Washington State Miner

Tom

Here is the latest news from WDFW regarding the new proposed mineral prospecting rules:

Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 8:28 AM

Subject: Proposed mineral prospecting rules filed with Office of the CodeReviser

Mineral Prospecting Rule Development Workgroup:

Please distribute this message to anyone you think might be interested in commenting on proposed rules for mineral prospecting.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has filed proposed rules for mineral prospecting with the Office of the Code Reviser. The proposed rules will be published on September 3, 2008 in the Washington State Register. The official public comment period begins with publication in the register on September 3, and WDFW will accept comments through September 26, 2008. Comments WDFW receives before the official public comment period will be accepted provided they are sent to the following:

Lisa Wood

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

600 Capitol Way N.

Olympia, WA 98501-1091

email: sepadesk@dfw.wa.gov

FAX: (360) 902-2946

We will be posting the proposed rules on WDFW's Habitat internet page soon. On October 3 or 4, 2008 WDFW will present the proposed rules, any adjustments to them warranted by comments, and a synopsis of the comments we have received from the public to the Fish and Wildlife Commission at their meeting in Ellensburg. The Commission will accept further public comments at that meeting. Likely at the Commission’s November meeting they will vote on adopting the rules.

You may view the Washington State Register at: http://www.leg.wa.gov/CodeReviser/Washington+State+Register/

WDFW's Habitat internet pages for mineral prospecting can be viewed at:

http://wdfw.wa.gov/hab/goldfish/goldfish.htm

Pat Chapman
Regulatory Services Coordinator
Habitat Program
Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way N.
Olympia WA 98501-1091
(360) 902-2571
(360) 902-2946 FAX
chapmpfc@dfw.wa.gov

In addition to the above message, a reliable source has also provided the following pertinent documents:

Proposed Rule Making notice filed with the Office of the Code Reviser
Final Draft of Proposed Mineral Prospecting Rules, Part I
Final Draft of Proposed Mineral Prospecting Rules, Part II

The above links will allow you to view or download these documents as .pdf files.

As the message from Pat Chapman at the beginning of this post states, the deadline for comments on these proposed rules is September 26. This is our chance to get a set of rules we can live with so let's let the good folks at WDFW in Olympia hear from us.