HB 1307 (Now SHB 1307) Referred To Ways & Means

HB 1307, which would require independent peer review for all science that is used in support of any proposed regulations affecting any activity government agencies, such as WDFW, claim is detrimental to the environment (see previous post here), passed the House Committee on Environment on February 10 in the form of a 1st substitute bill and was referred to the House Ways & Means Committee on February 15 with a "do pass" recommendation.

As passage of this bill by the Ways & Means Committee will be another step beneficial to the small-scale mining community, interested persons may want to contact the committee members at the link above and request that SHB 1307 be heard and given a "DO PASS" recommendation.

SB 5644, the companion bill in the Senate to SHB 1307, is currently languishing in the Environment, Water & Energy Committee and may benefit from polite requests for a hearing and a "DO PASS" recommendation as well.

WDFW Halts Rule-Making That Would Criminalize Prospecting

As reported in this blog here and here, WDFW has been seeking to amend WAC 232-12-251 to criminalize such activities as the removal of minerals from the department's lands. The latest move in this direction was the promised filing of a supplemental CR-102 on January 19th.

It now appears this will not happen as WDFW has withdrawn the original CR-102 filed last October 20. With the governor's moratorium on rule-making, WDFW anticipates filing a new CR-102 no earlier than 2012.

Those wishing to keep abreast of this seemingly ever-changing process may contact:

Lori Preuss, Rules Coordinator
600 Capitol Way N.
Olympia WA 98501-1091
Lori.Preuss@dfw.wa.gov
fax (360) 902-2155

Ask to be informed of any rule making associated with WAC 232-12-251 and remember to provide your contact information.

WDFW's Requested HPA Bill Due For Hearing

HB 1588, WDFW's requested Hydraulic Project Approval bill, is up for public hearing at 10:00 A.M. on February 8, 2011 in House Hearing Rm D, John L. O'Brien Building in Olympia.

A quick reading of the bill's text reveals some less-than-desirable characteristics of the WDFW proposed "streamlining" process:

1. There are to be three classes of hydraulic projects: Class I covers activities permitted in the Gold & Fish pamphlet; Class II covers activities which are currently undefined and which will not be defined until completion of a rule making process by January 1, 2012. (Determination as to whether the aforementioned rules work would be by means of a "pilot project" conducted by WDFW and completed sometime in 2014); Class III covers any project which is neither Class I nor Class II which, for the remainder of this year, would be anything not permitted by the Gold & Fish pamphlet.

2. Then there is the matter of fees. Class I projects would be exempt from fees -- at least for the time being. For a Class II permit (once it's defined) the application fee is $150. The fee for a Class III permit is set at $1000 ($150 for notification/application plus $850 for processing). Also, a general Class II or Class III permit would require a fee of $5000. In some cases, partial or full refunds would be available and the fees will be indexed annually to inflation. See the bill text for details, if you want them.

3. Penalties. Each violation of the rules for HPAs would be treated as a "gross misdemeanor" with an accompanying fine of $10,000. WDFW would, however, initially seek "voluntary" compliance with the rules before resorting to the penalty provisions.

The above are what jumped out at me while quickly scanning the bill. Actually, the convoluted 20-page text of HB 1588 seems itself like Exhibit-A type evidence for passage of HB 1233 removing the hydraulic project approval process altogether. (See my earlier post on HB 1233 at the link here.)

Stay tuned for future developments.

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Update at 8:19 P.M. 2/3/11

A couple of notes due to revised schedules:

1. HB 1233 will be heard immediately after HB 1588 at the hearing on February 8th described above. The link to the House Agriculture & Natural Resources committee agenda is here.

2. SB 5529, the companion bill to HB 1588, will be heard in the Senate Natural Resources & Marine Waters committee at 8:00 A.M. on February 9, 2011 in Senate Hearing Rm 2, J.A. Cherberg Building, Olympia. The link to the agenda is here.

How Science Informs Policy - HB 1307

HB 1307 - concerning standards for the use of science to support public policy - will be the subject of a work session of the House Environment Committee at 1:30 P.M. on February 4, 2011 in House Hearing Room C, John L. O'Brien Building, Olympia, Washington. Immediately following the work session, the committee will hold a public hearing on the bill.

HB 1307 is important for miners because, if passed into law, it will require government agencies, such as WDFW, to obtain fully independent peer review for all science that is used in support of any public policy, such as "work windows" for suction dredging, etc. Peer review by qualified experts would verify the integrity of any science used to regulate the activities of citizens. This type of review would go a long way towards preventing regulations and/or statutes based on special-interest-agenda-driven pseudo-science.

It is therefore important that as many members of the mining community as possible provide testimony at the hearing in support of HB 1307. Written testimony may be presented to the committee and its members prior to the public hearing -- and the sooner the better. Oral testimony may be presented at the public hearing. Whether written or oral, testimony should adhere to the following general outline provided via Bruce Beatty:

- Tell the committee members who you are, where you live, and what you do that is impacted by science-driven public policies.

- Thank them for placing Washington in the forefront of ensuring that the science we use is fully verified before it is used to support public policy.

- Tell them your experience with how science has been used in policies that affect you personally. (Use your own story.)

-Tell them why you believe HB 1307 helps make things better.

- Please stick to the science issue . . . there are other bills where you can advocate for or against legislation covering specific issues that concern you.

- Thank them for their time and consideration of your testimony.

Even if you are giving oral testimony, it would be a good idea to bring a written copy as well to hand in. It would also be a good idea to send a copy of your testimony to Representative Jim McCune ( jim.mccune@leg.wa.gov ) as he is a co-sponsor of HB 1307 but is not on the committee.

Remember, as always, to maintain a positive tone in your remarks and an attitude of seeking to help the agencies in question do a better job of serving the public.