Taking mercury out of streams benefits the environment. Efforts to collect mercury from gold miners in the past, however, have been stymied due to perceived regulatory barriers. Disposal of mercury is normally subject to all regulations applicable to hazardous waste.
In 2000, EPA and California's Division of Toxic Substance Control worked in concert with other State and local agencies to find the regulatory flexibility needed to collect mercury in a simple and effective manner. In August and September, 2000 the first mercury "milk runs" collected 230 pounds of mercury. A Nevada County household waste collection event held in September 2000 collected about 10 pounds of mercury. The total amount of mercury collected was equivalent to the mercury load in 47 years worth of wastewater discharge from the city of Sacramento's sewage treatment plant or the mercury in a million mercury thermometers. This successful pilot program demonstrates how gold miners and government agencies can work together to protect the environment (US EPA, 2001).
The passing of SB637 will place undue hardship on most miners, inability to pay for permits, forms, and most will claim sites will never be approved due to accessibility