that he was in fact a discharger under the Army Corps regulatory authority.  Had defendant Poe not waived his right to trial and gone to trial like the PLP assisted line of cases (Godfrey and Osterbrink), and shifted the burden of proving discharge to the ICL or government, the outcome should have been favorable to defendant Poe.  Unfortunately, that did not happen because Mr. Poe did not wish to go to trial and dispute the fact that he was or was not a discharger.

Mr. Poe has publicly stated that the American Mining Rights Association (AMRA) is prepared to fight the Judge Bush decision against himself as president of AMRA and fight it hard.  Unfortunately and technically speaking, the fight is over and the case has entered a “bifurcated” penalty phase (through March of 2022) — which is a fancy way of saying the legal process is now looking in to the defendant’s ability to pay the judgment.  The scope of this discovery in the penalty phase will go into potential self-dealings to find “the effects Mr. Poe’s dredging had on the South Fork of the Clearwater River, the economic benefit he gained (i.e gold), his history of violations (like paying off the Forest Service violation fines in 2018), his efforts or lack of efforts to comply with the applicable requirements and the economic impact of a civil penalty on him.”  See:  Joint status report and stipulated litigation and discovery plan filed June 21st, 2021.  The road ahead for Mr. Poe is going to potentially cost in the millions of dollars when one factors in the 42 counts, potential punitive damages, and attorney fees from the ICL.  And yes, the Poe and AMRA funding for this bad precedent will go directly into the ICL coffers to put  more miners out of business.

What about an appeal?
A do over at the appeals level would not be fruitful; and cannot cure the fact defendant (Poe) admitted and set forth that he was a discharger and polluter under the CWA.  Also, appealing the case would inflict damage outside Idaho and set bad precedent for all the western states regarding suction dredge regulation.

On a final note:  The June 4th ICL v. Poe decision has seriously maimed, if not killed the efforts on negotiated rule-making for suction dredging regulatory relief at the Idaho state legislature.  PLP researchers in Idaho are hopeful positive engagements can resume.

It has become obvious through the actions that led to, and the course of this lawsuit, that AMRA’s path is not compatible with PLP’s.  There are proper legal and legislative routes for protesting over-regulation that AMRA needs to support — but supporting ICL v. Poe is not one of them.  PLP cannot support self-admitting polluters when their purposeful actions hurt the entire mining community.

-Your PLP Board of Directors
The original.  No compromise.  Standing 31 years strong for Multiple Use on Public Land “RIGHTS”!

Here is additional quoted evidence established or admitted in the case which led the judge’s decision:

14.  From July 14, 2014 to August 15, 2014 (the 2014 dredge season), Mr. Poe operated a suction dredge and discharged sediment and/or other pollutants into the South Fork Clearwater River on more than one day.  See id. at 55. Mr. Poe admitted to dredging on Idaho rivers in 2014, including 13 days on the South Fork Clearwater River in online posts.  See id. at 57.  On August 16, 2014, Mr. Poe wrote an online post, recognizing the necessity of obtaining an NPDES permit and his defiance to do so.  See id. at 59.
19. In August 2015, Mr. Poe admitted dredging on the  South Fork Clearwater River in an online post.  See  Compl., 
62 (Dkt. 1).  In August and September 2015, Mr. Poe made several online posts discussing standing up to the EPA and the Forest Service while dredging.  See id. at ¶¶63-64.
21.  Mr. Poe received ICL’s letter and responded in a June 14, 2016 letter, stating:  “I have no plans, or intent to dredge the SF Clearwater this year, and do not intend to dredge in future years without the appropriate permits.”  See Compl., PP66 (Dkt. 1); see also Poe Decl., 
10 (Dkt. 17-2); Ex. C to Oppenheimer Decl. (Dkt. 20-19).
26.  In online posts, Mr. Poe admitted to dredging on the South Fork Clearwater River on multiple days during the 2018 season and admitted to purposefully failing to obtain an NPDES permit.  See Compl., 
¶¶73-82 (Dkt. 1).  Mr. Poe also admitted he planned to continue dredging through August 15, 2018, and in future years.”

