http://www.siskiyoudaily.com/homepage/x1543607007
Suction dredging permits halted by Alameda County court
California - The California Department of Fish
and Game (DFG) has been ordered to stop
issuing permits for suction dredge mining by
the Alameda County Superior Court until a
lawsuit against the DFG is resolved, according
to Craig Tucker, Klamath coordinator for the
Karuk Tribe.
The lawsuit was filed under the pretense that the DFG is illegally spending taxpayer money by issuing permits for a program for which it has been ordered to conduct an Environmental Impact Report, or EIR.
The EIR, which was ordered to be completed by June of 2008, has not yet been finished and the lawsuit calls for a halt of issuance of suction dredging permits until the EIR is completed and updated regulations are formulated, as per California Environmental Quality Act guidelines.
The court’s decision will essentially achieve that same goal, with the DFG ordered to stop “expending any money from the California General Fund to issue suction dredge permits,” according to a DFG press release. The suspension of permit sales will continue until a resolution is reached in the lawsuit, which could result in either the suspension continuing or a return to miners being able to purchase permits.
According to Tucker, the lawsuit is going after suction dredge mining in a different manner than Senate Bill 670, which is a bill that would place suction dredging under a moratorium until the DFG completes its EIR. He argued that the legislation is different from the litigation in that the lawsuit is addressing the budgetary practices of the DFG.
“The court decision does not preclude the need for SB 670,” Tucker said.
The groups involved with the legislation and the lawsuit are awaiting California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision on whether or not he will sign SB 670 into law, and expect a decision within the next two weeks.
The DFG release said that suction dredging permits issued before the court’s decision will still be honored.
The lawsuit was filed under the pretense that the DFG is illegally spending taxpayer money by issuing permits for a program for which it has been ordered to conduct an Environmental Impact Report, or EIR.
The EIR, which was ordered to be completed by June of 2008, has not yet been finished and the lawsuit calls for a halt of issuance of suction dredging permits until the EIR is completed and updated regulations are formulated, as per California Environmental Quality Act guidelines.
The court’s decision will essentially achieve that same goal, with the DFG ordered to stop “expending any money from the California General Fund to issue suction dredge permits,” according to a DFG press release. The suspension of permit sales will continue until a resolution is reached in the lawsuit, which could result in either the suspension continuing or a return to miners being able to purchase permits.
According to Tucker, the lawsuit is going after suction dredge mining in a different manner than Senate Bill 670, which is a bill that would place suction dredging under a moratorium until the DFG completes its EIR. He argued that the legislation is different from the litigation in that the lawsuit is addressing the budgetary practices of the DFG.
“The court decision does not preclude the need for SB 670,” Tucker said.
The groups involved with the legislation and the lawsuit are awaiting California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision on whether or not he will sign SB 670 into law, and expect a decision within the next two weeks.
The DFG release said that suction dredging permits issued before the court’s decision will still be honored.
Comments (4)
mlp79
12 hours ago
spending money? they dont pay us to
dredge, we pay them. how much tax
dollers are being wasted in every
law suit you fill? be part of the
solution not the problem
dont-tread
10 hours ago
I don' care what Alameda county
says. They might as well be on Mars.
I don't care what a lawyer from the
tribe says either. They are just
using the age old environmentalist
tactic of throwing multiple lawsuits
at multiple agencies to tie up the
issue in court. They are experts at
it and the courts willingly file,
because its job security, doesn't
matter what the issue is.
...expending any money from the California General Fund to issue suction dredge permits, Do they think that the State just gives these out? People are spending their already taxed, hard earned money to purchase permits throught the state. Its not a govt. subsidised program. No coupons, no 'financial dificulties need not apply, garbage.' Folk plan all year to spend real money in small town communities to collect a California resource. $47 should cover a dredge stamp and return postage and whatever filing is involved.
If I had time we'd go into the facts of suction dredging relating to fish biology...but thats for another rant.
So long...
...expending any money from the California General Fund to issue suction dredge permits, Do they think that the State just gives these out? People are spending their already taxed, hard earned money to purchase permits throught the state. Its not a govt. subsidised program. No coupons, no 'financial dificulties need not apply, garbage.' Folk plan all year to spend real money in small town communities to collect a California resource. $47 should cover a dredge stamp and return postage and whatever filing is involved.
If I had time we'd go into the facts of suction dredging relating to fish biology...but thats for another rant.
So long...
jdubya
7 hours ago
dont-tread: the lawsuit was brought
by 'groups', not the Tribe. The
article is not well written enough
to identify those groups, but
perhaps as the story unfolds, you'll
have a target to aim for, in the
meantime, maybe you should give the
Tribe the benefit of the doubt--if
that's possible. As for both of you
bringing up the 'we already pay' for
suction dredge permits---the state
actually spends about a million
bucks to issue those $47 permits
(over and above the cost of the
permit). Good luck to both of you
'folk' pulling your heads out in the
future
toots420
52 minutes ago
You know how much money us dredgers
spend a year? More than we make let
me tell you. They don't pay us to
dredge we pay them for us to dredge.
How can anyone stop the dredging?
All it will do is put little towns
like ours to a ghost town. Is the
Karuks still going to put nets
across the Klamath River? Is that
legal?