The hard rock mine proposed for construction in the Everglades is up for its Florida Department of Environmental Protection permitting on August 11. This is the final step before construction of this mine can begin. Captains for Clean Water, a leading conservation organization in Florida, is calling on the public to write in and oppose the permit for this mining project.
The mine would be built just 1,000 feet from the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir, a new project that will help curb the harmful effects of freshwater discharges throughout the Everglades from Lake Okeechobee. Lake Okeechobee’s water is laden with chemicals that, when discharged through the Everglades, cause red tides and toxic algae blooms along Florida’s coast.
According to Captains for Clean Water, pollution from the hard rock mines would essentially offset the savings that the EAA Reservoir provides. Both U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals, the two companies proposing the mines, contend the water in the EAA Reservoir would belong to them for irrigation, instead of being sent through the Everglades and out to the Florida coast.
“The [hard rock mine] project has been pitched as a water storage initiative, but we have serious concerns about the true agenda behind it, as it appears to be nothing more than a commercial mining operation primarily benefiting Big Sugar,” Captains for Clean Water wrote on their blog earlier this year. “We’ve put pressure on the proposal due to its potential to undermine Everglades restoration efforts, the special interest influence involved, and the lack of transparency throughout the process.”
You can learn more about the hard rock mine, its potential impacts, and why Captains for Clean Water is so opposed to it, here. But if you’re ready to voice your opposition to a mine in the Everglades, you can email in your opposition here.