Everglades Agricultural Area

Big Sugar’s rock mine gets key DEP permit; but is there a ‘public benefit?’

June 3, 2025

Even as opponents of the Southland rock mine (including VoteWater’s Gil Smart, above) were gathered in Belle Glade last Thursday to speak out on the proposal, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued a “Notice of Intent” to issue the…

Palm Beach Commissioners took sugar money. Then they voted to approve Big Sugar’s rock mine

May 27, 2025

Last week Palm Beach County Commissioners voted to approve the rezoning request for the Southland rock mine on 8,600 acres in the Everglades Agricultural Area owned by U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals. VoteWater’s Gil Smart (above) was one of more…

VoteWater’s testimony against Southland rock mine

May 27, 2025

Below is the text of VoteWater Executive Director Gil Smart’s comments during the May 22 Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners meeting, where commissioners approved the Southland rock mine rezoning request. Smart will also speak against the rock mine…

An open letter to Gov. DeSantis: EAA rock mine could destroy your legacy

May 15, 2025

Dear Gov. DeSantis: You’ve been called “America’s Everglades Governor.” Since you took office in 2019, Florida has allocated record funding for Everglades restoration projects. This spending has helped generate significant momentum, spurring progress on key CERP components, including what you’ve…

DEEP DIVE: Could EAA rock mine trigger toxic trouble?

May 7, 2025

Never look a gift horse in the mouth. Promoters are trying to pass off a proposed rock mine in the Everglades Agricultural Area as a gift horse in the form of a sometime-in-the-future environmental project. But this old nag needs…

Why is a former head of the FDEP shilling for the rock mine project?

April 9, 2025

The Southland rock mine proposal in Palm Beach County moved ahead last week as the Palm Beach County Zoning Commission voted to approve the plan. Friends of the Everglades Policy Director (and VoteWater Executive Director) Gil Smart testified against the…

SUGAR SUED: Florida Crystals target of class-action suit claiming company misleads on climate change

March 26, 2025

A California woman has filed a class-action lawsuit against Florida Crystals, claiming the company’s practice of sugarcane burning contradicts claims that its farming practices fight climate change. As the Palm Beach Post reports, “The lawsuit, filed on behalf of California…

Sign the Petition: Rescue the River of Grass

January 30, 2025

Rescue the River of Grass – and finish the job of Everglades restoration

January 30, 2025

 You want to save the Everglades, the northern estuaries and Florida Bay? You want to protect people and animals from harmful algal blooms and safeguard South Florida’s economy? Then it’s time to “Rescue the River of Grass.” Launched by…

Dubious EAA ‘water resource project’ (rock mine) lurches ahead

January 23, 2025

Hey, remember that proposal to build a rock mine… er, “water resource project” — in the Everglades Agricultural Area? Sure you do. Phillips & Jordan, the prime contractor for several massive reservoir projects in the region, is pitching (unsolicited) plans…

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