2021 Grand Raffle Winners!

2021 GRAND RAFFLE WINNERS!
Oregon Dredge Trip #1 Frances McNaul
Oregon Dredge Trip #2 Cheyanne Chapter GPAA
Oregon Dredge Trip #3 Doug Hammond
Fisher Gold Bug 2 Detector: Robert Thurber
20 acre Mining Claim: Brian Zins
Sluicebox #1 Jim Henesh
Sluicebox #2 Thomas Folks
Crevice Kit #1 George Haymans
Crevice Kit #2 Frank Rutkowski
Thompson Drywasher: Jesse Little
Fast Furnace: Ray Christofferson
Laminar Flow Drywasher: Dave Nunes
One Day Mining Trip: Kathy Edberg
Claim Location Service: Ray Christofferson
5 dwt (1/4 Oz) gold nugget: Tony LaValle
4 stack gold cube deluxe: Ernest Nelson
Minelab Equinox Detector: Doug Hammond
 
Thanks to all who participated this year! Stand by for 2022 prize listing!
Want to help? Donate prizes and make the raffle even better than ever! Contact us at info@publiclandsforthepeople.org
Don’t forget the exciting PLP updates every month in the Mining Journal www.icmj.com

Dredging Resumes in CALIFORNIA Now

News Release:  May 1st, 2021

Suction Dredging is Back in Most of California!
Hello Friends,

Public Lands for the People (PLP) is proud to announce that Suction Dredging will resume in most of California in a form bypassing most of the CA Fish & Wildlife and CA Water Board’s red tape!  Last year PLP released its strategy for a path for legally re-starting suction dredging in 2021.  In researching that path, we made a rather significant breakthrough.  Our researchers that helped to provide the winning arguments for PLP members in the federal Godfrey and Osterbrink CA state court decisions have decided it’s time to release to the public the fundamental reasons why those decisions were won in our favor when all other well-meaning miners have failed in court challenges.  Both Mr. Godfrey and Mr. Osterbrink deserve praise for standing up and successfully fighting the CA Regional Water Quality Control Board (EPA) experts, the CA Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, and the Forest Service to help give us that path to legally resume suction dredging in California.  The substance of this path revolves around how the federal and state law defines pollutants and discharge along with the intended activity.  PLP is preparing to release materials that the CA Water Quality Control Board and the CA Fish & Wildlife Service may not want you to know about.  These online materials (take 4 steps and a few minutes to perform) along with a simple guide that can be shown to be quite effective when persons carry out the guide, and seriously adhere to its documents and principles outlined on the card.  These materials and guidelines are not only an effective deterrent from citation but a gold mine of legal research that has eluded many until now.  Thanks to our PLP member and donor support, our trips to Washington D.C. have netted us an inside track to data on the environmental agencies that we are now prepared to release to our members.

PLP believes that after a year or two it could be possible to modify this CA Suction Dredge Guide for application in other states such as Oregon, Washington and Idaho.  Please be aware that PLP does not tout “Mining Rights” without promoting reclamation, as there is no such thing as an unfettered right to mine without responsibilities.  Please also be aware that those misusing the CA Suction Dredge Guide may run the risk of citation and dredge confiscation; including those that following individuals that promote the Army Corp 404 dredge discharge system while trying to replicate the CA Suction Dredge  Guide.

PLP members who are renewing online and by mail will start receiving these new guide cards, along with our member card and orange challenge card.  PLP members already in good standing who provide their member number can just request the “CA Suction Dredge Guide” on the PLP info line by voice or email submission and it will be mailed to you.

PLP can say with confidence that the agencies will never treat responsible PLP members the same again.  As you probably know, knowledge is power and a highly effective tool against your enemies who wish to deprive you of your rights!

Join or renew today to know how to effectively and professionally counter the agencies while making Prospecting, Mining and Reclamation Great Again!   Join/Donate | Public Lands For The People

Your PLP Board of Directors

The Original.  No compromise.  Nothing to sell you.  Standing 31 years strong for Multiple Use on Public Land “RIGHTS”

