After a lengthy court battle, the Mosaic Co. and several environmental groups have come to a settlement involving mining operations at the company’s South Fort Meade mine in Hardee County.
The Sierra Club, Manasota-88, and People for Protecting the Peace River had challenged the company’s federal wetland permit that allows mining of the Hardee County Extension near Bowling Green, Fla.
The settlement announced Tuesday, which is subject to approval by the courts, will resolve the pending appellate and trial court proceedings and allow mining to proceed.
“Mosaic is pleased to have reached a reasonable agreement to end litigation that has loomed over the employees at our South Fort Meade mine for more than a year and a half, said Richard Mack, Mosaic’s executive vice president and general counsel. “We look forward to bringing it back to full production. We’re hopeful this agreement provides the foundation to continue our constructive dialog with these interested stakeholders as we look to the future,”
Glenn Compton with ManaSota-88 said the settlement will preserve Peaceful Horse Ranch, 4,171 acres located in DeSoto County at the convergence of Horse Creek and the Peace River, which Mosaic purchased in December for $10 million. The property is adjacent to existing conservation lands and is one of the state’s top priorities for a state park as part of its Florida Forever land conservation program.
“It seems the only way to get public lands into public ownership is through litigation,” Compton said.
Mosaic has agreed to provide up to $2 million for startup and recurring expenses to operate Peaceful Horse Ranch as a state park.
As part of the agreement, Mosaic has agreed to preserve 130 acres of land otherwise eligible to be mined.
Mosaic’s South Fort Meade Hardee County Extension is 10,856 acres, of which approximately 3,200 acres are to be preserved under the permits
authorizing Mosaic’s mining activities.
Mosaic officials said the settlement allows it another 10 years of mining at the South Fort Meade Mine and calls it “one of the most efficient and cost effective phosphate mining operations in the world, historically accounting for nearly 20 percent of U.S. phosphate rock production.” Since 2010, the mine has operated at a reduced capacity due to the permit challenge.
The environmental groups had filed suit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Mosaic contending the permit did not comply with the federal Clean Water Act and would damage 534 wetland acres, 26 open-water acres and 10-plus miles of streams.
“Phosphate mining in the Peace River is not good and we tried to best to lessen that impact” with the settlement, Compton said.
