Bohmker v. Oregon, No. 16-35262 (9th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseOregon's restrictions on the use of motorized mining equipment in rivers and streams containing essential salmon habitat, adopted into law as Senate Bill 3, were not preempted by federal law. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment for the state, and held, assuming without deciding that federal law preempts the extension of state land use plans onto unpatented mining claims on federal lands, Senate Bill 3 was not preempted because it constituted an environmental regulation, not a state land use planning law. Moreover, Senate Bill 3 did not stand as an obstacle to the accomplishment of the full purposes and objectives of Congress.
Court Description: Mining Law / Preemption. Affirming the district court’s summary judgment in favor of defendants, the panel held that mining restrictions set forth in Oregon Senate Bill 3 are not preempted by federal law. To protect threatened fish populations, Senate Bill 3 prohibits the use of motorized mining equipment in rivers and streams containing essential salmon habitat. The restrictions apply throughout the state, including on rivers and streams located on federal lands. Plaintiffs have mining claims on federal land in Oregon. Assuming without deciding that federal law preempts the extension of state land use plans onto unpatented mining claims on federal land, the panel held that Senate Bill 3 is not preempted because it constitutes an environmental regulation, not a state land use planning law. In addition, Senate Bill 3 does not stand as an obstacle to the accomplishment of the full purposes and objectives of Congress. The panel concluded that reasonable state environmental restrictions such as those found in Senate Bill 3 are consistent with, rather than at odds with, the purposes of federal mining and land use laws. The panel held that Senate Bill 3 therefore is neither field preempted nor conflict preempted. Dissenting, Judge N.R. Smith wrote that the National Forest Management Act and the Federal Land Policy and 4 BOHMKER V. STATE OF OREGON Management Act occupy the field of land use planning regulation on federal lands. He wrote that because the permanent ban on motorized mining in Oregon Senate Bill 3 does not identify the environmental standard to be achieved but instead restricts a particular use of federal land, it must be deemed a land use regulation preempted by federal law.
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