Okefenokee bill died but efforts to prevent mining continue

This story was provided by WABE content partner The Current.

A bipartisan group of Georgia’s state and federal lawmakers are pressing regulators to protect the largest wildlife refuge in the Eastern United States from mining after the proposed Okefenokee Protection Act failed to gain traction with the Georgia General Assembly.

On the state level, Rep. Ron Stephens, Republican from Savannah, wrote a letter Thursday to the head of the Environmental Protection Division, the agency charged with protecting Georgia’s air, land and water. The sharply worded correspondence questioned a lack of transparency in evaluating mining permits sought by Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals and underscored growing scientific concern about possible extraction activity in the parcel of land the company has targeted some 3 miles from the protected swamp.

“(T)here are many unanswered questions, including the background and safety record of the mining company that is applying for the permit,” Stephens told EPD Director Rick Dunn. “In addition, there have been numerous public requests and a letter written by over 43 scientists from across Georgia suggesting that mining on Trail Ridge threatens to damage the Okefenokee, lowering the swamp’s water level.”