Washington State Miner

Tom

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) invites interested parties to comment on the new Hydraulic Project Approval program. The Hydraulic Code rules were extensively updated in 2014 by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, the same year in which WDFW introduced a simplified permitting system and online application process.

According to a December 21 news release, "Jeff Davis, assistant director of WDFW’s Habitat Program, said the department welcomes comments on recent updates to those rules, efforts to streamline the permitting process, and other aspects of the HPA program."

The news release further noted that "(s)tate habitat managers also plan to discuss the future of the program with tribal and other governmental representatives, environmental groups, business organizations and others involved in HPA issues, Davis said." (Emphasis added.) Dare we assume that the "others involved in HPA issues" includes members of the small-scale prospecting and mining community?

To insure that it does, readers of this blog are encouraged to submit their comments via email to hpaprogramideas@dfw.wa.gov by April 15, 2016.

Those wishing additional information on the permitting process may visit WDFW's website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/licensing/hpa/.

Those wishing to read the WDFW news release quoted above may do so here.

Tom

Washington State's Department of Natural Resources has announced the availability of a new geology map of the Tacoma 1:100,000-scale quadrangle.

The new map may be downloaded for free from the link here or paper copies may be purchased from myprint.wa.gov.

The official announcment of the new map may be read here.

NOTE: At the time of this writing the links to the free map and to the paper copies are not working. Hopefully the problem will be solved reasonably soon. If DNR announces corrected links, they will be posted in this article.

NOTE: The link for downloading the free copy of the map has been repaired. Also, the link to the site for purchasing the paper version of the map is also working.

Tom

Washington State's Department of Natural Resources has announced the availability of two new geologic maps:

1. The Geologic Map of the Lake Roesiger 7.5-minute Quadrangle, Snohomish County, Washington, Map Series 2015-1, incorporating new geologic mapping, geochemistry, geophysics, and age data, is presented in a 42 x 36 inch 1:24,000 scale map sheet and 47-page pamphlet. The entire package may be downloaded for free here or purchased in printed form at myprint.wa.gov.

2. The Geologic Map of the Port Ludlow and southern half of the Hansville 7.5-minute Quadrangle, Kitsap and Jefferson Counties, Washington, Map Series 2015-2, incorporating new geologic mapping, geochemistry, and age data, is presented in a 42 x 36 inch 1:24,000 scale map sheet and 40-page pamphlet. The entire package may be downloaded for free here or purchased in printed form at the same link as for the Lake Roesiger map.

The original press release from DNR may be found at the link here.

Tom

WDFW has announced that suction dredging for gold is prohibited or restricted in more than 60 rivers and streams until further notice. The reason given for this action is to prevent additional stress on fish populations that are already suffering from high temperatures and low water levels. On those rivers with hourly restrictions, gold dredging is prohibited between 2:00 P.M. and one half-hour after official sunset. A detailed list of the rivers and streams affected by these emergency regulations may be found here.

Note that only suction dredging is affected by these regulations. Gold panning by hand is specifically exempted and the regulations do not mention other gold recovery methods, such as by hand sluice, rocker box, etc., so it would seem these methods would be permitted as well. If in doubt, contact WDFW at 360-902-2200 or at one of the numbers listed at the top of the official news release.

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/ .

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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.