A member of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet is urging Georgia officials to deny permits for a proposed mine near the edge of the famed Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge, saying the plan poses “unacceptable risk” to the swamp’s fragile ecology.
“I write to express serious concerns regarding proposed mining activities that have the potential to negatively impact the Okefenokee Swamp ecosystem and Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a letter to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp that was obtained by The Associated Press.
Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals has been seeking government permits since 2019 to mine titanium oxide on land 2.9 miles from the southeastern boundary of the Okefenokee, home to the largest U.S. wildlife refuge east of the Mississippi River.
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