EASTERN OREGON
MINING ASSOCIATION
APRIL 2013 Newsletter
Volume 283
EOMA INTERNET ADDRESS: http://www.h2oaccess.com/
EASTERN OREGON MINING ASSOCIATION MEETING
The meetings are held on the first Friday of the month. The next meeting is Friday, APRIL 5th at the Baker City Hall. The building is located at 1st and Auburn Streets in Baker City. The Board meeting starts at 6:00PM, and the general meeting starts at 6:30PM.
VALE BLM EMPLOYEES WILL BE OUR GUEST SPEAKERS THIS MONTH
BLM Vale Regional Manager, Don Gonzalez will be a special guest. He is making his yearly appearance to update the miners on what is happening on BLM managed land in the region. With him will be the new BLM Baker Field Office Manager, Lori Wood. Ms. Wood most recently served as the District Ranger on the Helena National Forest in Helena MT. Ms. Wood has a geology background. Ms. Wood has over 19 years of broad-based natural resources management experience in the states of Utah, Idaho, Missouri, and California. “This is an exciting challenge and one I am eager to take up,” said Ms. Wood, “ I am excited by what the future holds and I am focused on providing the highest level of public service.” If you are interested in meeting Ms. Wood, you don’t have to be a miner to come to the meeting.
MSHA ANNUAL REFRESHER TRAINING-SATURDAY APRIL 13
Please note, there is a new location for the training this year. The training will be held at the Extension Building, 2600 East Street (turn North off of Campbell Street, just east of the new Armory Building) starting at 8:00AM each day. Space is limited for this training. MSHA is requiring Ed to keep class size at about 30 miners. Sign up by calling Jan at 541-446-3413. The cost is $10/person for the training.
RENEW YOUR EOMA DUES AND PAY YOUR BOND
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
Membership and bond payments must be clearly identified in order for us to give you proper credit for paying. The information you need is on the last page of this newsletter.
Please send in your dues, bond, medallion and calendar payments in separate checks. It really makes a bookkeeping nightmare when you don’t…..Bobbie and Chuck Thank you.
WIN 1/2 POUND OF GOLD
The Eastern Oregon Mining Association, along with the Waldo Mining District, has done it again. The first preliminary drawing will be coming up on March 30th. Prizes we have lined up for all of these preliminary drawings, (in addition to the gold that will be the grand prize), will be Keene 4 inch dredge; Whites Metal Detector; 2 Shares to Emily Camp; Louie Build 4 foot Hand Sluice and more coming. There will be drawings at all the gold shows, including Miners Jubilee. So fill out the tickets in the back of the newsletter and send them in to Drawing, PO Box 932, Baker City, OR 97814. Your tickets will be good for each and every drawing up to the final one of the 1/2 pound of gold. Your money goes to help miners continue litigation on miner’s rights. Thank you for all your support..... Chuck Chase
RESULTS OF THE GRANITE EIS FOIA-NOT ENCOURAGING-Jan Alexander
It appears that little has been done on the Granite EIS, even though Plans of Operation were submitted in good faith starting in 1999. Just like the Forest Service did on the North Fork Burnt River, they have been dragging their feet. In 14 years, all the Forest Service has accomplished is obtaining maps of where a few of the operators want to work. Some of the maps were made by the Forest Service, not by the miner, but that is not a problem as long as the miner concurs. EOMA will provide the miners with copies of the maps we were provided under this FOIA to be sure these are correct.
The Forest Service also sent a chart compiled in 2011 that has some of the operations, but evidently the Forest Service still doesn’t know where some of these operations are, because they could not provide maps. There are a number of plans of operation that are described incorrectly, and a number of the submitted plans of operation are not listed.
WHERE IS THE ACCOUNTABILITY?-Jan Alexander
Ever wonder what the Forest Service does with its minerals money? For the past 14 years, the Forest Service wrote and rewrote and then rewrote again, the North Fork Burnt River Mining EIS. Two small scale plans of operation got approved on Elk Creek, but that’s about it. Certainly, after all these years, no North Fork Burnt River plans have been approved.
