Controversial Everglades rock mine scaled back under legal settlement
By Jenny Staletovich
February 20, 2026 at 1:49 PM EST
The permit for a rock mining project in sugarcane fields near a significant Everglades restoration project is being dramatically scaled back under a settlement announced Thursday.
Under the permit, the 8,000-acre mining operation expected to last 40 years will now only be allowed for a quarter of that size.
“The applicant sought to push this project through before analyzing how it would affect the Everglades ecosystem,” Tropical Audubon board president José Francisco Barros said in a statement. “That ‘build first, analyze later’ approach is not how projects intended to benefit the Everglades should be evaluated.”
Tropical Audubon challenged a Florida Department of Environmental Protection permit last year after the agency approved the rock mine in Palm Beach County on land is owned by U.S. Sugar and Okeelanta Corp. Tropical argued that allowing water from the mine and into the Everglades could harm habitat, wildlife and ongoing restoration work.
U.S. Sugar and infrastructure contractor Phillips & Jordan proposed mining 8,000 acres for about 40 years and eventually using pits as a water storage project on land just north of a 10,500-acre reservoir and 6,000-acre treatment marsh being constructed by the state and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of Everglades restoration. The projects are expected to cost taxpayers more than $3 billion.
The settlement calls for the permit to approve mining to just over 2,200 acres on land that is already being mined. For additional mining, more reviews would be required.
This story was clarified to explain the limits of the permit in question.
This is a News In Brief report. Visit WLRN News for in-depth reporting from South Florida and Florida news.
Under the permit, the 8,000-acre mining operation expected to last 40 years will now only be allowed for a quarter of that size.
“The applicant sought to push this project through before analyzing how it would affect the Everglades ecosystem,” Tropical Audubon board president José Francisco Barros said in a statement. “That ‘build first, analyze later’ approach is not how projects intended to benefit the Everglades should be evaluated.”
Tropical Audubon challenged a Florida Department of Environmental Protection permit last year after the agency approved the rock mine in Palm Beach County on land is owned by U.S. Sugar and Okeelanta Corp. Tropical argued that allowing water from the mine and into the Everglades could harm habitat, wildlife and ongoing restoration work.
U.S. Sugar and infrastructure contractor Phillips & Jordan proposed mining 8,000 acres for about 40 years and eventually using pits as a water storage project on land just north of a 10,500-acre reservoir and 6,000-acre treatment marsh being constructed by the state and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of Everglades restoration. The projects are expected to cost taxpayers more than $3 billion.
The settlement calls for the permit to approve mining to just over 2,200 acres on land that is already being mined. For additional mining, more reviews would be required.
This story was clarified to explain the limits of the permit in question.
This is a News In Brief report. Visit WLRN News for in-depth reporting from South Florida and Florida news.