John
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This is reprinted from a post on a local club board. On Tuesday the budget will be passed and dredging could be gone for good in this state. This at least gives the recreational miners, one last chance to let these self righteous a holes in the state capital how we feel. If you can, send a fax, or email
East Bay Prospectors Communications Director
Dear EBP Membership,
I spent over 4 hours compiling the links and fax #’s below and am asking you spend 10 minutes to compose a short comment and “copy” and “paste” to the listed politicians websites using their “contact us” option. Don’t have a fax? Email me your personal letter and I will fax it for you. I tested the 5 #’s listed below with my own letter(s) of protest today.
Most of you have at least heard of the sneaky trailer bill that will essentially ban dredging forever tacked onto to the budget that the Governor must sign by or before Tues. June 26th. If you know what’s happening, skip down to the TAKE ACTION section below or forever hold your peace. Even if you don’t dredge! Don’t wait until it’s your hobby or occupation that is under attack.
We need your help, and we need it now. With three lawsuits under way we don’t need additional language coming out of the assembly to ban dredging. Assembly member Jared Huffman, a self-avowed radical environmentalist and the author of AB 120 which banned dredging has under the cover of darkness crafted yet another “trailer bill” to deny us our rights of due process.
Mr. Huffman’s new language seeks to remove the five year sunset clause and instead make the ban on dredging permanent. He also adds language that includes no dredging may be allowed until the Department of Fish and Game:
Completes an environmental review as ordered in the case of Karuk Tribe of California vs. California Dept of Fish & Game
The new regulations described by AB120 are operative
The new regulations described by AB120 “FULLY MITIGATE’ (which by the way is an impossible event as nothing can be 100% mitigated, including Nuclear Power Plants) all the identified significant environmental impacts.
A fee structure is in place that will fully cover all costs to the department related to the administration of the program (which only occurs when a bill is passed describing such process).
And it will add the following paragraph:
The Department shall consult with other agencies as necessary, including but not necessarily limited to, the State Water Resources Control Board, the Department of Public Health, and the Native American Heritage commission, and report back to the Legislature with recommendations as to any additional statutory changes or authorities that may be necessary to develop suction dredge regulations that would meet all the requirements of 5653.1(b), including mitigation of all identified significant environmental impacts and a fee structure that will fully cover all program costs.
The interpretation of this paragraph is that a permit and approval from just about every group, Indian tribe and state agency would be required to allow dredging again.
After two years and over $2 million spent on an Environmental Impact Report that couldn’t document a single case of harm; the environmentalists have turned to their manipulation of certain members of the legislature to stop us – again. It only takes the manipulation of one member of the budget committee to do this and the radical environmentalists have found a friend who will write whatever language they ask him to.
Personally I have never dredged in my life. But to me it's about dirty politics like the process that severely limits where I can go fishing in the ocean. If we do nothing we have nothing to complain about if it goes through.
Make me proud and get this done!
Thanks,
Dale
TAKE ACTION NOW:
Send, in your own words, a message urging a NO vote on the Resources trailer bill four paragraphs titled “Suction dredge cleanup language” submitted by Assemblyman Huffman.
Focus on the dirty tricks, denying of public input, denying of due process, economic impact, etc. The Western Mining Assoc website
http://westernminingalliance.org/ has talking points about dredging being harmless but this is backdoor politics at its finest so a focus on procedure will give a different angle of attack. Radical environmentalists have slipped a budget trailer into a larger bill denying the mining community the right to beheard and due process.
At a minimum fax or message, via the website “contact us”, the Chairs and Vice Chairs of thebudget Committee:
Senate Budget Chairs:
Chair Mark Leno Fax: 916-445-4722
http://sd03.senate.ca.gov/contact
Vice Chair Robert Huff Fax:916-324-0922
http://cssrc.us/web/29/
Assembly Budget Chairs:
Chair Bob Blumenfield Fax:916-319-2140
http://asmdc.org/members/a40/
Vice Chair Jim Nielsen Fax:916-319-2102
http://arc.asm.ca.gov/member/2/
And let Mr.Huffman know you disapprove! He is running for US Congress in November and we would expect better from him.
Assemblymember Jared Huffman Represents The 6th Assembly District. ... Fax: (916) 319-2106. Marin County: 3501 Civic Center Drive Suite412. San Rafael
Post your protests on Huffman’s FACEBOOK page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jared-Huffman/174429005962554
If time allows, look up your local reps and contact them or at least the ones on the budget committee listed below.
Senate: California State Senate Members Websites &Contact Info
http://senate.ca.gov/senators
Map of Senate Districts
http://senate.ca.gov/senatedistricts
Assembly: Members Websites & Contact Info
http://www.legislature.ca.gov/legislators_and_districts/districts/assemblydistricts_bayarea.html
Map of Assembly Districts
http://assembly.ca.gov/assemblymembers
Below are theLegislators on the Senate Budget Committee to email or fax:
Chair Mark Leno / Vice Chair Robert Huff
Dems: Alquist, DeSaulnier, Evans, Hanlittle pee pee, Liu, A. Lowenthal, Rubio, Simitian, Wolk, Wright
Reps: Anderson,Emmerson, Fuller, LaMalfa
Below are theLegislators on the Assembly Budget Committee to email or fax:
Chair Bob Blumenfield / Vice Chair Jim Nielsen
Dems: Alejo, Allen, Bonnila, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Cedillo, Chesbro, little pee peeenson, Feuer, Gordon, Huffman, Mitchell, Manning, Swanson
Reps: B. Berryhill, Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Logue, Mansoor, Morrell, Nestande, Valadao, Wagner