An Update on AB 1032, the California bill to eliminate suction gold dredging

October 14, 2007:

Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill on October 13, 2007! "Thank You" to all of our readers who sent in letters to Governor Schwarzenegger. However, a few unresolved issues remain. These concerns will be thoroughly reviewed in the Legislative and Regulatory Update column in our upcoming November 2007 issue.

September 12, 2007:

The bill passed the Assembly and Senate and was sent to Governor Schwarzenegger around 12:15 today. The Governor has several choices -- he can sign the bill, veto the bill, or let it sit on his desk for thirty days at which time it becomes law.

September 10, 2007:

The bill passed the Senate and was sent back to the Assembly to reconcile the differences between the two versions.

The voting was mostly along party lines in the California Senate. Democrats voted for the bill (Yee and Negrete-McLeod were either absent or abstained), and were joined by Republican Senators Maldonado and Harman. All other Republican Senators voted against the bill. 

This is the latest version, with amendments:

html version

pdf version

September 4, 2007:

The bill is currently sitting in the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill was last amended on August 27, read again for the record on August 28, and is awaiting a third reading. 

September 14 is the last day for any bill to be passed for 2007. October 14 is the last day for the governor to sign or veto a bill.

July 24, 2007:   

We here at the Journal have been in contact with members of the dredging community, Jerry Hobbs of Public Lands from the People, and attorneys and lobbyists hired by the New 49er's prospecting club to discuss the best approach to take with the Senate, and the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water, to stop this bill.

The issue is important enough that we decided to cover some of the costs associated with contacting legislators and getting those who are most knowledgeable on the issues to Sacramento. As the date approached for a scheduled hearing, it became obvious that while Republicans were supportive of our efforts, Democrats on the committee were going to restrict miners comments and ignore their concerns. You can read more about the hearing below. 

After further discussions with the lawyers and Hobbs, we decided that the best route to head off this bill at this stage may be through Governor Schwarzenegger. 

An article titled, "Will California Dredging Survive?" summarizes the situation. It will be appearing in the upcoming issue of ICMJ's Prospecting and Mining Journal. For those of you who are not subscribers, the complete article is listed below.

We have authored our own letter to Governor Schwarzenegger regarding AB 1032, encouraging him to veto the bill. We briefly outlined the problems with the bill and stressed that we are committed financially to support a lawsuit against the state should any agency attempt to enforce the illegal restrictions set forth in AB 1032.

We are mindful that the Senate may act on this bill before many subscribers receive our August issue. So, on Monday, July 23, we sent a letter to subscribers located in the western states to ask for their involvement. Included was a copy of our letter to the Governor as an example. It should be arriving shortly. 

For those of you in other parts of the country who may be negatively impacted by this bill, I would encourage you to do the same. Feel free to use all or part of our letter to the Governor as you see fit. Stressing how the bill will impact you individually is great -- letters that stress how the bill will impact your business are even better. Be sure to include your address and sign your name or your opinion will not be counted.

Following is the article, "Will California Dredging Survive?" as written for our August 2007 issue.

Will California Dredging Survive?

Assembly Bill 1032 has already passed the California House of Representatives.

The bill was authored by CalTrout and the Karuk Tribe, then introduced by Representative Lois Wolk.

You may remember the Karuk Tribe. Twice they have attempted to sue the State of California, claiming suction gold dredging was causing harm to fish and their habitat. They lost both times. In the second instance, Alameda County Judge Bonnie Sabraw ordered the DFG "to conduct a further environmental review pursuant to CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) of its suction dredge mining regulations and to implement, if necessary, via rulemaking, mitigation measures to protect Coho salmon and/or other special status fish species in the watershed of the Klamath, Scott, and Salmon Rivers, listed as threatened or endangered after the 1994 EIR."

If enacted, the bill would give the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) the authority to close waters to suction gold dredging "when necessary to protect wild trout or other sensitive native aquatic or amphibian species." A suction dredge permit would not be issued unless DFG can show that suction dredging would not be deleterious to various species, which would make it nearly impossible to obtain such a permit.

AB 1032 moved to the Senate, and was originally scheduled for a hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water on June 26, 2007. That hearing was subsequently pushed back to July 10.

The original schedule included sufficient time for representatives of the mining community to provide testimony. Two days prior to the hearing the number of speakers was reduced to two for each side of the debate, with each person allowed only two minutes to speak. It soon became obvious that the committee members had already made up their minds and planned to pass the bill so the full Senate could vote on it.

Siskiyou County Supervisor Marcia Armstrong spoke of the economic hardships the bill would create on her county and other rural counties where gold dredging is prevalent.

Attorney James Buchal, representing the New 49er’s prospecting club, addressed the fallacies of the bill before he was cut off by chairman Steinberg.

Jerry Hobbs, president of Public Lands for the People, was allowed to make a brief statement.

Hobbs advised the committee that the bill is in conflict with federal law by prohibiting mining on a valid claim, which creates a mineral taking issue. He let them know that suction dredge mining is the only use of state waterways that provides mitigation by loosening compacted gravels, removing toxic and other heavy metals, and creating dissolved oxygen. He said he was trying to keep the state from getting sued, and advised them that a prudent man cannot address all the relevant issues in the limited time frame provided by the committee. Chairman Steinberg cut him off before he was allowed to finish.

Senator Hollingsworth spoke up, agreeing with Hobbs that the committee should take time to examine the Mining Law and takings issue, but chairman Steinberg ignored the suggestion.

The bill passed the committee on a party-line vote—the five Democrats voted for it and the three Republicans voted against it.

Senator Hollingsworth contacted Hobbs in the hallway and suggested he provide Governor Schwarzenegger with a copy of his comments and concerns. Hobbs has since delivered a copy to the governor.

The bill moves to a full vote of the Senate. It may, in fact, have already passed the Senate by the time you read this.

We here at the Journal sent our own letter to Governor Schwarzenegger, encouraging him to veto the bill, if it arrives on his desk, and avoid litigation that would be embarrassing and costly for California. You can read our letter to the governor on our website by clicking on the "Pending Rules & Regulations" link.

We honestly believe dredging will survive in California. However, if AB 1032 is not vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, then litigation will be required to restore the rights of suction dredge miners.

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