Washington State Miner

Tom

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is holding a meeting via conference call on Friday, December 5. The first item on the published agenda may be of interest to the mining community:

A. HPA Rules Revision - Briefing and Decision Department staff will provide a briefing on recommended process amendments to strengthen the rule adoption for the recently approved HPA Rules.

Unfortunately, the public is excluded from this meeting but interested persons may phone ahead to reserve a space at the Commission office in Olympia (or at one of the Regional Offices) where they will be permitted to listen the the commissioners' deliberations via speakerphone. Do note that the 'meeting' begins at 8:30 A.M. on the 5th.

The second item on the agenda appears to be of interest to the mining community as well:

B. Petition to Change Rules - Decision The Commission will formally consider a petition for changes to rulemaking pursuant to RCW 34.05.330:

Repeal Title 220-660 (Cunningham)

Staff Report: Jeff Davis, Assistant Director and Randi Thurston, Protection Division Manager, Habitat Program

As you may know, Title 220-660 of the Washington Administrative Code is the section containing the recently approved HPA rules.

Be sure to check the link to the Commission meeting agenda in the first paragraph of this post for complete details about this conference call and how to attend.

Tom

Gold Hill, Oregon miner Clifford R. Tracy, who has been mentioned in posts on this blog here, here, and here, is once again in trouble with the authorities for mining on his claim.

In the latest episode, Mr. Tracy was cited after being seen by two Oregon State Police troopers while operating a suction dredge on his Sucker Creek claim after the close of the state's allowed work window. The troopers showed up at Tracy's claim after receiving an anonymous tip.

Mr. Tracy is reported to have stated that he will represent himself at his court hearing on January 5 and, furthermore, plans to sue the Oregon Department of State Lands and the Department of Environmental Quality in federal court for violating his right to mine under the federal Mining Law of 1872.

For more on this story, please see the article in the Medford Mail Tribune online at the link here.

Tom

The blog has finally been restored in all major respects following the hacking and html code tampering incident. If you are a returning visitor and notice a link missing that was previously of value to you, please feel free to contact me via the email link on the "View My Complete Profile" page. I will do my best to locate the missing resource and provide a current link.

In the meantime, my thanks to everyone for your patience and understanding during this incident.

Tom

Tom

Today the Washington State Miner received the following communication from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife:

WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/
November 17, 2014
Contact: Randi Thurston, (360) 902-2602
WDFW seeks nominations to advisory group
on implementation of state's Hydraulic Code
OLYMPIA - The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is seeking nominations to a citizen group responsible for advising the department on implementation of the state's Hydraulic Code, which is designed to protect fish life in Washington waters.
The department will select as many as 12 individuals to serve two-year terms on the Hydraulic Code Advisory Group, with new terms beginning in January 2015. Advisors will provide guidance to WDFW on issues related to implementation of state rules that regulate construction projects and other work in or near state waters
Common projects requiring approval under the state's Hydraulic Code rules include work on bulkheads, culverts, piers and docks.
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission recently updated those rules to reflect developments in environmental science, technology, and state law since the last comprehensive update in 1994.
"Now that the state rules have been updated, our focus has turned to putting them into practice," said Randi Thurston, WDFW habitat protection division manager. "As we move forward, we need a sounding board that reflects a variety of interests."
The department's goal is to attract qualified candidates concerned about fishing, the environment and the individuals, businesses, and other organizations affected by the state's Hydraulic Code rules.
The advisory group will meet approximately four times each year. Advisors, who serve without financial compensation, will also be asked to provide comment on written material throughout the year. The first meeting will be scheduled in February.
Any group or individual can submit a nomination, and self-nominations will be accepted. Nominations must include the following information:

The nominee's name, address, email address and telephone number.
Relevant experience, organizational affiliations, and reasons why he or she would be an effective advisory group member.
Nominee's effectiveness in communication.
Name and contact information for any individual or organization submitting a nomination.

