On Nov. 17, 2016, OSFR is on the agenda of the Columbia Co. Board of County Commissioners. We plan to request that the commissioners draft a letter supporting Alachua County in their opposition to the proposed mine in Union and Bradford Counties.
Chris Bird, director of Alachua County Environmental Protection Department, has stated that the mine poses the greatest threat to the Santa Fe River that he has seen in his tenure of many years with Alachua County. Alachua County has drafted a strong letter opposing this threat and has sent it to many agencies and municipalities in the area.
Mr. Bird has requested that OSFR help garner support for this cause to further strengthen the position of Alachua County. As some of you know who helped, we were warmly received by the City of High Springs, who is in the process of drafting a chair letter of support.
We would hope that the commissioners of Columbia County would be equally receptive, and thus we are placing a call for assistance to fill the room on Nov. 17 in a show of support for mission, which is to protect the Santa Fe.
This is an extremely important issue, because the mine owners have already shown themselves to cut corners to their advantage to avoid following the rules. They want to put this mine adjacent to New River and the Santa Fe, where one mishap such as we have been seeing lately in Polk and Hillsborough Counties, would destroy the river for decades to come.
The meeting will be held Thursday, November 17, 2016 at 5:30 pm in the School Board Administrative Complex at 372 West Duval Street, Lake City.
Do OUR Columbia County Commissioners realize the increased radiation levels(Radon Gas) caused to surrounding communities from Phosphate Mining Operations?
The thought of mines and pipelines in our beautiful Nature Coast Area make me cry.
Can you publish here who we, as individuals, should be telling we do NOT want this pipeline? Should our postcards be addressed to Senators or Representatives or anyone else? Also, I see there is a demonstration of solidarity in Gainesville next Tuesday https://www.facebook.com/events/1790609907820766/ for people who are standing in solidarity with the Standing Rock Protesters. Do you have a handout that I can download, print out and distrbute to folks there about the pipeline going through our own backyard?
What a DISASTER in the making!!
What are they after? Phosphate? Kaolin? Mine it somehere else and pass the cost along to the consumer.; If they don’t want to pay it, the product must not be that neccesary. Wilderness before convenience!