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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A committee on Wednesday sent the full Idaho House a bill aimed at eliminating federal Clean Water Act protections for gold suction dredges and also opening designated wild and scenic rivers such as the Middle Fork of the Salmon to miners.
The bill that cleared the House Resources and Conservation Committee would also eliminate Endangered Species Act protections that thwart suction dredge miners in rivers that contain federally protected salmon and steelhead.
The bill narrowly avoided dying in committee amid constitutionality concerns with a first vote that ended in a 9-9 tie.
The committee on a voice vote then sent the bill to the full House with an amendment deleting a portion of a paragraph citing a 2005 federal lawsuit in California that the bill's sponsor, Rep. Paul Shepherd, R-Riggins, asked to be removed. It was deleted because that court decision was subsequently overturned in 2012 due to Endangered Species Act concerns.
Shepherd said sending the bill to the full House with an amendment means other amendments are likely to be attached, making its possible passage more problematic, though he remained optimistic.
"I think it's probably better than 50-50," he said after the meeting adjourned.
An opinion by Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden found that portions of the bill conflicted with the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
He also wrote in the opinion requested by Rep. Marc Gibbs, R-Grace, that the bill conflicted as well with several state provisions protecting certain rivers and streams.
Wasden said the portion of the bill allowing miners an incidental kill of federally protected salmon and steelhead is not enforceable because state officials don't have the authority to waive federal prohibitions on the killing of threatened or endangered species. Salmon and steelhead lay eggs in gravel in areas where dredge miners could seek gold.
Shepherd said many of the federal and state laws applied to large bucket dredges, not the suction dredges his bill is tailored for.
"We think the attorney general is missing part of the point," Shepherd said.
No one spoke against the bill and a number of miners testified in favor.
"We're very frustrated dredge miners," David Seyer told the committee. "We've basically been locked out of what we used to do. Please allow us to do what we love to do by sucking up some gold from the river. We're not doing any harm."
Miners also told the committee that the Clean Water Act shouldn't apply because suction dredges improve rivers.
Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley, told the crowd of about 70 mostly mining backers, with more listening in an overflow room, that he, like them, didn't enjoy dealing with the federal government.
But he said Idaho trying to skirt federal laws would result in federal lawsuits. He said the best way to change federal laws that the suction dredge miners believe are too burdensome was to enlist the help of Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho.
Besides the Middle Fork of the Salmon, Wasden wrote in his opinion, the bill would also conflict with Idaho code by allowing suction dredging on those portions of the St. Joe River, Middle Fork of the Clearwater River, Lochsa River and Selway River that are designated under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System Act.
Wasden, in the opinion that took up five and a half single-spaced pages, also noted various sections he deemed problematic.
One involved a sentence concerning state permits that, Wasden wrote, "Read literally, the section provides that no permits need ever be obtained for suction dredge mining."
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