Nominations must be received by 5 p.m., Dec. 12. Nominations may be submitted to Randi Thurston, WDFW habitat protection division manager, by mail: 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA, 98501-1091; or by email randi.thurston@dfw.wa.gov .

For more information about the Hydraulic Code rules and Hydraulic Project Approval process, see http://wdfw.wa.gov/licensing/hpa/ .

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Readers with the time and inclination to participate in this advisory group will have a chance to mitigate the more destructive impacts of the new rules on the small-scale mining and prospecting community.

Tom

According to a news release from Washington's Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider approving a major update of the state's hydraulic code rules that govern mineral prospecting and mining in state waters, among other activities.

The meeting will take place on November 7 and 8 in Room 172 of the Natural Resources Building, 1111 Washington Street SE, in Olympia. Scheduled to begin at 8:30 AM each day, the WDFW staff presentation on the proposed hydraulic code rule changes is set for Friday afternoon at 1:55. As there does not appear from reading the meeting agenda to be a provision for public comments at the time of the presentation, it seems the most appropriate time to comment at the meeting would be during the "Open Public Input" period from 8:45 to 9:15 Friday morning. Be sure to sign in to comment before 8:30 AM.

The WDFW Commission agenda for the November 7-8 meeting can be accessed at the link here.

Documents related to the proposed rule changes may be found at the link here.

A summary of the proposed rule changes is at the link here.

The WDFW news release regarding this meeting is at the link here.

Tom

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has extended the public comment period on the proposed hydraulic rule updates until September 15. All documents and the email address for submitting comments may be found on the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/licensing/hpa/rulemaking/ or comments may be mailed to Randi Thruston, WDFW Habitat Program, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091.

For more background on the proposed HPA update rules, readers may refer to previous posts on this blog here (last section of post) and here.

Tom

The Washington Fish & Wildlife Commission has released its agenda for the August, 2014 meeting.

According to the published agenda, the meeting will take place on Friday the 8th and Saturday the 9th in Room 172 of the Natural Resources Building, 1111 Washington Street SE, Olympia Washington, 98501. On both days, the meeting will begin at 8:30 A.M.

Of particular interest to miners, at 3:35 P.M. Friday WDFW "staff will brief the Commission on the CR-102 version of hydraulic code, including a summary of comments received from stakeholders and tribes." Public input will be accepted at this time as well.

The Commission agenda may be found online at the link here. As noted earlier on this blog, the proposed HPA rules may be found at the link here.

Tom

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will be accepting written comments from the public through August 15 regarding proposed changes to the state's Hydraulic Code rules. Also open for comment during this period are a related draft environmental impact statement and a small business economic impact statement.

Interested parties may view these documents at WDFW's Hydraulic Project Approval (HPA) webpage.

In the Proposed HPA Rules, the Mineral prospecting section begins on page 80 of the PDF (page 78 of the document) and the table of proposed work times on page 93 of the PDF (page 91 of the document).

Comments may be submitted by email to hparules@dfw.wa.gov, by fax to 360-902-2946, or by mail to Randi Thurston, 600 Capitol Way N, Olympia, WA 98501-1091. Oral and written comments may also be presented at the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting in Olympia on August 8. Note that comments received by WDFW prior to August 1 will be forwarded to the Commission for consideration at the meeting on August 8. The agenda for that meeting will be posted at http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/ during the week of July 21.

Tom

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today a streamlined application process for Hydraulic Project Approval (HPA) permits. The new system is online and, according to the program managers, will make it easier to apply for and monitor one's HPA applications.

For example, instead of the former 14 page application, the online "Aquatic Protection Permitting System" reduces the workload to 3 pages. Moreover, the new system makes completed applications visible to the public on the WDFW website.

The news release announcing the initiation of the online program lists the following features:

Using the new system, HPA applicants can now go online to:

Submit an application and any necessary supporting documents.
Pay for their HPA, using a credit card or bank transfer.
Check the status of their application and correspond with WDFW staff.
Obtain a text version of their application that can be copied and pasted into applications for other permits that may be required by other state agencies.
Receive and print an HPA via email.

