Manatee County, located on the Gulf of Mexico in west central Florida, is home to one of the largest ecosystems of its kind in the world. This area is one of the largest wetlands (2) in the region and forms the headwaters of the rivers in the area that supply about fifteen percent of the water flow in the Peace River Basin. This particular region of Florida is used for fresh water reservoirs, livestock, agriculture, and newly populated residential neighborhoods. This ecologically critical region is populated with pristine rivers, streams, springs, aquifers, ponds, and lakes. Both flora and fauna flourish in these unique environmental habitats, from abundant marine life to healthy populations of deer, possibly bear, wild boar, along with a host of other wildlife.
However, the phosphate industry decided to purchase this land with the intention of developing this region of central Florida, despite the industry’s poor environmental conservation record over the past seven decades. Surface mining will destroy and plunder these regions of central Florida in search of the phosphate that lies just below the surface. All of the above will be extinguished in open pit mined areas. There will be no fresh water, no cattle pasture, no agriculture, no marine life, no springs, no aquifers, no wild animals, no flora and fauna. All that remains of open pit mining on earth are radioactive materials, caustics, acids, and destroyed landscapes that look more like a lunar landscape. The abandoned phosphate strip mining poisons mentioned above will be there for decades to come, or until Florida taxpayers pay the cleanup costs. Open pit phosphate mining has no environmentally redeemable qualities. Historically, industry officials are environmentally unreliable, clandestinely dump millions of tons of toxic waste, and build their business models on scrupulous business practices.
This particular area of central Florida is the area where the Florida phosphate industry decided to mine the valuable phosphate mineral in the area. Phosphate industry officials have expressed confidence to the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, in the ability to reclaim the land to support beneficial use after mining operations end. Curiously, the EPA issued permits, but Manatee County officials required more details about the project and delayed strip mining for now. Each permit requested by phosphate officials was denied twice by Manatee County after the EPA issued the permits to begin mining. Manatee and Sarasota counties and countless smaller lawsuits against the phosphate industry continue to fight so that the environmental health of Central Florida is not destroyed by phosphate.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, DEP, stated that the plans submitted for open pit mining provided no accurate information, no proof of financial responsibility, and no acceptable reclamation policy. (1) These particular items are of interest because the phosphate industry historically leaves all the environmental havoc it wreaks for taxpayers to cover cleanup costs. Manatee County denied that the permits were denied and forced phosphate industry officials back in court. The State of Florida in conjunction with Manatee County will retain phosphate industry officials from new surface mining in Manatee County until all required reports are submitted for county review and approval. After all, the phosphate industry has already forced Manatee County taxpayers to cover the cost of removing an abandoned phosphate fertilizer plant near Manatee Harbor at a cost of $144 million.
Manatee County is fighting a losing battle due to financial difficulties (no federal dollars) with phosphate officials over new open pit mining in the Myakka River Basin, which is also one of the largest watersheds in the state. . The 2,500 acre basin adjacent to the current mining in the Myakka Basin is where the eight-year environmental court battle will take place.
The Florida phosphate industry is a financial juggernaut that will not stop surface mining in Florida until it is financially damaging to do so. Floridians can also help the state’s environmentalists with their votes and funding. Central Florida environmental resources like the Manatee County Commission, Peace River Initiative, Sarasota-Shelby County Botanical Gardens, and Manasota-88 are local to the Central Florida region and accept donations for the preservation of ecological systems Unique to Central Florida.
Reference
1. Permission Altman. ourfosforisk.com/permitting/altman-permit.
2. Michael Gallen, Manatee County Commissioner | Sarasota Bay sarasotabaytoday.com/2012/10/michael-gallen-manatee-county-commissioner/.
