by Jim_Alaska » Sat Mar 13, 2010 11:36 am
EIR PAC Meetings Update
This is an update on the CDFG Public Action Committee meetings that have been going on. On 3/11 the last meeting was held in Sacramento.
Miners and mining interests had been waiting for this last meeting to present their information in rebuttal to all the opposition mis-information. In this respect we were able to see what the opposition had and formulate appropriate rebuttal presentations and comments.
We commented individually and credibly on the opposition's ridiculous assertions all throughout the previous meetings. It was the normal situation where they just said the same old tired rhetoric like "suction dredges kill fish, Miners routinely use mercury in their operations, mercury is harmful, dredges flour mercury, we are destroying the river channel," and on and on.
We are more than holding our ground. We have rebutted every argument they have made. They had some good, although biased and inapplicable presentations. Our presentations by Joe Greene and Claudia Wise were outstanding and spoke directly to the oppositions untrue presentations and assertions in the comment periods with peer reviewed science.
The Sierra Fund reps. are the most rabid and vocal. We were able to answer and rebut every assertion they made. I don't see us changing any minds in that camp, they will hold to their propaganda in the face of scientific fact and reality always.
Our hope is in being able to present and refute the oppositions claims to CDFG, which I think we accomplished. Of course, we will have to wait for the draft EIR to know if and what we accomplished.
The Sierra fund reps. have been busy over the last few months "educating" the CDFG on Mercury.
I believe we may have overcome their influence with the agency, but only time will tell.
Most of the mining reps and supporters ended their round table comments by saying that no harm has been shown to exist under current regs ('94") therefore, CDFG should go by these regs. in their new permit process.
End of story until the draft EIR comes out.