Anyone interested in work permitted by HPAs can also use the new online tool to search for projects, receive notifications about project applications, and submit comments to WDFW online.

The WDFW news release summarized above may be viewed in its entirety at the link here.

The webpage with the link for accessing the online HPA application is at the link below:

http://wdfw.wa.gov/licensing/hpa/

Tucked away at the bottom of the page with the link to the online HPA application is a section titled, "Changes proposed to Hydraulic Code Rules." The substance of this section is that WDFW is "preparing a set of updates to the hydraulic code rules" that should be of some concern to the small-scale mining community.

The section goes on to state that:

Starting July 16, the public will have 30 days to comment on the proposed hydraulic code rules and an associated Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will schedule a public hearing before considering adoption of WDFW’s proposals later this year.

The draft of the proposed changes to the rules may be found in the download section in the upper right-hand corner of the Hydraulic Code Rulemaking page. A quick scan of the proposed rules reveals that most of the changes would involve mining on the ocean beaches, although there are a few changes to the work times in the various creeks and rivers.

It's always a good idea to keep a close watch on these sorts of goings on.

Tom

Under the heading "2014 Shows" in the right-hand sidebar, I have included the poster for the June 30 to July 6 "Occupy Idaho Waters Dredge-In Event!" sponsored by the Southwest Idaho Mining Association. While not a "show" in the same sense as the other offerings listed in this section, it is nevertheless a "show" of force aimed at preserving the lawful rights of miners to access creeks and rivers in pursuit of valuable mineral deposits. See the poster or contact swidahominingassociation@gmail.com for more information.

Tom

"Don'cha know the suction dredgers are killin' all the fish?"

Such would seem to be the refrain of the anti-mining environmental crowd, whose most recent demonic spawn appeared as the "Give Fish a Chance Act," which has apparently succumbed to saner heads -- at least for now.

Lest anyone think there might be some shred of truth to the mantra that dredging causes serious harm to fish populations, please consider this recent item in The Spokesman Review for February 23, 2014:

Huge Runs of Salmon Predicted for Columbia River

The story opens with the following facts:

Another, even bigger, version of 2013’s record run of fall chinook to the Columbia River is forecast for this year – the largest flood of salmon since fish counts began at the new Bonneville Dam in 1938.

State, federal and tribal fish managers expect 1.6 million fall chinook salmon to head for the mouth of the Columbia this summer. That’s a 26 percent increase from the 1.26 million record run in 2013 that allowed anglers to set harvest records from the lower river through the Hanford Reach.

The article, which can be accessed at the link in the title above, is well worth reading in full.

As to whether this news will dampen the ardor of the environmental-crazies crowd, I'm not holding my breath.

Tom

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission has set their next meeting for March 7-8 at the Moses Lake Civic Center, 401 S. Balsam, Moses Lake, Washington. The meeting will begin at 8:00 A.M. on Friday and at 8:30 A.M. on Saturday. There do not appear to be any mining-related topics on the agenda although there is an 'Open Public Input' period each day for items not already scheduled.

Interested parties may view the official agenda at the link here.

Tom

The Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources has published a report on the Germania Mine:

Information Circular 117. Inactive and abandoned mine lands--Germania Mine, Cedar Canyon Mining District, Stevens County, Washington, by F. E. Wolff, B. T. Garcia, D. T. McKay, and D. K. Norman. 2014. 21 p.

This report is available for free download at the link above.

Tom

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will hold a telephone conference on Friday, February 14, at 8:30 A.M.

The first item on the agenda is a staff report by Pat Chapman and Perry Harvester regarding a petition to change the Mineral Prospecting rule in WAC 220-110-206 (Authorized work times and mineral prospecting equipment restrictions by specific state waters for mineral prospecting and placer mining projects) pursuant to RCW 34.05.330 (Petition for adoption, amendment, repeal -- Agency action -- Appeal).