In fact, the process has taken so long on the North Fork Burnt River, that some of the surveys that were conducted at the beginning of the project, recently had to be redone. That is the epitome of job security. The results of the FOIA (see above) confirmed our worst fears about the submitted Plans of Operation in the Granite watershed-the Forest Service has done almost nothing. They have done almost nothing on the Upper and Lower Powder EISs, and nothing on the North Fork John Day EA. There is a field presence each summer with Carol Purvis and Chris Helberg, but they have little to do since almost no mining has been approved for the last 14 years.
The Forest Service really needs to take a hard look at their minerals programs. They need either to spend the appropriated minerals funds to get the backlog of plans of operation approved, or they need to stop taking money and pretending to be working on mining projects.
JUDGE RULES IN FAVOR OF UTAH ON R.S. 2477 ROADS
A federal judge is granting the state of Utah and Kane County title to 12 of 15 roads involved in a legal dispute with the federal government and an environmental group. On March 20, U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups also denied a motion to dismiss the case which is based on an 1866 law used to recognize and validate a system of highways and roads in the West. The law known as R.S. 2477 was repealed in 1976, but Congress grandfathered the states’ and counties’ rights-of-way to roads that already existed.
“These rulings clearly show these historic public roads have and will continue to belong to the people of Utah,” says Attorney General John Swallow. “This is the first of many anticipated legal victories that will confirm that the federal government’s refusal to recognize these roads as state and county roads is not legally justified. The federal government’s refusal has damaged the economy and put motorists at risk because the state and counties were unable to conduct routine maintenance to repair their own roads.”
ALASKA SUES FEDS OVER TRAILS IN FORTYMILE REGION By Tim Mowry-Fairbanks Daily Newsminer-tmowry@newsminer.com
FAIRBANKS- Gold miners who have been fighting the federal government for years over access to their mining claims in the Fortymile region gained a powerful ally this week. The state of Alaska on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the federal government asserting ownership of multiple trail rights-of-way around the Taylor Highway community of Chicken, that traditionally have been used by miners to access their claims, but have been restricted in recent years by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
HELP FOR MUDDY SETTLING PONDS-Jan Alexander
Have you ever had to quit processing for the day because the water you were recycling out of your settling ponds was too thick to effectively wash the gold from your gravel? The solution may be the use of Polyacrylamide (PAM), a material that consists of a pair of long chain monomers, which attach or grab clay particles out of dirty water and pull them together into heavier clumps of particles, which accelerates settling. A pump on an inner-tube can easily pump the top clean layer of water back through the system. At the end of the shift, solids can be removed from the ponds, leaving only clean water for the next day’s run.
PAM has been used widely in the food industry, and has been shown to be non-toxic to humans, animals, fish and plants. USDA and Oregon DEQ have conducted studies using Pam as a soil conditioner to prevent erosion of cropland soils. Our primary use would be in our muddy settling ponds, but when the dried slimes are applied as growth media, erosion would be curtained, since storm water soaks into these soils, rather than running off. This material would be more effective at curtailing erosion than spreading certified weed-free straw.
DEQ is looking into approval of the use of PAM in settling ponds. A decision on this should come soon.
OBAMA’S SUE ME STRATEGY by Chuck Chase
The Interior Departments Fish and Wildlife Service has resurrected a Clinton-era tactic known as \sue and settle.\ With this strategy, outside green groups friendly to the Administration sue the government, demanding and getting a particular regulatory action. Seems like this tactic is also alive and well in Oregon with Department of Environmental Quality and the NEDC settlement.
MINERS RALLY ON THE SALEM CAPITOL STEPS by Chuck Chase
With a flood of anti-mining bills coming out of the State Legislature, miners across Oregon, California, Idaho, Washington and Canada united. A flood of emails and phone calls between leaders of the mining organizations and associations in Oregon ensued about the bills. It soon became apparent that a State Legislator for the Medford area was behind a majority of all of these bills. Some of these bills would stop all mechanized mining in Oregon; if you had a motor that means YOU! Another was a Scenic Rivers bill aimed at locking up hundreds of miles of rivers to mining and private property use. Another was a permit fee of over one hundred twenty- five dollars in order to placer mine on any state or federal lands.