Forest Service Land Access Solutions

PLP Researchers make major breakthrough on Forest Service Land Access Problems
Hello Friends,
Public Lands for the People (PLP) is preparing to release materials that the Forest Service does not want miners to know about. These online materials (take 4 steps and a few minutes to perform) are probably the most effective bug spray to legally use on rogue Forest Service agents ever contemplated by PLP in all its 31 years of existence. It is totally legal and professional, and has already been used numerous time in the field by PLP members on National Forest Service managed lands. It works on access problems, occupancy limitation problems and whole lot more. It gives the legal power to the miner to resist the requirement to submit an NOI or POO when the surface disturbance activities are clearly insignificant. It employs the bundle of rights known as “Miners Right of Self-Initiation” under the Mining Act and puts an effective leash on the Forest Service agency and radical environmentalists who often plot to deprive you of your livelihood. These materials are not only an effective deterrent from Forest Service citation but a gold mine of legal research knowledge any mining lawyer would love to charge you an arm and a leg for in a legal battle. Thanks to our PLP member support, our trips to Washington D.C. have netted us an inside track to data on the Forest Service (and other agencies) that we are prepared to release to our members.
PLP members that are renewing online and by mail will start receiving these valuable gems of knowledge as a new bonus along with our member card and orange challenge card. PLP can say with confidence, that the Forest Service will never treat known PLP members the same again. As you probably know, knowledge is power and a highly effective tool against your enemies who wish to deprive you of your rights!
Join or renew today to know how to effectively and professionally counter the Forest Service while making Prospecting and Mining Great Again! Join/Donate | Public Lands For The People
Your PLP Board of Directors
The original. No compromise. Nothing to sell you. Standing 31 years strong for mining “RIGHTS” !!

2020 Grand Raffle WINNERS!

A huge thank you to all who participated this year, both the folks who purchased tickets and the companies/individuals who donated prizes! And a big shout out to the Mining Journal for donating ALL the ad space in your fantastic magazine this year! You all have helped PLP continue strong in the fight for our Public Lands Rights!

10 oz. Silver Bar:  Peter Browne

20 acre Mining Claim:  Ron Pace

Minelab Equinox 800: Robert McGrew

Laminar flow Drywasher:  Ers Gattshall

Crevice pick sets: Joe waters and Headwaters GPAA

Guided Motherload Trip:  Rich Velasquez

Crevice Kit :  Patrick Reidt

1106 Sluicebox: Foot Hills Prospectors

Keene 151 Drywasher:  Rich Velasquez

5 oz Silver Bar:   Randy Waters

Fast Furnace: Kurt Owen

18″ Gold Wheel: Jim Henesh

Makro Gold Racer Detector: Eras Gattshall

Silver Reale Coin:  Eras Gattshall

Gold Cube: WY Prospectors Association

Here are the winners for the 1oz Silver Rounds:

Berghammer

Bruce Campbell

John Canaris

Delta Gold Diggers

Don Esch

Eras Gattshall

Vernon Greenland

Neil Hughan

Tony Lavalle

Ernest Nelson

NWGPA-CC

Michael Osterbrink

Frank Rutkowski

Steven Sherer

TJ Silveria

Rich Velasquez

Joe Waters

WY Prospectors Association (twice!)

 

 

Path for Legally Re-Starting Gold Suction Dredge Mining in 2021

Public Lands for the People (PLP) is conservatively projecting a path for legally reopening gold suction dredging
mining starting in 2021 provided that two obstacles are resolved, which are:
1) Prohibitive state regulatory programs that have become dysfunctional and prohibitive to the suction
dredge industry.
2) Inconsistent applications of the Clean Water Act (CWA) federal & state administered section 402
National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program.
To overcome these two obstacles, two things will need to be completed that PLP is helping to guide:
1) Federal Preemption regulations set out to deconflict duplicative & prohibitive state regulatory programs
on federally administered lands under the surface jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of
Land Management. Status: Petition accepted, and Rulemaking process started May 2020
2) Clarifying regulations that are jointly issued by the federal EPA and Army Corps that state that suction
dredging does not as a matter of practice produce an addition within the meaning of the CWA 402 NPDES
program and is not a point source discharge while reaffirming longstanding deminimus unregulated
movements under the CWA 404 program. Status: 2019 Don Smith Petition under pending
consideration
Up until now, PLP had been reluctant to release this strategy until the proper legal, scientific, and political
foundations have been laid and solidified. PLP believes it is now time to release this information and clarification
given based upon our alliances within the industry, key working relationships within the Trump administration
that were established over the course of the last three years, and to so apprise and reassure our membership and
alliances within the industry.
Prohibitive State Suction Dredge Regulations and Programs
Several years ago, PLP had to make the tough decision to face the reality that fighting in state courts on certain
premises was not productive when one has no control over the narrative. The narrative had been set by extreme
environmentalists that suction dredging is bad and never mind the science that proves otherwise. PLP and all the
other mining groups were totally outgunned at the political level in these Western states – namely, California,
Oregon and in Washington. Funding to PLP dropped when miners could not work their claims to help to support
the cause let alone the other groups who were still fighting in the courts to help preserve our way of life. The sad
fact of today is that the present state regulatory systems regulating suction dredging has killed our industry – by
design. That is why PLP started thinking outside the sluice box and into the national security supply chain over
three years ago. Present conflicts and realizations having to do with dependence on China have illuminated the
fact suction dredge miners have a vital role to play and are an ignored and untapped domestic resource – until
now.
See: State Agencies, Courts Undermine Efforts to Free US From China’s Stranglehold on Rare Earths (Bonner Cohen, The Epoch Times, published March 30, 2020)   https://www.theepochtimes.com/federal-state-agencies-and-courts-undermine-efforts-to-free-u-s-from-chinas-stranglehold-on-rare-earths_3291254.html 

