Vol 3 Issue 2
Booth Run News
February  2008


 

In this issue

1) February 9th 2008 meeting information

2) PA Dredging Permit Information, An over view.
 


February 9th 2008 meeting information

73 people at the meeting.

There will be a signup sheet for the Herkimer mine trip that will be the first weekend in May, cost will depend on the number of people that sign up. We are looking into getting a Van possibly for everyone to go. Also some people will be taking there trucks to carry the camping equipment that will be needed for the stay over at the KOA camp ground that the group will be using.

Some members are getting together to go to the GPAA's outing at Vein Mountain that will be on May 16th to 18th. If you want to go you may want see Chris at the meeting to see about what the plans are.

August 30-31 a group of members are planning on going to Swank Claim in Ohio for there 11th annual gold rush days. Look for updates about this as the season approaches.

Before the April meeting there will be some work parties on the property to get it ready for the season. The dates and projects will be stated at March 8th meeting.

Thanks Chris for the information of what happened at the meeting.

Dredging Permits: Calvin has been talking to people in Harrisburg on trying to get the permitting process simplified. See the article below on what it is currently like.


PA Dredging Permit Information, An over view.

Before we start to delve into the permitting application, checkout the how to pages for dredging, I've start a "state by state" list of how other states treat dredging, stating if they have permits or not if so how much it costs, or if not allowed and so on. Please note the dredging pages are a bit "messy" right now they will be more organized as time goes on.

Re-cap of what is going on. In April of 2007 the ("Recreational Prospecting in the commonwealth's Waterways" Fact sheet 3930-FS-DEP4099 4/2007)  was created, basically formalizing Recreational Prospecting in PA. Says the following for "Methods and equipment not requiring permits" are "non-motorized pans, shovels, pan or dish type hand classifiers and picks." and "Non-motorized sluice boxes, sieves, concentrators and mini-rocker boxes."

And "Methods and equipment Requiring permits"  are "Suction dredges with a nozzle no larger than four inches in diameter." and "High-Bankers or suction dredge/high-banker combinations with a water intake no larger than two and one-half inches (inside) diameter, which are operated entirely below the ordinary high water line."

And " If you are planning to use a suction dredge or high-banker, you must first apply for a permit from the appropriate Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regional office. Applicants are encouraged to have a pre-application meeting with DEP to discuss the nature and scope of their proposed activities before applying for this permit. To ensure that the pre-application meeting is as productive as possible for both parties, applicants must be prepared to discuss the following issues:

• The location of the proposed dredging.
• The type of dredging equipment.
• An estimate of the amount of material that will be dredged.
• A plan for disposing of any excess material.
• The proximity of any public drinking water sources.

When applying for a permit, applicants should also consider:
• Stocked or wild trout streams with the following seasonal restrictions:

Stocked trout streams March 1 – June 15

Wild trout streams Oct. 1 – Dec. 31

Lake Erie tributaries Sept. 1 – April 30

• The use of chemicals or other contaminants, which is prohibited. "

On January 28th I called the Mercer County DEP department for information on how to get a Dredging permit for that regin. And as you saw in last months newsletter I just listed how to get a copy of the Application and the whole "Joint Application" package was 124 pages long. Well after printing it out and marketing each section and reading and reading and I'm still reading it I've come across the checklist that is used to make sure that each item is done. Which is displayed below: (Please note that I have removed the non-essential parts of the document, and my comments are in BLUE) This is document 3930-PM-WM0036A Rev 10/2005

 3930-PM-WM0036A    Rev. 10/2005

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
and
DEPARTMENT OF ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
(Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh Districts)
 (Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh Districts? They told me this was for Mercer county will have to double check what this is all about. I may have the wrong form!)

JOINT APPLICATION FORPENNSYLVANIA WATER OBSTRUCTION AND ENCROACHMENT PERMIT AND
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS SECTION 404 PERMIT
 

Before completing this form, please read the step-by-step instructions
(The step-by-step instructions will be covered in next months newsletter)
and Section F Application Completeness Checklist provided with this Joint Permit package.

