Time runs short to comment on state permits to mine near Okefenokee as environmental groups blast plan

The sun sets on the lily pads and floating vegetation in the Chesser Prairie inside the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge on March 30, 2022, in Folkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, File)

More than 70,000 comments have already poured into the state Environmental Protection Division as the public comment period wraps up on draft permits greenlighting mining near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

Tuesday is the last day to submit a written comment on Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals’ plans to mine Trail Ridge, which is seen as an important barrier for the swamp, for titanium, staurolite, and zircon. One of the permits would allow the company to withdraw 1.4 million gallons per day from the Floridan Aquifer.

The state regulatory agency, which issued the draft permits in February, will next review and respond to the comments on its website, although there is no set timeline for what comes next.