This comes as a reminder to please send in a letter to help prevent the incompetent and sloppy Twin Pines Minerals from putting the Okefenokee Swamp unnecessarily at risk just so they can make a profit.
You can help protect Okefenokee by sending in comments before March 20, 2023 here: https://protectgeorgia.org/#/366 or by writing to:
Land Protection Branch
4244 International Parkway, Atlanta Tradeport, Suite 104
Atlanta, GA 30354
We have sent in our letter which follows below.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
Okefenokee mine proposal: a bad idea by a bad company
The description of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is one of superlatives; it is one of the last major freshwater ecosystems in the world, the largest refuge and the third largest wilderness east of the Mississippi, the source of the Suwannee and the St. Marys rivers, and the largest blackwater swamp in the nation. In addition it is home to 49 species of mammals, 233 birds, 39 fish, 101 reptiles and amphibians, countless insects and invertebrates and over 600 plants. Several of these creatures are listed as imperiled or endangered. The Refuge also supports over 700 jobs and provides $64.7 million to the local economy.
Yet this national treasure is in danger of irreversible damage because a Birmingham-based mining company, Twin Pines Minerals, is close to acquiring all necessary permits to begin mining nearby. There are many reasons why Twin Pines Minerals should not be allowed to work near the Okefenokee National Refuge, and most of these fall under two categories: the damage mining would cause and the history of the incompetency of this particular company.
One of the greatest dangers posed by digging fifty to seventy feet deep and mixing the soils is that subterranean water flows would be permanently disturbed. Scientists say that Trail Ridge, part of which lies in the proposed mine area, serves as a barrier on the eastern edge of the swamp, containing it and preventing it from flowing eastward. Trail Ridge is an elevated land ridge left over from earlier epochs which basically goes northeastward from Gainesville, Florida to Jesep, Georgia. Different layers of soils and mixtures of sands and clays are arranged naturally to allow porous flows and impermeable barriers which now contain the swamp. Seventy-foot excavations would drastically alter the arrangement of these soils causing the distinct possibility of swamp groundwater moving eastward and draining the swamp. Twins Pines’ mining plan shows no guarantee this would not happen.
Loss of groundwater feeding the swamp would effectively destroy it along with the many plants and animals living there. Mining would withdraw 1.44 millions of gallons of water per day which would likely lower the water table beneath the swamp by as much as nine feet. Twin Pines President Steve Engle has foolishly stated that his mine would not impact the swamp. We simply do not believe this. Withdrawing this amount of water cannot but impact the area. Tearing up the land on Trail Ridge would also destroy wetlands and intermittent streams feeding the swamp which would irreversibly impact Okefenokee.
Additional statements by Engle have proven to be untrue: “We have been operating in good faith from the beginning and will continue to do so by adhering to all laws and environmental regulations and following Georgia EPD’s direction,” and “As we have said from the beginning, we are not risktakers and will not embark on a journey that could cause environmental harm and financial penalties,” Engle did not operate in good faith when he lied on a permit application to mine on land saying Twin Pines was the owner when it was actually owned by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA.) Engle waited months to finally change the application only after TIAA made many complaints. Lying on a federal application left Engle vulnerable to up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, but no charges were filed. Neither has Twin Pines adhered to “laws and regulations” as they are cited on a consent order by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection when they committed several violations in Florida near Starke. These include dumping process waste on wetlands, mining without proper permits and air permit violations.
Some 400,000 people visit the refuge each year, proving without question that the public interest is served by protecting it. Titanium is the fourth most abundant structural metal on Earth and there is no need to put the Okefenokee Refuge at risk of permanent damage or destruction in order for Twin Pines to make money. No private company should be allowed to put this treasure at risk, and least of all Twin Pines. This mine is a bad idea put forth by a bad company.
You can help protect Okefenokee by sending in comments before March 20, 2023 here: https://protectgeorgia.org/#/366 or by writing to:
Land Protection Branch
4244 International Parkway, Atlanta Tradeport, Suite 104
Atlanta, GA 30354
Jim Tatum is a board member of Our Santa Fe River in Fort White, Florida. He lives in Tampa.
