A permit to allow the first phase of constrution on the massive Southland rock mine in Palm Beach County’s Everglades Agricultural Area has cleared a key legal hurdle.
A settlement signed Feb. 18 by environmentalists and the rock mine operator ends an administrative challenge to a May 2025 “Notice of Intent” issued by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Why it matters: Palm Beach County’s May 22 decision to approve zoning to allow 8,632 acres of cane fields to be mined over three decades galvanized public opinion. The mining site is between Lake Okeechobee and a major Everglades restoration project featuring a 10,500-acre reservoir. Environmentalists feared mining could harm restoration.
READ MORE: Controversial Everglades rock mine scaled back under legal settlement
- The mine only met county criteria based on a brief letter from the South Florida Water Management District saying the site could one day “provide viable alternative technologies for both water management and water treatment for ecosystem restoration.”
Yes, but: The legal challenge didn’t focus on the district’s stance. Instead, it took aim at the scope of DEP’s approval.
Catch up quick: The DEP issued its permit on May 29, allowing first phase construction of 1,337 acres of mines on 2,242 acres. The mine also is undergoing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers review.
Tropical Audubon Society and two veteran birders represented by seven lawyers, including four from the Everglades Law Center, challenged the permit. Phillips & Jordan, which plans to build the mine on land owned by U.S. Sugar and a Florida Crystals subsidiary, intervened.
- The settlement came about five days before the start of a scheduled two-week hearing before Administrative Law Judge Francine Ffolkes.
Zoom in: In pretrial motions, Phillips, represented by Tampa-based Bartlett Loeb Hinds Thompson & Angelos, argued that the environmentalists overreached, assuming points not spelled out in DEP’s conceptual permit.
Less than two weeks after they filed the motion, the lawyers came to an agreement to insert more specificity into DEP’s permit:
- The changes clarify that the DEP conceptual approval authorizes only the general location of the 13 future cells for excavation.
- It requires water quality monitoring be revisited if water is discharged to or from the site, including potentially testing for phosphorus.
- It requires a new permit or permit modification if changes are made to the design of the mine or to a pump station.
The changes are meant to assure more public scrutiny, the Everglades Law Center said on its website. However, the statement said, the settlement does not limit the size of the project or preclude future development of all 8,000-plus acres as a water resource project.
“Any such development, however, will require new or modified permit authorization and full environmental review under applicable law,” the statement said.
This story was originally published by Stet News Palm Beach, a WLRN News partner.
