Southland rock mine
The Southland rock mine proposal, on 8,600 acres of Palm Beach County farmland owned by US Sugar and Okeelanta Corp. (Florida Crystals), has been sailing through the county and state approval process. But at the South Florida Water Management District…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
When Gov. Ron DeSantis came into office in 2019 one of the first things he did was dismiss the sitting South Florida Water Management District Governing Board and appoint a new slate. No longer was the board dominated by special…
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…