No other details regarding this petition are available as of this writing.

The public may listen to this telephone conference as explained by the Commission:

The public may listen to the discussion on speakerphone by coming to the Commission Office at the Department of Fish and Wildlife headquarters, Natural Resources Building, 5th Floor, 1111 Washington Street SE, Olympia or one of the Regional Offices. If you plan to come to one of the offices to listen to the conference call please contact Commission staff at (360) 902-2267 so we can ensure adequate space is available.

The published Commission agenda may be viewed at the link here.

Tom

Mineweb writer Dorothy Kosich has posted an article detailing what may be the latest significant threat to the mining industry in some time.

Her article examines how, according to the American Exploration and Mining Association (formerly the Northwest Mining Association), the BLM and USFS are using the proposed listing of the Greater Sage-grouse as a threatened or endangered species to remove over 17 million acres in the western U.S. from coverage by U.S. Mining Law.

Reader's wishing to familiarize themselves with the details of this latest issue are encouraged to read the Mineweb article at the link here, as well as an AEMA summary in downloadable PDF format here.

Tom

Two of our self-styled 'betters' in Olympia, Democratic representatives of the environmentalist lobby Gael Tarleton (36th Legislative District) and Gerry Pollet (46th Legislative District), have undertaken a project to effectively ban small-scale mining and prospecting in Washington. By sponsoring HB 2579, the cloyingly-named "Give Fish a Chance Act," they would impose a $150 permit fee just to wet a gold pan.

Some of the highlights (or 'lowlights,' depending on your point of view) of this bill are the following:

1. Language added to RCW 77.55.021 Sec. 2. (7) (a) would require that: "The department may not issue a permit under this chapter for the use of a suction dredge in any state waters that have been designated as critical habitat for threatened or endangered species by the United States fish and wildlife service or the United States national oceanic and atmospheric administration or in the
tributaries of any freshwater state waters that have received critical habitat designation."[Capitalization errors in original.]

The foregoing further limits the number of streams in which one may operate a dredge, assuming one can still afford gas for it after paying the permit fee.

2. RCW 77.55.091 Sec. 3. (1) is amended to read: "The department shall require the permit for mineral prospecting and mining described in section 4 of this act for activities conducted in accordance with the gold and fish pamphlet."

The above section would eliminate the Gold & Fish pamphlet's role as a permit in and of itself.

3. RCW 77.55.091 Sec. 3. (2) is replaced with amended language from Sec. 3. (3) to read: "The department shall distribute a gold and fish pamphlet that describes methods of mineral prospecting that are consistent with the department's rule. The pamphlet shall be written to clearly indicate the mineral prospecting and mining methods that require a permit under this chapter or section 4 of this act and the mineral prospecting and mining methods that require compliance with the pamphlet. To the extent possible, the department shall use the provisions of the gold and fish pamphlet to minimize the number of specific provisions of a written permit issued under this chapter."

This latest section seems to offer a grain of hope that the kindly souls at WDFW may declare that some "mineral prospecting and mining methods" do not require a permit. Those familiar with the historic attitude of WDFW personnel towards small-scale mining will realize that this 'grain' is most unlikely to germinate, let alone bear fruit.

4. RCW 77.55.091 Sec. 3. (3) is eliminated.

5. The real kicker comes in "New Section" 4. Among other requirements, Sec. 4. states: "A mineral prospecting and mining permit is required to conduct small scale prospecting and mining and any mineral prospecting and mining not prohibited under RCW 77.55.021(7)(a). [The 'Critical Habitat' dredge prohibition quoted in 'highlight' 1 above.] The fee for the permit is one hundred fifty dollars. In addition to the permit, compliance with the pamphlet referenced in RCW 77.55.091(2) is required in order to conduct mineral prospecting and mining." [Emphasis added.]

6. RCW 77.55.091 Sec. 5. (2) (c) and (d) are amended to tie up any loose ends by excluding the fee exemption for hydraulic projects authorized by the Gold & Fish pamphlet and for mineral prospecting and mining activities.

