On October 9, 2015, CSPA and a broad coalition of environmental, fishing, and tribal groups secured a victory for fisheries in the long fight against suction dredging with the signing of Senate Bill 637. The new law requires that all small scale miners using motorized suction pumps obtain a Clean Water Act Permit from the State Water Resources Control Board before mining in California waterways.
A moratorium on the environmentally destructive practice has been in effect since 2009, but recent court decisions have cast uncertainty on the moratorium and prompted clarification from the legislature. Senate Bill 637 provides clear authority to the State Water Resources Control Board to permit or deny small scale suction dredge mining in order to maintain water quality standards.