Application ID# (Assigned by DEP)                                       

Program Application No.                                                         

RECEIVED DATE  _______________     CHECK NO.  ____________

REQUIRED APP. FEE  ____________    AMOUNT  $_____________

 

SECTION A.  APPLICATION TYPE:           STANDARD                       SMALL PROJECTS  (not sure what one to pick)

SECTION B.  APPLICANT IDENTIFIER

Applicant Name

     (we would put - Allegheny chapter of the GPAA, or if we didn't do this as a group our individual name)

SECTION C.  PROJECT LOCATION DATA

Name of stream and/or body of water. (Booth run)

     

Corps District where project will occur.

              Baltimore                                     Philadelphia                                  Pittsburgh
 (Nothing to say Greenville, will have to see what they mean)

Name of the U.S.G.S. 7 1/2 Minute Quadrangle Map where project is located:                                                                                                  
(must use official map an official map)

Indicate location of project on this map by measuring (in inches) from the lower right corner:

         North (up)                          inches; West (to the left)                          inches;  Latitude                       ; Longitude                    

Project type, purpose and need:      (I guess we would put here something to the effect "Recreational Dredging for gold (Not for Profit), Need access to water ways with an obstruction (dredge) to get to the material")

SECTION D.  PROJECT STATUS

HAS ANY PORTION OF PROPOSED PROJECT BEEN COMPLETED?   yes           no                                date completed

If yes, attach description of those portions of the project that have been completed and identify dates of completion.

SECTION E.  OTHER APPROVALS

LIST APPROVALS, CERTIFICATIONS, DENIALS OR NOTICES OF VIOLATION RECEIVED FROM FEDERAL, INTERSTATE, STATE OR LOCAL AGENCIES FOR STRUCTURES, CONSTRUCTION, DISCHARGES OR OTHER ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED IN THIS APPLICATION.    


3930-PM-WM0036A    Rev. 10/2005 

SECTION F.  APPLICATION COMPLETENESS CHECKLIST

(Applicant must place an entry - Y = Yes, N = No, N/A = Not Applicable ‑ in each left side column space.  See Section 105.13 for additional details.  If you are applying under the Small Projects Application format, place an entry in only those comments prefixed by an asterisk (*). (we may not have to do each of the items below, we would have to find out more)

REQUIREMENT

Applicant Entry

DEP Use Only

a.     GIF and permit application properly signed, sealed and witnessed

*     

 

b.     Application Fee enclosed (see Section G.)

*     

 

c.     Copies and proof of receipt - Act 14 notification - Acts 67/68/127

*     

 

d.     Cultural Resource Notice - Copy and Proof of Receipt

*     

 

e.     Completed and approved Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory Form (PNDI search)

*     

 

f.      Plans (site plan including cross sections and profiles for Subsections 151, 191, 231, 261)

*     

 

g.     Location map

     

 

h.     Project description narrative

*     

 

i.      Color photographs with map showing location taken

*     

 

j.      Environmental Assessment form

*     

 

k.     Erosion and Sediment Control Plan and approval letter

     

 

l.      Hydrologic and hydraulic analysis

     

 

m.   Stormwater Management Analysis w/consistency letter

     

 

n.     Floodplain Management Analysis w/consistency letter

     

 

o.     Risk Assessment

     

 

p.     Professional engineer’s seal and certification

     

 

q.     Alternative analysis

     

 

r.      Mitigation plan

     

 

SECTION G.  DETERMINATION OF APPLICATION FEES (DEP FEES ONLY)

Types of Water Obstructions and Encroachments

Number of Units

Fee Per Unit

Subtotal Amount

Stream enclosures

     

$ 350.00

$      

Channel changes

     

$ 300.00

$      

Commercial dredging
(Should we be doing this one? Even though we are doing recreational, also this means that every dredge we list would cost 300$ to process)

     

$ 300.00

$      

Peat extraction

     

$ 750.00

$      

Fills, levees, floodwalls

     

$ 350.00

$      

Bridges and other water obstructions and encroachments

     

$ 200.00

$      

Small projects ($100 fee regardless of number of units)
(I'm not doing commercial dredging it's recreational do I do this one?)

