A few days after the U.S. Army Corps resumed oversight over the Twin Pines Minerals strip mine site far too close to the Okefenokee Swamp, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division washed its hands of that hot potato until the Corps make some decisions.
Since Twin Pines sued the Army Corps instead of re-applying, a Corps decision could take quite some time.
GA-EPD, June 7, 2022, Twin Pines Minerals Permitting Update, June 7, 2022, Continue reading
Well, that did not take long. Only three weeks after an Assistant Secretary of the Army told the Army Corps it had to resume oversight of the proposed titanium-dioxide strip mine site too near the Okefenokee Swamp, the miners have sued the Corps. They still want to strip mine for white paint materials within three miles of the Okefenokee Swamp, an economic engine for southeast Georgia and northeast Florida, and an irreplaceable refuge for numerous land, water, and bird species. That Swamp is the headwaters of the St Marys and Suwannee Rivers, and above the Floridan Aquifer, from which we all drink in south Georgia and north Florida, including for agriculture and industry. There must be better sources of jobs for Charlton County, Georgia.
![[Twin Pines Minerals equipment on proposed mine site 2022-02-12]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-02-13--tpm-eq-site/20200212_161515.jpg)
Photo: John S. Quarterman for WWALS, Twin Pines Minerals equipment on proposed mine site 2020-02-12,
30.52081, -82.1261
Mary Landers, The Current, June 27, 2022, Mining company sues Army Corps over project near Okefenokee: Twin Pines claims agency erred in overturning decision and seeking Muscogee Nation’s input.
Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals filed suit against the Army Corps of Engineers last week, claiming the federal agency erred when it bowed to “stakeholder pressure” earlier this month and made it harder for the company to get permits to mine near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
…In its filing, Twin Pines maintains “The Twin Pines Approved Jurisdictional Determinations were issued in compliance with all laws, regulations, and policies — including the tribal consultation policy — in effect when they were issued.”
More specifically, the company contends Continue reading
Dave Williams, Capitol Beat News Service, in Tribune & Georgian (Serving CAMDEN County, Georgia Since 1894), Mine faces roadblock at Okefenokee Swamp,
ATLANTA—The Alabama company looking to open a titanium mine near the Okefenokee Swamp is being confronted with an additional hurdle.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has Continue reading
Hahira, GA, June 5, 2022 — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has reversed its October 2022 abdication of oversight over the proposed titanium strip mine site too near the Okefenokee Swamp. That puts Twin Pines Minerals back to re-applying for a USACE permit, in addition to its permit applications to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD).
![[Okefenokee Swamp, Mine site, Ossoff, Connor]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-06-03--usace-tpm-okefnokee/many.jpg)
Okefenokee Swamp, Mine site, Ossoff, Connor
This Friday, Michael Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, issued a memorandum revoking the previous decision by USACE that said there were no Waters of the U.S. related to the proposed mine site. He said the Muscogee Creek Nation had not been properly consulted, despite their request for such consultation. Twin Pines Minerals must resubmit an application if they still want to mine there.
“The Okefenokee is a sacred natural resource. It is a wildlife refuge that must be protected,” said U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff, May 6, 2021. https://wwals.net/?p=55536
“Thanks to Georgia U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff for Continue reading
Update 2022-06-05: WWALS Press Release, Army Corps resumes oversight; miners have to reapply for strip mine too near Okefenokee Swamp.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has reversed its October 2022 abdication of oversight over the proposed titanium strip mine site too near the Okefenokee Swamp. That puts Twin Pines Minerals back to re-applying for a USACE permit, in addition to its permit applications to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD).
![[Michael Connor. Photo: Indianz.com 2022-02-14--indianz-michael-connor]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-06-03--usace-tpm-okefnokee/2022-02-14--indianz-michael-connor.jpg)
Michael Connor. Photo: Indianz.com 2022-02-14
Like Sen. Ossoff, you can help stop a strip mine proposed far too near the Okefenokee Swamp, which is the headwaters of the Suwannee and St Marys Rivers, and the mine sits on top of the Floridan Aquifer from which we all drink.
Senator Jon Ossoff is advocating for the protection of the Okefenokee swamp, Kyra Purvis, WFXL, Wednesday, May 25th 2022,
![[Sen. Ossoff at the Okefenokee Swamp 2021-05-14]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-05-25--ossoff-okefenokee/21.05.14-Okefenokee-4-1024x683.jpg)
Sen. Ossoff at the Okefenokee Swamp 2021-05-14
Senator Jon Ossoff is advocating for the protection of the Okefenokee swamp and its national wildlife refuge.
The swamp is currently being looked at by Twin Pines Minerals LLC as a place for titanium mining.
Ossoff is asking for a joint effort between both parties and is calling on all environmental agencies to protect one of Georgia’s most precious natural resources.
“Our state may lose the Okefenokee swamp, this precious natural resource, unless EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), the Army Corps and Georgia’s environmental protection division take action to stop it,” said Ossoff in his call to action, “Overwhelmingly the people of Georgia and of the local community treasure the Okefenokee swamp. But I’m sounding the alarm because we need an all hands-on deck effort now to bring the pressure to bear necessary to save the Okefenokee swamp from destruction.”
Ossoff says he has Continue reading
On newly-proclaimed Okefenokee Swamp Day, a bipartisan bill to ban mining on Trail Ridge by the Okefenokee Swamp appeared in the Georgia legislature: HB 1289.
