Should the Twin Pines Mine be Permitted?
A mining company has proposed siting a titanium and zirconium mine on the edge of the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge Area in Georgia. You should have and share an informed opinion on this issue because the Okefenokee is unique in Georgia.
The image above ran as a full-page ad in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on May 13, 2022. We believe the ad was placed by the Okefenokee Protection Alliance. The Alliance is comprised of more than 40 groups.
You can find a list of those groups on the partners page of the Alliance website. You may already be a member of one of the partner groups. If so, you can work through your group to learn more, raise awareness and share your opinion.
Where?
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is located in southeastern Georgia on the Florida border. It sits due south of Waycross, GA. It’s due east of Valdosta, GA. The pin in the map below shows the eastern edge of the refuge.
What?
The Okefenokee Swamp is the largest blackwater wetland in the United States. The refuge includes more than 350,000 acres of swamp designated as a U.S. Wilderness Area. The Refuge totals about 400,000 acres. It’s the largest refuge in the eastern United States.
The refuge is a biological treasure trove which includes rare and threatened species. The swamp feeds the Suwannee River and the St. Mary’s River, both of which are home to federally protected species.
Proposed Mining Process
The Twin Pines website notes the 582-acre mining area will be mined in phases of 25 to 40 acres per month with 1.5 to 2 acres of mining occurring at any one time. The mining process uses an excavator to dig into the earth with materials transported to a processing plant via a conveyor system.
Twin Pines explains the desired materials are removed from the excavation and the soil is returned to the site for backfilling. The backfill will then be graded, covered with topsoil and seeds/seedlings within 20 days after the excavation.
Image of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge by Moultrie Creek used under CC license.
A Lack of Federal Oversight
Interested parties speaking against the proposed mine have cited a lack of oversight from the federal government as a significant concern. The U.S.. Army Corps of Engineers announced wetlands in the Twin Pines’ Phase 1 mining area will no longer fall under federal regulations because of recently-adopted guidance for the Clean Water Act.
The lack of federal oversight leaves permitting responsibility to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and Charlton County - the site of the proposed mine. The concern seems to be that federal regulators would be more focused on environmental impact and less likely to be influenced by economic considerations such as job creation and tax revenue.
Twin Pines’ Proposal
The Twin Pines website notes the tract of land they intend to mine is 2.9 miles from the refuge at its closest point. It continues, the land that would be mined is separated from the refuge by Trail Ridge, a ridge the company claims serves as a hydraulic barrier to groundwater flow.
Those who object to the mine don’t seem to object to the mining operation so much as its location. The Trail Ridge seems to be the key point of contention.
Twin Pines notes, “Mining activities will not impact the Okefenokee Swamp.” yet organizations like the Georgia Conservancy note:
“This federally-protected wilderness is a globally-significant wetland bordered by Trail Ridge, the site of the Twin Pines project. The ridge itself is a complex of hydrogeological settings—essentially a saturated sandhill. Forming an eastern barrier to the swamps and wetlands of the Okefenokee, Trail Ridge is not only ecologically important in and of itself, but also serves as scaffolding for the health of the Okefenokee.”
The suggestion is the ridge does not isolate the swamp. They are a connected ecological system and thus mining would disturb the swamp.
Image of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service used under CC license.
How to Take Action
The first step to taking action is education. We encourage you to learn more about the refuge through tools like “Sacred Waters: The Okefenokee in Peril” film by the Okefenokee Protection Alliance. It’s a video hosted on YouTube that help interested parties learn about the refuge and its importance.
It’s also important to separate myth from fact by visiting the Twin Pines website. They have a web page to that effect, illustrating the confusion about issues tied to the company’s proposal. It’s easy to read because they’ve kept it simple and well organized.
If you’ve read this blog post carefully, you may note the proposed mining area is 582 acres. The short film includes a comment (14:20) that suggests the mine will be 8,000 acres. It’s important to get the facts correct so misinformation doesn’t mislead us.
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division hosts a webpage on Twin Pines Minerals, LLC. It’s the location for public announcements regarding the company and should be the collection point for public comments when that process begins.
We realize we’ve just referred you to a 30+-minute short film, a company website and a regulatory website. We think most people will be able to make a quick review, maybe watch the movie, and still come away with an appreciation for the importance of the refuge.
In the meantime, you can sign up for alerts through the Okefenokee Protection Alliance. You can also contact Environmental Protection Division (EPD) Director Richard E. Dunn at TwinPines.Comment@dnr.ga.gov to express your concerns.
In Conclusion
The mining process described by Twin Pines sounds as clean as a mining process could be. It’s an improvement over a wet mining.
Twin Pines acknowledges groundwater flows in the aquifer will be impacted in the vicinity of the excavation. It also notes surface and drainage patterns will be impacted during excavation as well… which is to be expected since the topography will be impacted.
We’re looking forward to the next round of comments and documentation from the Georgia EPD and plan to submit comments when the public comment window is opened. Without additional information as to whether the mining activities can be isolated from the refuge, we would speak against the proposed mine. We hope to learn more in the next round from GA EPD.
We hope you’ll form your own opinion and share it through the public process. Leave a comment below to let us know your thoughts/concerns.
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