SAVANNAH, Ga. — A company’s plan to extract minerals near the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp and federally protected wildlife refuge neared final approval Friday as Georgia regulators released draft permits for the project, which opponents say could destroy a natural treasure beyond recovery. harm.
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division said it will take public comments on the draft permits for 30 days before finalizing drafts to send to the agency’s director for approval.
Twin Pines Minerals of Birmingham, Alabama, has been working since 2019 to obtain government permits to mine titanium dioxide less than three miles from the southeastern boundary of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, the largest U.S. refuge east of the Mississippi River .
Federal scientists have warned that mining near the bowl-like edge of the Okefenokee could damage the swamp’s ability to hold water. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland stated in 2022 that the proposed mine poses an “unacceptable risk” to the fragile ecosystem on the Georgia-Florida border.
“This is a dark day in Georgia’s history,” said Josh Marks, an Atlanta-based environmental attorney and leader of the group Georgians for the Okefenokee. “EPD may have signed a death warrant for the Okefenokee Swamp, our state’s greatest natural treasure.”
In documents released Friday, state regulators reiterated previous comments that their analysis shows the proposed 312-acre mine would not significantly harm the Okefenokee or lower water levels.
“EPD’s modeling shows that the mine should have minimal impact” on the Okefenokee refuge, the agency said, “even during periods of drought.”
Twin Pines President Steve Ingle applauded the regulators’ decision to move forward after what he called a “thorough review of our application.”
Ingle has insisted for years that his company can operate mines without hurting the Okefenokee.
“We expect strong government oversight of our mining-to-reclamation project, which will fully protect the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge and the region’s environment,” Ingle said in a statement.
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge covers nearly 1,000 square miles in southeastern Georgia and is home to alligators, bald eagles and other protected species. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the refuge, the swamp’s wildlife, cypress forests and flooded prairies draw about 600,000 visitors annually.
In February 2019, the Fish and Wildlife Service wrote that the proposed mine could pose “substantial risks” to the marsh, including its ability to retain water. Some impacts, the report said, “may not be reversed, repaired or mitigated.”
C. Rhett Jackson, a professor of hydrology at the University of Georgia, warned state regulators in a written analysis that Twin Pines’ planned mining pits would siphon off enough groundwater to triple the frequency and duration of severe droughts in the southeastern corner of the swamp.
Georgia regulators are playing an outsized role in deciding whether to approve the mine because the U.S. government, which normally considers environmental permits jointly with state agencies, has relinquished oversight of the Twin Pines project.
The Army Corps of Engineers was reviewing a federal permit for Twin Pines when the agency declared in 2020 that it no longer had jurisdictional authority due to regulatory rollbacks under then-President Donald Trump. Despite efforts by President Joe Biden to restore federal oversight, the Army Corps entered into a legal agreement with Twin Pines to maintain its hands-off position.
The mining project is moving forward as the National Park Service seeks to designate the Okefenokee Nature Preserve as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Conservation groups say the rare distinction would boost the Okefenokee’s profile as one of the world’s last intact blackwater swamps and home to more than 400 species.
The draft permits were released just two weeks after Twin Pines agreed to pay a $20,000 fine imposed by Georgia regulators, who said the company violated state laws while collecting soil samples for the permit application.
Twin Pines denied wrongdoing but said it agreed to the fine to avoid further delays.
“It is unthinkable for anyone who actually values Georgia’s environment to claim that this mine will not harm the critical wetlands and wildlife of the Okefenokee ecosystem,” said Ben Prater, director of the Southeast group Defenders of Wildlife of the country, in a statement. : EPD has one task: it must refuse the permits.”
Some lawmakers in the Georgia House of Representatives are again pushing for a bill that would ban future mining outside the Okefenokee. The proposal received a hearing last year, but has stalled in a House committee. While the measure would not prevent Twin Pines from obtaining pending permits, it would prohibit expansion of the company’s mining operations if made law.