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Environmentalists Score Phosphate Mine Victory

Case Updates:

October 8, 2008

480 acres of unspoiled Florida wetlands were saved from phosphate mining last week when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suspended Mosaic Phosphate’s wetlands fill permit, immediately halting all mining in the area until further review. These wetlands are extremely important for both native vegetation and threatened and rare species, including the gopher tortoise, Florida sandhill crane and the Florida mouse. The suspension came after Sierra Club and several other environmental groups, including Earthjustice, filed suit claiming the permit violated the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act because the Army Corps failed to review Mosaic’s statement that a man-made landscape re-created after stip mining functions as well as a natural landscape. By suspending the permit the Army Corps acknowledged that it was in the best public interest to allow for further review. Mosaic is seeking permits to mine more than 34,000 acres in the same area, but, environmental groups argue that no new permits should be issued until the Army Corps takes a hard look at the environmental impacts of all future mining projects.

Details and Documents:

News Articles

Federal Permit Withdrawn for Altman Tract
October 7, 2008 by Nicholas Azzara, Bradenton Herald

Environmentalists Score Phosphate Mine Victory
October 7, 2008, Media Newswire