Suction Dredge Permitting Program

Suction Dredge Permitting Program

The Department's regulatory authority governing suction dredge mining is based specifically on Fish and Game Code section 5653 et seq. In general, these provision of the Fish and Game Code prohibit the use of any vacuum or suction dredge equipment by any person in any river, stream, or lake in California, except as authorized by a Department permit issued in compliance with regulations adopted pursuant to Fish and Game Code section 5653.9. (See Fish & G. Code Sec. 5653, subd. (a)). The Department's existing regulations governing the issuance of vacuum and suction dredge permits are found in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations in sections 228 and 228.5. The purposes of the Department's existing regulations, "suction dredging (also called vacuum dredging) is defined as the use of a suction system to remove and return materials at the bottom of a stream, river, or lake for the extraction of minerals." (Cal. Code Reg., tit. 14, Sec. 228) The Department's regulatory authority pursuant to Fish and Game Code section 5653 et seq. pertains, in this respect, to the use of vacuum and suction dredge equipment in California for instream mining.

Statewide

California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Transportation, Division of Transportation Planning (DOT), California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), Department of Toxic Substances Control, Department of Water Resources, Office of Emergency Services, California, Office of Historic Preservation, Resources Agency, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality, California State Lands Commission (SLC)

California State Lands Commission (SLC)

Other

Other

Aesthetics, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Noise, Recreation, Other