Earlier this week, the Sierra Fund, which addresses the legacy impacts of the Gold Rush on California’s landscape and people, held its fourth biennial conference at California State University at Sacramento (CSUS). The conference program explored research and policy opportunities to generate multiple benefits for the region – from improved water quality and water storage systems, to ecosystem restoration that leads to improved habitat and environmentally healthy communities and forests.
On Monday, RCRC Regulatory Affairs Advocate Mary Pitto joined Bill Craven, Chief Consultant, Senate Natural Resources Committee, Pat Perez, Supervisor of Mine Reclamation, Division of Mine Reclamation (DMR), and Michael Smith, Aggregate Resources Development Manager, Teichert Materials, in a panel discussion on the development of regulations and programs as a result of the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act reform legislation passed in 2016 (Assembly Bill 1142 (Gray) and Senate Bill 209 (Pavley)). The panel summarized the legislative changes and regulatory process, and discussed the impacts, priorities, challenges, and opportunities of the new regulations on the mining industry, lead agencies, and DMR.