The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a draft of the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) of plans for four additional phosphate mines in Central Florida. The study had been long sought by local governments and opponents of phosphate mining, but little in the draft indicated problems that might lead to denial of the permits under the Clean Waters Act.
The study looked at the cumulative effects from four proposed mines – three planned by The Mosaic Co., and one by CF Industries Holdings Inc. – on the Central Florida Phosphate District (CFPD), an area of approximately 1.32 million acres in Hardee, Hillsborough, Manatee, Polk, Sarasota, and DeSoto counties. The three Mosaic mines were DeSoto, Ona, and Wingate Creek Extension, while CF’s was the South Pasture Mine.
Mosaic spokesman Russell Schwiss said that while the company was still in the process of reading and evaluating the draft, “We are very encouraged with the depth and science” of the report, and said the Corps had done a “thorough analysis” of the issues. Schwiss said the Corps announced in the spring of 2010 that it would do the study when it issued a permit for the company’s South Fort Meade Mine. He said Mosaic had not objected, but wanted other impacts of other factors considered – such as urban development and agriculture – included.
The Corps named four areas of concern: ecological resources, including the loss of wetlands and mitigation of such losses; the effects of phosphate mining on groundwater quality and levels, including potential cumulative effects of mining on regional aquifers, especially associated with use of the Floridan aquifer for industrial water supply; the effects of phosphate mining on surface water quality and quantity, including potential effects on the flow of the Peace and Myakka Rivers and their tributaries, and water deliveries to the Charlotte Harbor estuary; and the regional economic effects of the phosphate mining industry, including the effects both for the counties within where the proposed mines are located, and for adjacent counties where indirect or induced economic effects are likely.
The DeSoto Mine includes 18,287 acres in northwestern DeSoto County and would have a production capacity of about 6 million st/y, which would replace the existing South Fort Meade Mine in Hardee County. The mine would operate from 2021 to 2037, and reclamation would continue for another six years. About 3.130 acres of wetlands would be impacted.
The 22,320-acre Ona Mine in western Hardee County would also produce about 6 million st/y. Mining would run from 2020 to 2050, and reclamation would add another 15 years. Approximately 4,593 acres of wetland would be affected.
The Wingate Creek Extension in eastern Manatee County was 3,635 acres and could produce 1.3 million t/y. That mine would operate from 2019 to 2046, with reclamation until 2054; 774 acres of wetlands would be impacted by the mining.
CF’s South Pasture Mine would be an extension of 7,513 acres in northwestern Hardee County, and would have a capacity of 3.5 million st/y. It would replace the existing South Pasture Mine, and 1,423 acres of wetlands would be disturbed.
In addition, the EIS looked at foreseeable future mines for Mosaic in the region, including the 24,509-acre Pine Level/Keys Tract in Manatee and DeSoto Counties, of which about 10 percent was forested wetlands; the 25,231-acre Pioneer Tract in Hardee County, of which 25 percent is forested wetlands; and a third area of 14,968-acre in Hardee County that could be mined at some point. About one-third of the third area is forested wetlands.
The total number of acres involved in the proposed mines the EIS covered was 51,755, of which 9,850 acres would be wetlands. The three possible future mines covered 64,696, of which 19,319 acres would be wetlands.
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