MINING OFF AGENDA FOR THIS MEETING

WE WILL KEEP YOU POSTED

                                             REMINDER

ADVISORY:  As of this writing, the Union Co. web site has the time and place as below.  In the past, times and places have changed.  We have not been successful in speaking with a BOCC staff representative to confirm.  We will post a reminder shortly before the 16th with an up-date if there is new information.

On April 16, 2018, something of extreme importance will take place at 5 o’clock at 15 NE 1st Street, Lake Butler, FL 32054.  This is the regular meeting place of the board of county commissioners, and is the Union County courthouse. On this date the commissioners will meet, discuss and vote on approving or rejecting a new Mining Comprehensive Plan.  This is an important meeting and will perhaps make or break what happens in Union County regarding mining for phosphate.  Depending on the results, mining in Bradford could also be affected, either positively or negatively.

Please come to support these brave commissioners.  If you oppose the mine, please stand and say so.  That is all you need to do.  This very important because it will go into the record and gives support to the commissioners.  They need this and you can help by doing it.

Some of the following is old, some new:

Above all, please keep in mind that this threat of a phosphate mine in Union and Bradford Counties is the most egregious threat to date to our Santa Fe River and its environs.  If this mine becomes reality, our river could be destroyed for generations to come in one day, in one storm, in one accident that we know can and has happened in the mining industry.

We have seen what has happened when Mosaic destroyed portions of the Alafia River by a toxic spill.  Working mines have accidents.  They say “sorry” and continue on.  The damage stays on for generations, but the company continues on making money at the citizens’ expense.  If the damage is too great, the company walks away, begins new enterprises in another state, and the state and the nation must clean up their mess, and we, the taxpayers, foot the bill, in the millions. This has already happened in Florida and is now happening in Mississippi.

We have heard arguments supporting the mine which say “…all we have in Hamilton County is the PCS (now Nutrien) mine.”  Or, “Mosaic is the only employer we have down here.” Stop and ask yourself, why is that?  What else is left after a mine comes in?  And in the case of Hamilton County, where the phosphate is running out, what will happen then?  What is left?  If we think of our future, we will not want a mine.

No company has the right to put at risk our natural resources.  Phosphate companies get permits to draw down our aquifer and dry up our springs, and they have accidents that pour poison into our drinking water.  They do not have the right to contaminate our world in their quest to make money.  No product that they produce is more valuable than our springs and rivers.  We need our natural resources more than we need their phosphate and fertilizer.

Please be aware that if we do nothing (and here “we” means you) the mine will happen.  The mine will go in and rip up the land and destroy the vegetation and the wildlife, the drainage system, and everything living there.  And afterwards, nothing will ever be the same.

We must act, we must take the effort to go to Lake Butler and Starke and tell the people in power, that we do not want this mine.   Please come to these meetings and help stop this destructive  intent.

If you value our rivers and springs, come out to these meetings and voice your opinion.  That is what these meetings are for.

Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
-A river is like a life: once taken, it cannot be brought back-