Mining leaders in the Salem area, principally Joe Greene, Claudia Wise, Tom Quintal and Eben Ray, President of the Willamette Valley Miners, organized the rally at the Capitol in Salem. On February 28th miners from all over the northwest and Canada descended on the Capitol of Oregon to show their displeasure at all this anti mining legislation. There was even a bus that brought miners from the Grants Pass area to join in the protest. Bobbie and I left Baker City to join our fellow miners in Salem. To our surprise we were met with other miners from the Eastern Oregon Miners Association; Ed Bechtal who drove down from Washington. Delbert McGlothen and his contingent from Clatskanie, Oregon, Chad Marmolejo from the Sandy area., and at least two other gentlemen, one from Baker City and his brother from Heppner I believe, whose names escape me. Please forgive me for not giving you recognition for the long way you had to drive and for your support for mining at the steps of the Salem Capitol.
All in all, there were over three hundred miners waving signs protesting legislation aimed at stopping mining. Dredges, High Bankers, Panning Tubs, Petitions, Sign Up Sheets were among the events that the miners set up on the Capitol Steps. There were speakers describing the abuse being heaped on the miners in Oregon, including Senator Ted Ferrioli. Another senator and three Representatives came down the Capitol steps to speak to the assembled miners. Senator Alan Bates and his staff slipped out the back steps of the Capitol Building to avoid some very determined and angry miners.
The protest lasted all afternoon until about 5:00 in the evening. All of the signs, garbage and equipment were removed leaving the area as clean or cleaner than when we arrived.
There was a meeting later in the evening at Izzys in Salem, where the leaders of the rally, members of the Miners Permit Litigation Group, along with other mining leaders met to eat dinner and discuss the rally and further strategy in fighting all of this anti-mining nonsense coming out of the Legislature. Oregon’s Green Machine thought they were going to make another California out of Oregon. Miners in Oregon are not going to go down that easy.......
LONG TIME MEMBER AND EOMA BOARD MEMBER PASSES
Vern Knapp, an EOMA member since the early 1990s, and strong supporter of mining and logging rights, passed away February 24, 2013. Vern and Alice have owned and operated Elk Creek Enterprises for almost 30 years. Vern had developed health problems last year, but continued to attend EOMA meetings, the last one being earlier this year. He and Alice were more than generous in their donations to the medallion fund each month, as well as their contributions to the Jubilee, and Christmas events. He will be greatly missed, not only by all his mining family, but by the Baker County community and loggers across Northeast Oregon as well... We loved you, and will miss you Vern.
NEW SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR From the Alaska Miner
President Obama has nominated Sally Jewell, 56, to be the next Secretary of the Interior. Her confirmation hearing was scheduled for March 7. She is the current CEO of REI, a company that sells Recreational Equipment. Her company has actively supported the Clinton-era Roadless Area Conservation rule, which in 2001 locked up a third of all national forests. She has also been Vice-Chair of the National Parks Conservation Association. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy doesn’t it?
CANADA PHASING OUT THE PENNY From The Alaska Miner
On February 4th, The Royal Canadian mint stopped distribution of pennies to banks and other financial institutions. The Canadian Finance minister Jim Flaherty announced last year they were a nuisance. The Government has issued guidelines urging store owners to round prices to the nearest nickel. Electronic transactions will still be calculated down to the individual cent.
THE STATE LEGISLATURE IS IN SESSION By Chuck Chase
The State Legislature used to meet every two years, my thinking is it should have been every ten years. Now the legislature decided that it needs to meet every year, ... OMG hang on to your wallet.
There has been a flood of bills coming from the State Legislature this year directed at miners. At this time, there are at least a ½ a dozen bills aimed at stopping or curtailing mining in Oregon. Others are directed at more revenue with hidden fees on Carbon Tax, Gas tax, increased Fees on mining permits and on and on, and this is for the Governor to spend on his and the Legislature’s pet projects.