(Unlimited and it's still only $100)

$ 100.00

$      

Qualifies for General Permit (fee waived)
(Do we qualify? Do we have to pay a fee to apply before I can find out? )

     

$0.00

N/A

Make Check Payable to:
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania                                                                TOTAL FEE

$      

List each type and number of water obstructions and encroachments that are included in this application and indicate subtotal and total fee amounts. (This means, I guess, each dredge's "type" meaning power and size and how much material it moves, as in what the Recreational Prospecting in the Commonwealth's Waterways" Fact sheet said)

 

FAILURE TO PROVIDE ALL OF THE REQUESTED INFORMATION WILL DELAY THE PROCESSING OF THE APPLICATION AND MAY RESULT IN THE APPLICATION BEING PLACED ON HOLD WITH NO ACTION, OR IT MAY BE CONSIDERED WITHDRAWN AND THE FILE CLOSED.


3930-PM-WM0036A    Rev. 10/2005 

SECTION H.     ADJOINING PROPERTY OWNERS

Please list the name and address of all property owners whose land adjoins the project property.

NAME

ADDRESS

                                                                  

                                                                  

                                                                  

                                                                  

                                                                  

                                                                                             

                                                                                             

                                                                                             

                                                                                             

                                                                                             

SECTION I.       CERTIFICATION AND SIGNATURE

 (This section seems to be who will be responsible for this permit if some one is caught doing something wrong,)

If Privately Owned, all owners (such as husband and wife) must sign.  One or more members authorized to sign on behalf of an entire partnership must sign.  For a Corporation, the president, vice president or other responsible official is required to sign.  For Political Subdivision, signatures of the chief officer or other responsible official empowered to sign is required with the seal affixed and attested by the clerk.  For Commonwealth departments, boards, commissions, receivers, trustees and authorities, a department head, bureau director, executive director, chairman, commissioner or other responsible official is required to sign.  Signatures other than above must be accompanied by a power of attorney or other notarized legal documentation indicating authorization to sign on behalf of the applicant.

 Application is hereby made for a permit to authorize the activities described herein.  I certify I am familiar with the information contained in this application, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, such information is true, complete and accurate.  I further certify I possess the authority to undertake the proposed activities.

 I certify that the project proposed in this application complies with and will be conducted in a manner that is consistent with the approved Coastal Zone Management program of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  (Only portions of Erie, Bucks, Philadelphia and Delaware Counties are in the Coastal Zone).

 I grant permission to the agencies responsible for authorization of this work, or their duly authorized representative, to enter the project site for inspection purposes during working hours.  I will abide by the conditions of the permit or license if issued and will not begin work without the appropriate authorization.

  

                By:                                                                                                                                       

                            (PRINT NAME)

                                                                                                                    

                            (SIGNATURE)                                                                                              (DATE)                                              SEAL

                                                                                                                                                     

                            (TITLE)

WITNESS:                                                                                                                                                

 

It looks like a daunting list to go though, but remember I was told that everything is on a case by case basis and that some items may not need be done.

But how can we find out what doesn't have to be done before we put our money down? I guess this is where the "pre-application" meeting comes in to play, that is mentioned in the  "Instructions including Sample Plans 3930-PM-WM0036"

Also there may be hope (after just a brief look over)  that a waver may be done so that a permit is not needed at all. This hope was found in the "Instructions including Sample Plans 3930-PM-WM0036" basically it is the "HOW TO FILL OUT THE FORM" document. It's included in the "Joint Permit Application Form 02 3930-PM-WM0036 Form" and is 47 pages long it has a sample application and a list of WAIVERS in Appendix I and in Appendix II is a list of "General Permits". I was/am hoping that Appendix I permit waivers, Section B, #3 that says "A fill not located on navigable lakes and navigable rivers." could be used in our case, since again each permit is subject to a case by case examination. Will have to bring that up with Calvin and may be I will call and see what or how requesting a Wavier would cost or what or how do see if this waiver would work. Else the the "General Permit" section I can only think that the BDWM-GP-3 Bank rehabilitation, bank protection and gravel bar removal" may fit what we are doing. But I'd rather see a section saying "Recreational Dredging"

Either way at this point we will have to see what I've found out for the next newsletter.


If anyone has any good websites that they would like to share with everyone, email me them and I'll put them in the newsletter.


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