OSFR and SSJ Sierra Club Tour Chemours Mine, a Continued Threat to the Santa Fe River

The following was submitted by OSFR President Pro-Tem Joanne Tremblay.  Map and Photos by Paul Still.  Chemours mining operation, formerly DuPont, has long been a repeated polluter and rule-breaker which does not follow DEP guidelines for mining.  They operate partially in the Santa Fe River basin and pose a continued threat to the Santa Fe River especially since they often do not follow mining regulations.

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

On June 24th members of Our Santa Fe River and SSJ Sierra Club met with Paul Still of the Bradford Environmental Forum in Starke. We asked that he give us a tour of the areas mined by Chemours. Paul began monitoring the area to gain a better understanding of the flooding that occurs in the area.

The main concern at this time is that Chemours lawyers want to persuade the Bradford County Commissioners to change the  Land Development Regulations to allow mining the wetlands. Wetlands are very sensitive areas and are best left untouched in order to allow the surrounding areas to drain properly. Wetlands also host large amounts of fish and game that rely on these areas to breed and prosper.

A workshop about the proposed changes is scheduled for July 6 at 2 pm but the location is not known at this time.  The Santa Fe River is downstream from Bradford County so these wetlands affect the water quality and quantity of the Santa Fe River and its springs.  There was some speculation and a scientific review indicating that the release of their retention ponds prior to Irma saturated soils downstream, reducing the natural drainage capacity of our soils. Though these claims have not been proven, Chemours discharges into Alligator Creek as the result of Irma appear to have impacted flooding of homes and apartments along Alligator Creek upstream of the 301 bridge in Starke because the flow in Alligator Creek was temporarily blocked by fallen trees and a chain link fence that trapped debris before it was pushed down by the pressure from rising water levels.

Dupont (now Chemours) began mining the area for titanium minerals in 1949 at Camp Blanding; the land was mined and left unreclaimed. Currently operating with an expired waste-water permit, Chemours has taken 18 years to reclaim land mined, leaving the area barren and prone to erosion. Some say that the profit margin is very slim for this operation. Following best practices does involve additional funding that Chemours/Dupont may not be able or willing to invest. Should this operation get too costly, they could simply walk away from the environmental waste-land they created, a liability to all of us that live in the area or downstream.