Manatee County, Fla.-The Mosaic Co. made a pitch to the Manatee County, Fla., County Commission on Feb. 5, seeking approval to mine a portion of the 2,000-plus acre Altman Tract. Previously, the company had offered to build a new fire station for the community of Duette, Fla., and a 70-acre park in exchange for the approval. The county’s environmental staff had objected to allowing Mosaic to destroy and later restore nearly 400 acres of prime wetlands, but the company offered another 600 acres as security the mined wetlands would be effectively restored, according to local news reports. Although about 400 of the 600 acres offered would be wetlands, they are not in the area of the headwaters of the Peace River, where the mine would be located, and commissioners were skeptical. The county said it wanted more information on the company’s history of wetlands restoration and delayed voting on the request. Mosaic spokesman David Townsend said the Altman case has been ongoing for eight years and has received all the necessary approvals from both state and federal agencies, although it still needs final approval from Manatee County. Another public hearing was scheduled for April 14.
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