The Sierra Fund is rallying opposition to Senate Bill 1222, introduced in February by Senator Jeff Stone (R-Riverside County), which seeks to change the definition of suction dredge mining equipment as laid out in Senate Bill 637. TSF sponsored Senator Ben Allen’s SB 637, which was signed into law in 2015 and requires all small-scale […]
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Yesterday the California Supreme Court ruled that the state’s right to protect watersheds from the potential impacts of suction dredge mining is not preempted by the federal Mining Law of 1872. The high court’s ruling is the latest development in a long saga to address the effects of the mining practice on water quality and […]
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California Gov. Jerry Brown today signed into law Senate Bill 637 to protect California’s water supplies, wildlife and cultural resources from the damaging effects of destructive suction dredge gold mining. The new law requires that all small-scale miners using motorized suction pumps obtain a Clean Water Act Permit from the State Water Resources Control Board before mining in California waterways.
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