Initially, when PLP started going to Washington, D.C., we had difficulty establishing and communicating the
reality that our industry was being decimated by so-called reasonable state programs when lobbyists from big
mining were saying that they want state regulations rather than federal. We warned the BLM and Forest Service
over three years ago that the prohibitive state suction dredge regulations that started in California would expand to
Oregon then Washington and beyond if the federal government did not take affirmative preemptive measures
through the rule making process. It took some time, but we were successful in changing that perception at least
for the subject of suction dredging regulations. We will continue to push for non-duplicative regulations as it has
become clear that “duplicative mining regulations produce intolerable conflicts in decision making”. (Quoting
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Powell in CA Coastal Comm. v Granite Rock, 1986)
Regulatory Relief is in the Pipeline!
PLP is happy to report that the petitions sent in by Waldo Mining District and supported by PLP and numerous
other mining organizations are being processed for proposed preemption rule making by the BLM (then it should
be duplicated by the Forest Service soon thereafter). As of the date of this writing May 18th, 2020, the BLM
has assured us that the proposed rulemaking on preemption will be released for comment within a month.
PLP is happy to report that the Forest Service has been pushed namely by the American Exploration & Mining
Association (AEMA) to replace the 36 CFR 228A mineral regulations to make them as close as possible to the
more certain and more workable BLM 43 CFR 3809 mineral regulations. PLP would rather the Forest Service
minerals program be scrapped and folded under the BLM’s regulatory jurisdiction because if not for the 9th
Circuit Court, the Forest Service really lacks the legal jurisdiction to manage the minerals upon federally
managed land of the United States. That is because of the 1905 Transfer Act (16 USC section 472) that states in
part: “…the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture shall, from and after the passage of this Act, execute or
cause to be executed all laws affecting public lands…excepting such laws as affect the surveying, prospecting,
certifying, or patenting of any such lands.”
The other reason PLP would rather the Forest Service minerals program be scrapped and folded under the BLM’s
regulatory jurisdiction is because of the huge and horrible track record of abuses the Forest Service has against
the miners and their pattern of unjustified delays.
The new Forest Service draft regulations and EIS should be available for comment by the end of the year
2020. PLP will be making more comments on this when the draft EIS is available and the comment period
reopens on the draft regulations.
Clarifying the 402 CWA NPDES Program at the Federal Level
As many miners are aware, the Clean Water Act (CWA) is an enactment by Congress for the regulation of our
nation’s waters. The 404 section of the CWA pertaining to dredge and fill operations to disposal sites is regulated
exclusively by the U.S. Army Corps. Some miners are mistaken, and it is important to note that the Army
Corps 404 permitting authority cannot waive the application of the 402 permitting authorities—whether it
is being administered by the federal EPA or its delegated state administrators such as the CA State Water
Quality Control Board or the Oregon Dept of Environmental Quality (DEQ). This is further discussed
below under the topic of “Some miners are sending a mixed message about suction dredging.”
Let’s be clear, these are two separate and distinct programs—one program cannot cancel out the application of the
other program or its enforcement.
Over 8 months ago PLP assisted Idaho member Don Smith in his Appeal and Petition to the EPA and Army
Corps that his suction dredge operations should not trigger the application of the 402 NPDES CWA program, in
addition to his Idaho Joint Application general permit between the IDWR and Army Corps. That Petition has
gained overwhelming support from over 28 leaders in the industry and many individuals and counties. An
investigative report (see link earlier in this paper) has revealed that deep within the regulatory swamp certain
individuals employed in the EPA and Army Corps are purposely denying the miners (Donald Smith 402) petitions
to be seen by top level Trump appointees of those two federal offices.
Thanks to our great contacts in DC, we are in the process of bringing in the big guns within the Trump White
