The federal government is seeking public input on a proposal that would allow the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to acquire property near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge that could soon be mined.
A federal agency is proposing an expansion of the Okefenokee Swamp's vast wildlife refuge. That could lead to a buyout offer for property that would otherwise be used for mining project conservationists have fought for years.
More than 70,000 comments have already poured into the state Environmental Protection Division as the public comment period wraps up on draft permits greenlighting mining near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
State regulators heard from dozens of conservationists and Okefenokee Swamp admirers who urged the state to reverse course on plans to allow an Alabama-based company to mine near the wildlife refuge.
A bill sponsored by Lake Park Republican Rep. John Corbett would block state regulators from accepting any new permit applications for dragline mining for heavy mineral sands in areas where permits have not been previously issued but would not stop an Alabama-based company from moving forward with a 582-acre demonstration proposal planned for Trail Ridge near the refuge.
Late Friday afternoon, the state Environmental Protection Division announced its decision to issue draft permits to Twin Pines, triggering a 60-day public comment period.
A company's plan to mine near the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp is nearing approval by Georgia regulators, despite conservationists' concerns that it could irreparably damage the swamp and its vast wildlife refuge. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division on Friday released drafts of three permits that would allow Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals to mine outside the swamp.
Opponents of the mining proposal are trying to ramp up pressure on lawmakers to pass a measure that some see as the best shot at protecting the ridge from mining.
Opponents of a proposal to mine titanium near the Okefenokee Swamp have long concentrated their fire primarily on the environmental degradation it would wreak on the largest blackwater swamp in North America. Now they're looking at the company itself.
The push by a large coalition of Georgia legislators to protect the Okefenokee Swamp from mining failed this session even before legislators could vote on a panel to study ways to protect the diverse wildlife refuge.
Scientists for the federal government say documents that Georgia state regulators relied upon to conclude a proposed mine won't harm the nearby Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge are riddled with technical errors
The two sides battling in the nearly four-year saga over whether an Alabama company should be allowed to move forward with its plans to mine the site for titanium dioxide and zirconium were allowed to make their case to lawmakers during a two-hour public hearing held Tuesday.
