Common Sense Comes to Bradford County.

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

THERE WILL BE NO PHOSPHATE MINING IN BRADFORD COUNTY

by Carol Mosley

At the Bradford County Commission meeting of January 20, 2023, the county manager announced that
the phosphate mining company, HPSII, is withdrawing its application in Bradford County, FL.
Since 2016 local environmental groups and residents have worked to block the proposed phosphate
mine in Bradford and Union Counties. The original idea was to mine about 10,000 acres straddling the
New River, that runs into the Santa Fe River. The plan was to use a newfangled homemade method of
mining, and then ship raw ore by rail to who knows where for processing.

Local residents in the two counties were up in arms about the plan and made their presence known at
county commission meetings. Environmental groups went into action holding strategizing at meetings,
making giant banners and small yard signs, holding workshops, meeting with FDEP, tabling at events,
consulting with attorneys and doing some deep digging through documents to separate the facts from
fiction. Bradford Environmental Forum took the local lead in Bradford County with Citizens Against
Phosphate Mining leading the charge in Union County. Regional groups Suwannee/St. Johns Chapter
of Sierra Club and Our Santa Fe River joined in from the outlying areas to assure the Santa Fe River
was protected. Sierra Club even hired a geologist to evaluate the first of three Master Mining Plan
(MMP) submissions. The Center for Biological Diversity gave consult on endangered species in the
area and on legal challenges they’ve made in the past against phosphate mining.

In 2016, Union County enacted a moratorium on mining while updating their Land Development
Regulations (LDRs). They refused to accept a mining application from HPSII, who sued Union County
for nearly $300 million under a Harris Act Claim. Bradford County did not enact a moratorium and
HPSII promptly submitted an application to mine. Alachua County dedicated funds for a legal team to
defend Union County.

After nearly seven years of lawsuits in Union County, HPS came to agreement with the county to
dismiss their lawsuit, in July 2022, without prejudice, meaning they could reopen the case at a later
date if desired.

In January 2020, the hydrologist hired by Bradford County’s consultant produced a less than favorable
review of the MMP. Then we had three years of angst while no action took place at the county level.
Bradford County residents continued to present evidence of anomalies to the county commission, to no
seeming avail.

An upheaval in Bradford County in late 2022 left a new county manager and county attorney in place
to deal with the mess. After a meeting between the new county manager and Bradford Environmental
Forum co-founder, Carol Mosley, the commission realized it was time to get a reality check. They
tasked the county manager with inquiring what the heck is going on.

The room was filled with anticipation as representatives of the various groups anxiously awaited
County Manager Kornegay’s “update.” He read from the letter he received from HPS in response to his
query. “On behalf of HPS, this letter is to confirm that HPS wishes to withdraw the above-referenced
Application without the County taking any formal action on it. HPS therefore respectfully requests that
the Board of County Commissioners consider the Application withdrawn, effective immediately.”
The room erupted in joy. Even the county commissioners were relieved to be unburdened of their quasi-judicial responsibility. There were hugs all around and the commissioners thanked the groups for coming and caring about what happens in our region of unique beauty. With our efforts, we had proven our point. The plan to mine phosphate in Bradford and Union counties was a bad idea.

It was a good night.