Today, July 5, 2016, the Bradford County Board of Commissioners held their regularly scheduled meeting. The proposed phosphate mine was not on the agenda, but during the public comments, two people, among them the OSFR historian, spoke against the mine. The other was Ms. Kate Ellison, who has worked actively to halt this environmental threat to our river.
The proposed mine has not been on the agenda since May 19, at which time the public spoke vehemently, loudly, and nearly in unison against the mine (see our post.) It was at this meeting that Alachua County commissioner Ken Cornel addressed the Bradford board offering cooperative assistance, hoping that Bradford and Alachua counties could work together to solidify outdated Land Development Regulations in regard to mining.
Local resident Paul Still drew the attention of the board to the fact that Chemours Company is currently operating in Bradford County, mining titanium dioxide and other minerals, without the required permit(s,) contrary to their Land Development Regulations.
This mining operation is of interest to OSFR because waste water distributed on the surface will find its way to the Santa Fe River, carrying with it possible contaminants.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
-A river is like a life: once taken, it cannot be brought back-