If enacted, this bill will be a disaster for small-scale prospecting and mining as only the large mining corporations could afford the required fees.

Lost from the proposed amendments to RCW 77.55.091 is the 'Findings' clause in the code as it currently stands:

Findings -- 1997 c 415: "The legislature finds that small scale prospecting and mining: (1) Is an important part of the heritage of the state; (2) provides economic benefits to the state; and (3) can be conducted in a manner that is beneficial to fish habitat and fish propagation. Now, therefore, the legislature declares that small scale prospecting and mining shall be regulated in the least burdensome manner that is consistent with the state's fish management objectives and the federal endangered species act." [1997 c 415 § 1.]

Perhaps Tarleton and Pollet need to be reminded of the legislature's historic position on this issue?

HB 2579 is currently in the House Agriculture & Natural Resources committee and may be tracked at the link here.

Comments on HB 2579 may be submitted to legislators in all districts at the link here.

(Your author's comment to the legislators: If enacted in these already trying economic times, the $150 fee would effectively preclude small-scale prospecting and mining. It would thereby not only
fail to generate additional revenue, but also negate current economic benefits to the state from these activities. HB 2579 appears to be little more than an indirect attempt to ban small-scale mining on the dubious premise that doing so will improve the lot of fish. Inasmuch as fish don't vote, I would hope the legislators would be more concerned with improving the lot of their constituents, or with at least not inflicting further hardships upon them.)

Gael Tarleton's and Gerry Pollet's contact information may be found on their web pages linked in the first paragraph of this post.

A PDF file of HB 2579 may be downloaded from the link here.

Tom

After 119 years, the Northwest Mining Association has chosen a new name to better reflect the fact that it now boasts 2,400 members from 42 states, seven Canadian provinces, and ten other countries.

Following an 18 month review and input from its members, the association has changed its name to American Exploration and Mining Association. The organization plans to continue its mission of educating the public and policymakers about the importance of the mineral industry.

The new web address is www.miningamerica.org and this change, together with the new name, is now reflected in the right-hand sidebar section titled Clubs and Organizations.

Tom

With winter seemingly approaching an end, some of us may be thinking about the coming season's prospecting opportunities. One of the essential tools for exploring the back-country in search of valuable mineral deposits is a good map. For many years, the U. S. Geological Survey's 7.5' quadrangle maps have fulfilled this role. Graphically displaying landforms, elevation contours, streams, lakes, and other bodies of water, as well as roads, trails, selected buildings, and other man-made features (including mines!), these maps have proven indispensable for staying oriented and on track in the wilds.

In 2013 the USGS began phasing in a significant design change for the venerable 7.5' quadrangle map. The new design incorporates information from The National Map databases to produce a digital quadrangle map with increased accuracy and selectable layers showing orthoimagery, transportation features, geographic names, topographic contours, boundaries, hydrography, woodland, structures, and the United States National Grid. The Public Land Survey System, with its townships and sections, is in the process of being added to these maps. In order to keep the maps as current as possible, the orthoimagery base layer will be updated at least every three years.

These digital maps are available online for free download as PDF files with a geospatial extension and are known as Geo-referenced PDFs (or GeoPDFs). Most map files seem to run about 20MB in size and can be opened with the free Adobe Reader or any other PDF reader that shows layers. (For the illustrations in this article, I used the free Nitro Reader 3 software.)

As an example, consider the GeoPDF for the Monte Cristo, Washington, quadrangle with all data layers turned on:

Click image for full size.

On the left-hand side of the image you can see the layers menu, which allows you to control the information displayed on the map.

To better see the detail, let's look at an area on the map showing the junction of Silver Creek with the North Fork of the Skykomish River:

Click image for full size.