Two of these bills are aimed at increasing the fee’s (again) collected by our County Clerks when you record your mining claims or file assessment work. According to the County Clerks in Baker County at least, almost 2/3 of the fees they charge are taxes put there by the State Legislature. They have been doing this for years as a hidden tax to fund anything and everything under the sun. The newest attempts to raise fees are HB 2417 that goes to fund housing related programs. And HB 2869 raises the recording fees another $10 dollars to go to surveyor’s fees.... WHAT!
And they are going to meet each year now putting out this nonsense........
U.S. HAS THE MINERALS BUT MINERS CAN’T GET PERMITS TO MINE
In January, the Wall Street Journal published an article by Daniel McGroarty, the President of American Resources Policy Network, a nonpartisan education and public-policy research organization based in Washington, D.C. The article discusses the United States growing dependency on foreign sources of the strategic and critical minerals needed to power modern manufacturing, ensure national security and economic prosperity.
McGroarty points out that the U.S. is 100% import reliant on 19 critical minerals, despite having deposits of 18 of those 19 minerals. He cites the Behre Dolbear Annual Study \Where Not To Invest\ which found the U.S. tied for last with Papua New Guinea in the time it takes to permit a new mine.
NWMA has distributed the article to congressional staff members and encourages you to share it as well. You can read the entire article in the Wall Street Journal. It provides strong support for Rep. Amodeis National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2013, H.R.761.
9th CIRCUIT COURT RULES MINING PLANS OF OPERATION DO NOT EXPIRE AFTER TEMPORARY CLOSURES from NWMA
In a 9th Circuit Court win for mining in the case Center for Biological Diversity, et al v. Salazar, et al the court ruled that the Bureau of Land Management did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Federal Land Policy and Management Act, or its own mining regulations by allowing an operator to resume mining on federal lands under a 20-year old mining plan of operations after a 17-year hiatus.
The decision clarified that plans of operations do not expire automatically after temporary mine closures. For all project proponents whose initial commencement of operations was subject to NEPA review and federal agency approval, the decision clarifies NEPAs supplementation requirements. At least in cases where the federal government is not the primary project proponent, an agency need not perform supplemental NEPA review with regard to project approval decisions that already have been finalized, even where significant new information bearing on the projects environmental impacts later surfaces.
The court also held that (1) updating a financial guarantee is a ministerial rather than a major federal action triggering NEPA review, and (2) NEPA requirements for Environmental Impact Statements and Environmental Assessments-including obligations to analyze indirect and cumulative impacts-do not apply where a proposed action fits within a Categorical Exclusion.
INVEST IN YOUR FUTURE AND SUPPORT EOMA --BUY SILVER MEDALLIONS
We have received the shipment of 2013 medallions. They are the same proof grade quality medallions with gold nuggets that we have been getting in past years. These medallions are currently selling for $50 dollars apiece plus $5.00 shipping and handling and insurance. These prices are subject to change. You can order a 2013 medallion from the EOMA website, or send in $50 plus $5.00 shipping and handling before the price goes up, to EOMA, Medallions, PO Box 932, Baker City, OR 97814, or call Bobbie at 541-523-3285.
NWMA FILES AMICUS BRIEF IN NEPA ZONE OF INTEREST CASE
Mountain States Legal Foundation has filed an Amicus Curiae brief in support of petitioners American Independence Mines and Minerals Company, et al, petition for Writ of Certiorari seeking the Supreme Courts review and rejection of the 9th circuits zone of interest test for standing to bring NEPA claims.
The 9th circuit has long held that parties with economic interests lack prudential standing to challenge a federal agencys compliance with NEPA. The 9th circuit has repeatedly held that economic interests do not have prudential standing to bring NEPA claims because only those with interests in protecting the environment are within the zone of interests sought to be protected by NEPA. In effect, the 9th circuit and \environmental interests only\ test prohibit economic interests from challenging the imposition of onerous and unnecessary mitigation measures that are purportedly justified by a flawed NEPA analysis. This has resulted in a one-way street that allows environmental interests to challenge an underlying NEPA process but prevents economic interests from challenging the same process, even though economic interests are the ones most directly affected.
