From: AHansen937@aol.com
Sent: Sun Mar 20 22:52:20 2011
To: ToxicsRuleMaking
Subject: comments
Importance: Normal
TO: Andrea Matzke
ToxicsRuleMaking@deq.state.or.us.
Fax: (503) 229-6037
My Comments on Toxics Rule Making
As an Independent Miner, I Concern with Tom Quintal's comment (high-lighted below),
Oregon Placer mining will be affected by the rulemaking if adopted by the Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) at their June commission meeting. The rules, as proposed, will have significant effects on Oregon Placer mining operations by implementation of the Water Quality Management Plans and Rules adopted by LACs across the state.
All Area Plans and Rules must be economically reasonable and implemented only to the “maximum extent practical” as prescribed by the federal Clean Water Act. If DEQ continues to move forward with the proposed rulemaking language, I believe Placer Mining in Oregon waters could very likely be subject to unreasonable and economically inefficient rules that regulate Placer mining in Oregon waters out of business.
And further, I believe such action is in violation of the Federal 1872 Mining Law as well as Oregon mining law. This action is an attempt to shut down lawful operations and is a taking of constitutional and lawful rights of the general public of which I am one and individuals.
The study you used to come up with this plan is flawed as follows:
1. According to DEQ, fish have toxins in them (naturally or otherwise) that when eaten in large quantities are harmful to humans.
2. The survey says that individuals who consume over 140 pounds of fish per year are in danger. If you consumed ½ a pound of fish per day, you would be eating fish 280 days a year. When DEQ representatives were asked what effect eating that much fish would have on a human, the DEQ response was that they did not know as there has never been a study on that exact issue.
3. The Pacific salmon was used in this survey - but should not have been as it is a marine fish, not a freshwater fish. The toxins in Pacific salmon come from the Pacific Ocean and we have no control.
4. People who did not eat fish were excluded from the survey creating conclusions that is not a true picture of what Oregonians actually consume.
5. This is a very pointed survey of the Warm Springs and Umatilla Native American Tribes and not the Oregon population as a whole.
In conclusion, the DEQ is using data from a 20-year-old survey containing flaws and is based only on fish consumption of our Native Americans on the Columbia. The rest of Oregon was not taken into consideration in this survey, but DEQ is proposing strict criteria on the entire state.
Therefore, since DEQ wants to take away the Lawful rights of miners to operate under the Federal and State mining Laws. I believe that the following Federal Code can/will be applied to those that conspire to remove said rights: 42 U.S.C. § 1983, commonly referred to as "section 1983" provides:
"Every person who under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law"'.
Respectfully,
Alfred J. Hansen
625 SW 2nd St.
Irrigon OR 97844