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Fate of planned mine near Okefenokee left to Georgia agency By RUSS BYNUMJune 7, 2021 GMT FOLKSTON, Ga. (AP) More than 160 years after her great-great-grandfather settled on a patch of land surrounded by water in the Okefenokee Swamp, Sheila Carter takes visitors on guided canoe tours for firsthand looks at the swamp’s abundant alligators and stilt-legged birds wading among blooming water lilies. Even when she’s not working, Carter often paddles the tea-colored waters to find peace amid the vastly unspoiled wilderness. She fears it could be irreparably harmed if a mining company is allowed to dig for minerals just outside the Okefenokee, home to the largest U.S. wildlife refuge east of the Mississippi River. ....
The Biden administration’s plan to revive protections for some wetlands and streams that got eliminated during Donald Trump’s presidency isn’t likely to restore federal oversight of a proposed mine outside the Okefenokee Swamp’s vast wildlife refuge. ....
Undoing Trump rule won t likely affect Okefenokee mine plan RUSS BYNUM, Associated Press FacebookTwitterEmail 3 1of3FILE- In this Aug 2, 2007 file photo, an alligator hangs around the canoes at Okefenokee Adventures at the entrance to the Okefenokee Swamp in Charlton County, Ga. A battle over whether to allow mining near the vast wildlife refuge in the Okefenokee Swamp rests with Georgia state regulators after federal agencies declared they no longer have oversight. (Chris Viola/The Florida Times-Union via AP, File)Chris Viola/APShow MoreShow Less 2of3Jane Winkler stands with a sign that says Protect The Okefenokee outside a church where Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp met with local Chamber of Commerce members in Folkston, Ga., on April 22, 2021. Winkler and others are fighting a mining company s plan to dig for minerals about 3 miles from the edge of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. The company Twin Pines Minerals says it can mine the area with ....
The proposed project could potentially destroy over 400 acres of wetland as well as threaten the refuge itself through adjacent habitat destruction, runoff, and noise and light pollution. Water pollution is a serious concern as well, as the surface water in the proposed mining area is connected directly to the river headwaters in the Okefenokee. The site of the project, known as Trail Ridge, is a hydrologically complex sandhill forming the eastern border of the Okefenokee. As well as being an integral component of the health of the greater Okefenokee area, the ridge is itself ecologically important and connected through groundwater to the refuge and surrounding wetlands. The modification of the Clean Water Act under the Trump administration means that the state of Georgia is responsible for all of the environmental impact statements and permitting for the mine, despite the refuge’s national protected status; this puts unaccustomed pressure on Georgia’s Environmental Pro ....