We believe the 9th circuits zone of interest test conflicts with the Supreme Courts zone of interest test which asks whether the interest sought to be protected \is arguably within the zone of interest to be protected or regulated\ by the statutory provision at issue. The 9th circuits zone of interest test essentially leaves the word \regulated\ out of the test. In addition, our brief points out that the 9th circuit is in conflict with the 8th circuit which correctly applies the Supreme Courts zone of interest test by recognizing that economic interests can be within the zone of interest protected or regulated by NEPA. Furthermore, the Supreme Court has held that economic interests with related environmental interests may bring NEPA claims.
We were denied the right to bring NEPA claims in our challenge to the northern Arizona withdrawal because Arizona is in the 9th circuit. Many of our members with properties in the 9th circuit have been denied prudential standing to challenge a flawed underlying NEPA analysis. Thus, we believe this is an important case in which to file an amicus brief supporting the petition for certiorari. We want to thank Steve Lechner and his team at Mountain States Legal Foundation for their excellent work on the amicus curiae brief.
MINERS IN THE HALLS OF THE STATE CAPITOL-by Chuck Chase
There has been a fund set up to help the miners testifying in Salem with expenses for copying and mileage back and forth to the Capitol. The EOMA has sent a couple of hundred dollars to help support this very important effort. We are asking our membership to help support these miners who are donating their time and effort and their own money to defend our right to mine in Oregon. There has been a fund set up by the Willamette Valley Miners to defray some of the costs incurred by these miners. I hope you can see your way clear to support these people with a small contribution.
Send your donations to: Willamette Valley Miners, Legislature Education Expense Fund, P.O. Box 13044, Salem, OR 97309. Remember, we either fight for our right to mine or it is all over.
EOMA CALENDARS FOR 2012-2013
We are now offering a new 18 month EOMA Calendar with historical mining pictures. It also has date reminders to help you keep your claim valid. It also has addresses and phone numbers of the agencies you have to deal with. So support the EOMA by ordering your calendar now for the price of $10 each, or three for $29 bucks, plus a dollar for each calendar for shipping. There is an order form in the back of the newsletter. You can also call Chuck Chase at 541-523-3285.
EOMA ADVERTISING AND SALE LISTING
The advertising listings are only $1 per month to get your ad listed below. Send your ad to: EOMA, Box 932, Baker City, OR 97814 along with your remittance for each month you want us to run your ad. The number next to your ad is how many months your ad will run.
FOR SALE WOOD STOVE
Free-standing Franklin Fireplace with heat shield. This has an adapter and two lengths of stove pipe. The price is $100. If interested, call Dot at 541-523-6833 or Alice at 541-446-3439.
FOR SALE (2)
The Gold Spinner System: Save that ultrafine gold with this high gravity separator. It runs on 12volt, only weighs 45 pounds, is easy to set up and run, and can run all day long without a clean up. This is a must see, and sells for only $1304. E-mail Ted at tedcraghead@gmail.com. See Video on UTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAP5CMdIjFs
Or come on down and take a look at 10415 HWY 95, Payette, ID 83661.
CLAIMS FOR SALE (7)
Two claims starting on the Burnt River and running up Clarks Creek. The Gold Danser is an eighty acre claim, with a lot of un-worked placer and good water. The Gold Danser II contains forty acres on Clarks Creek, and has had Geophysical Magnetometer mapping done on it, showing a large buried placer structure running through the claim. Both of these claims are accessed on year round county roads. $35,000 for both. Call: 541-523-3285, or Cell: 541-310-8510.
FOR SALE MINING EQUIPMENT (0)
Retiring from mining, time to sell my equipment. 8” jaw, small rod mill, two impact mills, Panamatic jig, small jig, Humphrey spirals, 2 power plants, lots of motors, one small gas generator, one diesel generator, jack leg, two stopers, steel, railroad track and more. Call Dick Potter at 208-375-2055.
CASE 680CK SERIES C BACKHOE (2)
This backhoe is a workhorse. Good running machine and hydraulics work well. It has a yard and a quarter front end loader bucket. Equipped with a cab. Serial #9106582 Priced to sell $8,000. Call Ken Alexander 541-446-3391
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