This letter also appeared in the Bradford County Telegraph today June 8, 2017. We cannot urge you enough to appear at the Starke meeting on July 10, 9:30 am, 945 North Temple Ave. The commissioners there may be the only people who will stop this destructive foolish idea. Just stand up and say it is a bad idea.
IF YOU DO NOTHING, YOUR RIVER MAY BE DESTROYED.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
-A river is like a life: once taken, it cannot be brought back-
Dear friends concerned about Florida phosphate mining,
We may have met you at a commission meeting, our spaghetti dinner in Brooker, the Strawberry Festival, or maybe our Earth Day event in Hampton. Wherever it was that we connected, we’re glad you’re here now. This is a critical moment to be involved since the Bradford County application is about to be decided! If allowed, this mine would have a huge direct impact on Brooker, Worthington Springs, the New River, and the Santa Fe River. Beyond that, we all breathe the same air and drink from the same (dwindling) aquifer.
Here’s a quick update on the situation. HPSII has asked the Bradford County Commission (BCC) to “pre-approve the pre-application” (or some sort of double speak). The BCC put out a call for a consultant to review the HPSII submission and our very inadequate Land Development Regulations (LDRs), and received only one response. Evaluation of the applicants was on the agenda for the June 15th meeting of the BCC, but that meeting has been cancelled. The next two meetings will be on July 10 at 9:30 AM, and July 20 at 6:30 PM, at the Bradford County Courthouse.
We need you to help us pack the chamber on these dates! Every citizen is welcome to speak for 3 minutes. The BCC must understand that we do not want this destructive strip-mine.
The Final Report for the HPS pilot project has been released and describes the intended process for Bradford and Union counties. If you have any expertise please read the report and share your thoughts. It can be accessed here: http://www.fipr.state.fl.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/02-191-256Final.pdf.
Also important is the FIPR annual report for fiscal year 2015/2016 because it details many of the other projects underway throughout the state and makes clear that there is a desire to include the mining of uranium and rare earth minerals along with the mining of phosphate. Read the report here: http://www.fipr.state.fl.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/FIPR_ANNUAL_REPORT_FY15_16.pdf.
And here are a few links to groups collaborating on the issue(s):
Sierra Club local chapter: http://ssjsierra.org/
Our Santa Fe River: https://oursantaferiver.org/
If you’d like to keep in touch with the Sustainable Living Center in Hampton, where we held our Earth Day event, contact them at: http://fcpj-slc.org/
Thanks for all you do save our environment from the destructive mining industries. We hope to see you at the Bradford County Commission meetings in July!
In solidarity,
Citizens against Phosphate Mining in Union and Bradford (CAPM)
