PLP and Mining Districts
PLP Update
December 2020 by Scott Harn
The Department of Interior released revised regulations pertaining to complying with the Environmental Policy Act, but these revisions pertain to special use permittees, which does not include miners.
Public Lands for the People’s Clark Pearson continues to have monthly meetings with officials via phone/video in Washington, DC, in the ongoing effort to get regulatory relief for miners. Those talks are now focused on immediate relief that can be provided by the current administration should the election results be certified in favor of Joe Biden.
Plans are also under way to coordinate with the incoming chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. We had difficulty getting current chair, Senator Murkowski (R-Alaska), to provide much-needed regulatory relief for small miners, but her term as chair will expire. We expect Senator Barrasso (R-Wyoming) will be the incoming chairman and we had several good in-person meetings with his staff prior to the COVID pandemic.
As mentioned in the Legislative and Regulatory Update , President Trump signed another Executive Order related to critical minerals on September 30. The President declared a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the National Emergencies Act related to critical minerals and the threats imposed by relying solely on countries such as China for our critical mineral needs.
The order requires federal agencies to provide details on existing and planned efforts to jump-start critical minerals mining and production here in America and those reports are due within 60 days at the White House. Once started, this could be a difficult path to reverse by Former Vice President Joe Biden if he eventually is sworn in as the next President.
Some of our readers have wondered aloud if they will be left behind when it comes to regulatory relief related to critical minerals because they mine gold and/or silver. But the administration has made it clear that critical minerals are byproducts in many cases, so any regulatory relief must be across the board for all commodities. President Trump’s Executive Order 13817 issued in 2017, stated, “Of the 35 minerals deemed critical, 12 are byproducts. Therefore, strategies to increase the domestic supply of these commodities must necessarily consider the mining and processing of the host materials because enhanced recovery of byproducts alone may be insufficient to meet US consumption.”
We will continue to keep you updated on our joint efforts to provide regulatory relief for miners at the federal level.
In the meantime, please consider joining PLP by purchasing a yearly $50 membership, purchasing raffle tickets or by making a donation. These funds allow PLP to continue their fight for small miners, as they plan to return to Washington, DC, in early 2021.
For more information, visit: publiclandsforthepeople.org 
PLP Update: The Path for Legally Re-Starting Suction Gold Dredge Mining in 2021
Present conflicts and realizations having to do with dependence on China have illuminated the fact that suction dredge miners have a vital role to play and are an ignored and untapped domestic resource—until now.
PLP Update
It is in all of our best interests to have our voices heard. According to the current documents, two local areas that we use frequently… are being considered as being listed as ACEC’s (Areas of Critical Environmental Concern).
PLP Update: How to Restore The Rights of Suction Dredge Miners
A two-pronged approach is necessary to restore suction dredging; federal preemption needs to be established as addressed above via petition; and clarification from the EPA is needed to establish that no Section 402 permit is necessary when there is no “addition” of a pollutant.
PLP Update
Now they have come up with a second guide (to be released on May 1) that they believe will allow dredgers in California to resume working.
MMAC & PLP Update
On July 4, we are reminded of the sacrifices our Founding Fathers made to establish this great country of ours, and in that spirit, the Minerals and Mining Advisory Council (MMAC) has created a draft Declaration of Miners.And MMAC has been hard at work writing a bill, with the unwavering support of several members of Congress, to reaffirm the rights of miners operating in traditional mining districts.
PLP Update October 2023
PLP and MMAC Update
Minerals and Mining Advisory Council (MMAC) founder Joe Martori met with Jim Scrivner, the Bureau of Land Management Deputy State Director of Energy and Minerals in Sacramento, California...
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