House in order to help drain the swamp within namely the EPA for starters. A big thank you will be in order soon
for the Washington DC-based National Center for Public Policy Research who has helped this issue along, and to
have accountability within the EPA opposing President Trumps deregulatory agenda. Please stay tuned on this
ongoing effort every month in ICMJs Prospecting & Mining Journal.
At the same time, Waldo Mining District leader Tom Kitchar is leading the charge, taking the 402 suction dredge
controversy from Oregon to the U.S. Supreme Court with the expertise of the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF).
The Pacific Legal Foundation has a stellar record of winning before the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS).
Unfortunately, due to delays from the Oregon DEQ, the soonest we will know if SCOTUS will even take up the
case or decide the case now will most likely occur in the fall of 2020.
Some miners are sending mixed messages about suction dredging:
“I don’t pollute, but please give me my pollution permit”
A small group of suction dredge miners are sending a mixed message about suction dredge mining and are
actually playing into the premise that suction dredges add a pollutant (playing into the environmentalist’s trap).
Most all suction dredgers are now saying, “Hey, my suction dredging does not add a pollutant,” but their actual
actions do not follow their words. Let us explain.
The California State Water Quality Control Board (by delegation from the federal EPA) administers the 402
CWA program. This 402 program is called the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). If a
miner asked for a permit from this agency, he is consenting to a falsehood that suction dredges produce an
addition of a pollutant in need of elimination. Simply said: Those miners are saying, “I don’t pollute, but please
give me my pollution permit.” Those that advocate this kind of message will never give miners reasonable
dredge regulations. This is also a very dangerous path that places the miner in a position of liability to the agency
and subjects the miner to lawsuit by environmentalists who can take advantage of the miner’s error in judgement.
Don’t make that mistake! Don’t feed the environmentalist’s cash cow because that’s how their sue and settle
system functions.
It may come as a big surprise to some miners to know that the citizen suit provision of the CWA has always given
the environmentalists the legal authority to enforce penalties even when the agency fails to act. Suction dredge
miners can be cited or sued at a rate of over $51,000 per day, as has already happened to a California miner
dredging in Idaho who defied the present 402 NPDES program administered in Idaho, yet had consented to (and
advocated for) its application to a suction dredge in California and thus faces over $3 million dollars in fines and
attorney fees because of this admission (posted on his own social media website by the defendant and is now
entered into the court’s record by plaintiffs).
If the miner does not think he needs the 402 permit for his suction dredge, but instead wishes to get a waiver of
the 402’s application, he must Petition the agency for a rulemaking change to say that it should not apply. Good
luck on that in California, right? Who is supposed to be the oversight of the 402 federal CWA program to see that
it is rightfully carried out by the state? Answer, the federal EPA who delegated the 402 program subject to
federal law and oversight. Case in point, the Donald Smith Petition in Idaho illustrates the proper legal path to
challenge a programs misapplication absent litigation.
PLP has heard that some miners believe that if they could only get the Army Corps to give them a 404 dredge and
fill permit or waiver their problems will be solved. This is not true. The Army Corps does not have the legal
authority under the 404 program to waiver the separate legal duties of the CA State Water Quality Control
Board’s job of administering section 402. One program cannot replace the other, and both are separately carried
out as the law is currently written and intended by Congress. This is the same type of unfortunate thinking that got
the California dredge miner mentioned earlier in trouble in Idaho and now facing devastating penalties. Needless
to say, do not challenge the CWA authorities unless you are legally and financially prepared.
The CA Water Board releases the draft Suction Dredge (Pollution) Rules and they are as expected – UGLY!

