California’s State Mining and Geology Board (SMGB) is under pressure from the mining industry to weaken regulations that could pave the way to expanded open pit mining—including industrial-scale cyanide heap leach mining at Conglomerate Mesa.
Current California mining laws are some of the strongest in the nation and include stringent backfill requirements which result in many mining proposals being economically infeasible.
The SMGB (which has no environmental representative), has issued a “Notice of Pre-Rulemaking Workshop and Public Comment period” to “review, and possibly revise, state policy pertaining to Performance Standards for Backfilling Excavations and Recontouring Lands Disturbed by Open Pit Surface Mining Operations for Metallic Minerals.”
The mining board held their first public workshop in Riverside, CA and another is scheduled for Sacramento, CA on June 13.
We need conservation voices to attend this meeting and comment that Californians do not want backfill regulations changed!
Worskshop date and location:
June 13th, 2018 – 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Renaissance Tower
John Muir Conference Room
801 K Street, Suite 2016
Sacramento, California 95814
It is imperative we keep California’s backfill rules as they are in order to protect places like Conglomerate Mesa. One needs only to visit neighboring states to see what large open pits mines do to our public lands and wildlife.
Please let the board know that there’s no need to revisit the backfill regulations for open-pit mines. Your comments can help defend our state from the damaging impacts of industrial scale open pit mining.
Please comment before June 13. Click here for a sample comment letter.
You can mail or email your comments to:
State Mining and Geology Board
801 K Street, MS 20-15
Sacramento, CA 95814
ATTN: Metallic Mine Backfill Regulations
Email: smgb@conservation.ca.gov