![[Bill, Proclamation, Trail Ridge]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-02-08--ga-hb-1289-okefenokee-trail-ridge-mining/many.jpg)
Bill, Proclamation, Trail Ridge
You can ask Georgia Governor Kemp to get the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) to deny the permit request from Twin Pines Minerals, LLC, for a titanium dioxide strip mine within three miles of the Okefenokee Swamp, which is the headwaters of the St. Marys and Suwannee Rivers. Or ask your city or county government to pass a resolution supporting the Swamp and opposing the mine, as half a dozen have already done.
Or write directly to GA-EPD: TwinPines.Comment@dnr.ga.gov
Or use this convenient Georgia Water Coalition action alert form to ask your statehouse delegation to pass HB 1289 and to ask GA-EPD to deny the permits.
WWALS sent EPA some comments on groundwater, which is very important here above the Floridan Aquifer in south Georgia and north Florida.
WWALS also signed on to comments by Waterkeeper Alliance and SELC, but SELC wrote almost nothing about groundwater, and there was more to say than was in the WKA comments. Those other comments are on the WWALS website.
The WWALS comments should appear on regulations.gov, Docket number EPA-HQ-OW-2021-0602, with Comment Tracking Number kzd-8bdc-p6xf, after EPA finishes reviewing it. Here they are in PDF and inline below.
![[Dead River Sink, Alapaha River Rise, WWALS Letter to EPA]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-02-07--wwals-epa-groundwater/many.jpg)
Dead River Sink, Alapaha River Rise, WWALS Letter to EPA
Here’s yet another reason you can cite when you ask the Georgia Enviromental Protection Division (GA-EPD) to stop the mining proposal by Twin Pines Minerals (TPM) to strip mine near the Okefenokee Swamp, above the Floridan Aquifer.
David Pendered, Saporta Report, January 3, 2022 5:13 pm, Okefenokee Swamp mining proposal could be affected by Supreme Court ruling,
The proposal to mine sand near the Okefenokee Swamp could be affected by a groundbreaking ruling on water rights issued by the U.S. Supreme Court.
For the first time, justices have determined the same laws that apply to water flowing above ground apply to water in multi-state underground aquifers.
“This court has never before held that an interstate aquifer is subject to equitable apportionment,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in a unanimous opinion issued Nov. 22, 2021. This doctrine “aims to produce a fair allocation of a shared water resource between two or more States,” according to the ruling.
The ruling sets a legal foundation to manage future disputes over the usage of interstate groundwater. This issue is expected to arise more frequently as drought and climate change poise to alter the United States’ traditional water supplies and challenge agreements among governments to share water.
This ruling could be brought into play at the proposed mine near the Okefenokee, in part because of the amount of water to be extracted for mining operations from the four-state Floridan Aquifer. For that to happen, a party that has standing to file a lawsuit would have to do so on behalf of one or more of the four states that are above the Floridan Aquifer — Florida, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Two of these states have previously litigated Georgia’s use of water from the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers. The Supreme Court ruled against Florida’s claim in April.
Continue reading
Since September, GA-EPD has twice more asked the miners for more information on their permit applications to strip mine for titanium dioxide too near the Okefenokee Swamp. We have more questions beyond those. You can ask GA-EPD questions, and to deny the mining permit applications.
On October 20, 2021, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) asked more questions about water: retention, disposal, reclamation. The miners’ answer on November 19th apparently was not satisfactory, because on December 7, 2021, GA-EPD asked more water questions.
![[TPM Ponds and Another GA-EPD Letter]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-12-07--ga-epd-request-tpm-oke/many.jpg)
TPM Ponds and Another GA-EPD Letter
I’ve got another: how can Twin Pines Minerals (TPM) with a straight face promise “zero discharge of wastewater” and in the next paragraph say “Overflow from the process water primary overflow pond may occur due to heavy rain events.” That’s exactly what happened after Hurricane Irma at three north Florida Chemours mine sites where TPM was processing tailings, resulting in TPM still being under a Florida Consent Order. What if wastewater overflows into the Okefenokee Swamp during a hurricane or other “heavy rain event”? What stops wastewater even in TPM’s proposed retention ponds from seeping down into the Floridan Aquifer, from which we all drink?
And another: TPM still shows piezometers for water monitoring on property it does not own, with a disclaimer that it has no access to. So how will TPM monitor that area, which is downhill towards the Okefenokee Swamp, which is the headwaters of the St. Marys and Suwannee Rivers?
You can
ask GA-EPD for a moratorium on mining permits,
or to deny the permits,
or at the very least to examine them very thoroughly and produce the equivalent of the Environmental Impact Statement that the Army Corps should have been working on.
https://wwals.net/?p=55092
You can also use Protect Georgia form to end a message to your Georgia statehouse delegation.
Floridians, this mine site is upstream from Florida, and you can also use these forms.
All of this GA-EPD correspondence with the miners and the permit applications is Continue reading
![[Two pages]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-06-07--ga-epd-tpm/many.jpg)
![[Article]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-06-09--usace-okefenokee/many.jpg)
![[Figure 8. Drawdown 2930 days]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-07-24--tpm-ga-epd-water-withdrawal/424772086-7-24-19-Final-Application-for-Industrial-Groundwater-Withdrawal-Permit-0044.jpg)