Public Hearing in Portland on Permits for Suction Dredge Mining in Oregon Stream Beds, Tomorrow
Sponsored by 
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
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- Begins
- Monday, April 12, 2010
- 6:31 PM
- Ends
- DEQ Headquarters Office
- 811 SW Sixth Ave
- Portland, OR 97204
Tuesday, April 13, 2010, in Portland, Oregon, the Department of Environmental Quality is holding a public hearing on a wastewater permit for small-scale sediment mining in Oregon's streams.
There's a "new gold rush" quietly occurring in the Siskiyou Mountains of southwestern Oregon, where prospectors are staking claims on the idyllic streams. In order to be in compliance with the law when doing so, they have to file with DEQ for a permit, called NPDES 700-PM.
(Rogue River, Oregon. Photo: Lee Coursey.)
It is a general discharge permit, covering various methods of in-water placer mining; this includes motorized suction dredges, siphons, and sluices.
The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) is a federal permitting scheme that regulates "point sources" of pollution into U.S. waters (such as pipes, septic fields, factories, etc.) as per the Clean Water Act, Section 402, and ORS 468B.050.
DEQ will present its for the redrafted permit, which will take effect July 1, 2010. Attendees will have a chance to comment during the meeting, and to submit written comments after April 22, via DEQ's website.
DEQ makes some significant revisions in its Permit Concepts, such as,
The redrafted permit will preside over roughly 2000 mining entities, according to DEQ.
Check out TENTHMIL tomorrow for breaking coverage of the hearing.