Recently released draft rules by the CA State Water Board over the section 402 permit for suction dredging are as
PLP expected, very ugly and prohibitive. Permit applications will cost $2,572. Permits will not be available for
streams, rivers and lands that have historically produced gold because of the potential to encounter mercury.
Permits will not be available for ESA potential habitat. So basically, the board will only issue a permit to nongold producing areas. Anyone that is crazy enough to obtain a permit can and will be sued by environmentalists
under the ESA and CWA for a multitude of reasons at a rate of over $51,000 per day in fines if they fail to report
monitoring requirements of the permit, as well as suction dredging without the requisite permit.
PLP views working with the CA State Water Board as a waste of time because of the political bias that was built
into the process by well-funded eco-frauds.

On a more positive note, PLP estimates that if the Trump administration can stay in for a second term and
complete the deregulation agenda, that in all likelihood suction dredging could legally resume in year 2021 at the
earliest—assuming that a federal preemptive and clarification process is complete. This means that suction
dredging would be controlled exclusively under federally-administered BLM and Forest Service lands under new
federally preemption rules to replace state rules that we all know were driven by biased and crazy politics rather
than science and national security needs.

If you like the work PLP does please help PLP help you on the path towards legally resuming suction dredge
mining and reclamation!
Supporting the PLP Grand Raffle helps us continue to fight for your rights.
A book of 12 tickets is only $10. We have a lot of great high value prizes. You can’t win if you don’t enter!
Tickets are available through July 26th to purchase by phone for the July 28th, 2020 Grand Raffle Drawing.
You can call our toll-free number (844)-PLP-1990 which is (844) 757-1990 or Mail a Check by July 20th (to
the address below) and specify the number of ticket books you wish to have mailed to you.

Thank you for your steadfast support through troubling times.

Your Board of Directors

March 2020 PLP News

Latest News

PLP is following up on issues of road closures, NEPA regulatory delays, duplicative regulatory issues that are prohibitive from the State level, EPA 402 Petition for suction dredgers, and numerous other public lands use problems.  We are meeting with senior level advisors to the White House, Interior Department, EPA and the Forest Service, though we have postponed our March trip to Washington D.C. because of the corona virus. Many of our contacts won’t be able to meet with us so to be good stewards of our resources, we are going to reschedule our meetings once things have cleared up. Please keep up to date by reading PLP updates every month in the Mining Journal: www.icmj.com

We recently submitted comments on Trump’s new NEPA rulemaking to ease burdens upon the small miners consistent with our education package on Critical Minerals: National Security Amendments to the NDAA for lawmakers on the Hill—helping all miners. Being that Trump’s staffers and agency heads have identified most of the issues we have outlined and they issued their report, the next step is regulatory implementation by publishing in the Federal Register, notice and comment period, etc., to enact regulatory relief in the quickest way the government can. The regulatory plan must come first before resuming our push with Congress on our Critical Minerals: National Security Amendments to the NDAA.  We are helping to move the process forward as quickly as possible.

PLP’s President has been busy not only with PLP, but actually ‘out there’ staking claims of uranium, rare earth elements and critical minerals! There is a lot more to be found and claimed in this great land, so don’t just concentrate on gold mining. Uranium costs more to mine than it’s worth at the moment; but there are other minerals the U.S. needs to have in the local supply chain. Read the Epoch Times’ front page story here and watch the TV interview here.

PLP’s proposed small miner amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) now called “Critical Minerals: National Security Amendments to the NDAA” is still in subcommittee.  We have good reason to believe it will come out of committee next year after Senator Lisa Murkowski terms out this fall as chair of the Energy & Resources Committee and is replaced by a favored Senator that is more pro-mining and proactive!  Stay tuned…

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! We know folks are busy and don’t always remember to keep up things like renewing their supporting membership in PLP. That is why we are bringing back this very popular renewal option…We are sending our clubs who may wish to renew again and get TEN BOOKS of 2020 Grand Raffle tickets in advance, to encourage you to renew AND join in the raffle! If you renew your club membership now, you get to keep the book of tickets as a bonus gift from PLP (don’t forget to mail them in along with your membership dues). And, of course, you may purchase as many extra books of tickets as you wish! They are 12 tickets for $10. You can’t win if you don’t enter! We’ll drop your tickets in the barrel for the July 2020 Grand Raffle Drawing. If you wish to purchase additional tickets directly, you can call our toll-free number (844)-PLP-1990 which is (844) 757-1990 or Mail a Check (to the address below) and specify the number of ticket books you wish to have mailed to you.  Supporting the PLP Grand Raffle helps us continue to fight for your rights.

 

PLP
PO Box 1660             
                                                      Inyokern, CA 93527 

Help us help you and have some fun while doing it! Support the Grand Raffle by buying tickets or donating prizes.

Thank you; we can’t do what we do without your participation in donating, volunteering, or becoming a member.

Your PLP Board of Directors