Some say rock mining case threatens road work
A federal judge is considering the next step after he rules that permits for digging along 5,400 acres in South Florida's Lake Belt are invalid. A campaign is under way to keep the mines open.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 12, 2006
MIAMI - Not far from Everglades National Park, slow-moving dump trucks filled with tons of limestone rumble at all hours from rock mines along a strip of former wetlands west of Miami. The "Lake Belt" rock produced from these pits is vital to build roads and make concrete for construction in fast-growing Florida.
Now, the Lake Belt's future is in doubt because of a recent ruling by a federal judge invalidating 10 permits issued for mining on 5,400 acres. U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler said the permits, approved in 2002 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, contain a "multitude of defects" centering on failure to protect drinking water supplies and wetlands and endangered species such as the wood stork.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hoeveler wrote in his 187-page decision in March, "failed to carry out their duty to protect the federal wetlands and protected species ... from private exploitation."
Hoeveler is now considering what to do about the invalid permits, sparking a major lobbying campaign by the miners, the state of Florida and business groups to keep the mines open. The environmental groups that won the lawsuit, including the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council, want an immediate halt to any new wetlands dredging - but not an immediate end to all mining.
The judge plans to visit the Lake Belt mines for an inspection Monday and is likely to issue a decision on a remedy this year.
Mining has taken place in the 57,500-acre Lake Belt since the 1950s, creating thousands of acres of lakes and historically providing about half of Florida's rock "aggregate" for roads and construction. A state plan envisions mining continuing for decades, with wetlands to be restored as an offset.
The mining continues even as the state and federal governments are working on a massive, $8 billion Everglades plan aimed at restoring natural water flows and removing harmful substances caused by farming and urbanization.
The state Department of Transportation, in a recent court filing, warned of dire consequences if the Lake Belt mining production is lost. Ananth Prasad, the agency's chief engineer, said a shutdown "will have an immediate, drastic and long-lasting impact" on the state highway system.
About $1.7 billion of road projects would be delayed in most of Florida.
The aggregate mined in South Florida is of high quality - especially for anti-skid pavement - and is shipped through a well-established network for projects across the state, he added. Replacement rock would be expensive, of lesser quality and not as readily available.
Joining state highway officials in their campaign for the mining companies is an organization called Floridians for Better Transportation, whose 180 members include the Florida Chamber of Commerce, builders and bankers, the Publix supermarket chain, ports and airports officials. They even have a Web site, Keep Florida Rockin,' to emphasize their concerns.
"A shutdown of so-called Lake Belt mining would cripple the state's ongoing efforts to keep Florida moving, and would risk bringing Florida's booming economy to a screeching halt," the group says on its Web site.
The environmental groups say all of those claims amount to a "parade of horribles" that is highly unlikely to occur because the case involves disputed permits for only 5,400 acres of the much larger Lake Belt mining region. And nobody is talking about a complete shutdown of all mines, the groups say.
Key points in rock mining dispute
ROCK DISPUTE: A federal judge has found that federal mining permits were improperly granted for limestone quarries on 5,400 Miami-Dade acres near the Everglades. Now, the judge must decide what to do about it.
KEEP FLORIDA ROCKIN': State officials and business groups fear economic fallout if the judge halts South Florida rock mining, jeopardizing road-building and housing construction.
PLENTY OF ROCK: The Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and others dismiss the economic concerns, arguing plenty of rock is available elsewhere and that the real aim of the miners is to protect profits.