The contour lines and other map features are superimposed on the orthoimagery, which gives a very good idea of terrain as well as the ground cover. While the imagery layer may give a good idea of what the countryside looks like when viewing the map on a computer, it would probably not be suitable for a printed map to be used in the field. We can create a map without the aerial image by unchecking the orthoimagery layer in the PDF. The result, reproduced below, would easily show compass bearing lines, GPS way-points, and other marks the user may wish to add while using the map outdoors:

Click image for full size.

Although one can order paper versions of these maps from the USGS, the ones I've seen all show the orthoimagery layer. While these maps would probably make handsome display items if framed, as mentioned above they would probably not be suitable for work in the field. Add to that the fact that they cost (as of this writing) $15 each and you have another incentive to look for an alternative.

The practical alternative is to print your own maps showing only those data layers you want. The best way I know to do this on a printer that only accommodates paper up to letter size is to use the
"Tiling/Poster" setting in the printer driver menu. (Check your printer manual for how to access this feature.) With my Canon MG2200, the 'Printer Properties" menu containing this setting is accessible from the PDF viewer application. This setting divides the image into multiple parts, each of which prints on its own page. The setting usually also provides an option for printing "Cut/Paste" lines in the margins of the sections to aid in taping them together. If your printer doesn't have a "Tiling/Poster" setting and you don't have the rather expensive Adobe Acrobat application (which incorporates this feature), you may be able to find a free software application that will allow you to perform this operation. One option for Windows might be PosterPrint. I haven't tried this software, so proceed with caution if you opt to use it.

If you are using Adobe Reader to view these maps, there is a free extension for it called the TerraGo Toolbar which you can download and install. This toolbar allows you to perform a number of special operations with the map, such as finding coordinates, measuring lengths and areas, tracking the current position of an attached GPS unit, adding notes, lines, shapes, stamping information onto the map, etc. I haven't tried this feature yet so can only go by the descriptions of its operations provided by the USGS.

In addition to the US Topo series of maps, all USGS previously issued topographic maps are available for free download from the same source as the new maps.

The US Topo mapping program is an ongoing project with more features to be added as time goes on. Incidentally, Washington is one of the states scheduled for updating in 2014.

Below are links to resources for obtaining and using these maps:

Select and download US Topo and historical topographic maps.

Factsheet on the US Topo map series.

Quickstart Guide for using US Topo maps and historical topographic maps.

In addition to the links listed above, I have updated the link to the USGS Store in the MAPPING APPLICATIONS & ONLINE SPACIAL DATA section of Resources for Prospectors in the right-hand sidebar to provide access to both the new US Topo and all the historical topographic maps.

Tom

The proposed changes to the mineral prospecting rules (see, here) will be the subject of a briefing at the WDFW Commission meeting January 10 and 11 at the Comfort Inn Conference Center,
1620 74th Avenue SW, Tumwater, WA.

According to the summary on the Commission website, the proposed changes to the rules are:

Multiple sections have been combined into a single section. A new section on mineral prospecting on ocean beaches has been added, including where beach prospecting may occur and what equipment may be used. The provisions for mineral prospecting on ocean beaches prospecting are included in the Gold and Fish pamphlet. Authorized work times for mineral prospecting in Nooksack and Wenatchee Rivers have been changed and are listed in a table. The timing in the Nooksack River changes from July 16 – August 15 to submit application. The timing in the Wenatchee River from the mouth to Leavenworth changes from July 1 – July 31 to July 15 – September 30 and from Leavenworth to Lake Wenatchee changes from July 31 [Sic...July 1] – July 31 to July 15 – August 15.

As pointed out in the reminder on this topic in the Resource Coalition's January newsletter, the draft rules are not open for discussion at this time but public comments may be made to the Commission regarding the process, lack of science, and manipulated studies that are being used as a basis for these proposed rules. Persons interested in commenting at this meeting should be aware that the only times allowed on the meeting agenda for this activity are 8:45am on Friday, January 10 and 8:30am on Saturday, January 11. The "Procedure for Public Testimony" may be found here. "Be aware that items may be taken out of order, and that the times listed are estimates only."