Mining Threatens the Okefenokee Swamp

The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is a federally-protected wilderness and a globally-significant wetland bordered by Trail Ridge, the site of Twin Pines, LLC’s proposed mining project. The ridge itself is a complex of hydrogeological settings—essentially a saturated sandhill. Forming an eastern barrier to the swamps and wetlands of the Okefenokee, Trail Ridge is not only ecologically important in and of itself, but also serves as scaffolding for the health of the Okefenokee.

NOVEMBER 2024 Update

USFWS Proposes Boundary Expansion for Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

In October 2024, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFSW) announced that it was considering a boundary expansion for the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and was seeking public comment.

An update from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:

"The Southeast Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering a proposal that would expand the boundary of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, adding approximately 22,000 acres adjacent to the existing refuge. The Service is seeking public input on the proposal.

If adopted, the proposed minor boundary expansion would enable the Service to work with willing landowners to explore voluntary conservation actions, including potential acquisition, that would further protect the refuge’s globally significant freshwater wetland system and wildlife habitat.

The proposed expansion includes lands currently held by Twin Pines Minerals, LLC as well as a one-mile fuel reduction zone adjacent to the refuge."

Click here to learn more about the proposed expansion from USFSW

The public comment period has been extended to December 9, 2024. The public may submit input via email to Okefenokee@fws.gov.  

The Georgia Conservancy submitted public comments to the USFSW on November 18 in support of the proposed boundary expansion for Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

“Georgia Conservancy and our membership fully support the proposed minor expansion of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge boundary and the goal of USFWS to enable voluntary actions to protect hydrological integrity, conserve wetlands and key wildlife habitat, and create a fuel reduction zone to help protect neighboring properties.

This expansion is critical to achieving this goal because it expands the potential for future federal funds to be appropriated for the conservation of private lands that would both expand the Refuge, improve fire safety for the surrounding community, and protect the Okefenokee Swamp. Without this expansion, federal dollars could not be sought or applied to conservation of these boundary areas.

In addition, Georgia Conservancy requests that USFWS consider the inclusion of additional tracts along Trail Ridge’s north-south spine in order to protect the hydrologic and ecological significance of Trail Ridge, as those areas will also be essential to achieving the long-term goals stated above.”

Click here to read our comment letter in full.

October 2024 Update

GEORGIA EPD Yet to Make Determination on THE Twin Pines, LLC Draft Mining Permit

It has been more than five years since word got out that Alabama mining company Twin Pines, LLC was seeking to mine for heavy minerals on Trail Ridge, near the southeastern boundary of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Public engagement and concerns over the project have so far (and thankfully) kept the ground intact on Trail Ridge, though Twin Pines continues to inch closer to their ultimate goal. The slow process, however, gathered intensity during the spring, as the proposed project took center stage in several arenas – the most obvious being at the State Capitol and in a Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) public comment period.

After the issuance of draft mining permits in February by Georgia EPD, the Georgia Conservancy, along with tens of thousands of concerned citizens and dozens of conservation organizations, submitted formal comments to the agency, urging them to deny the final mining permits and reject Twin Pines Mining Land Use Plan. As of early November 2024, Georgia EPD has not decided on its next move.

Concurrent with the public comment period, Georgia’s General Assembly evaluated and weighed Twin Pines’ mining proposal through the legislative lens. House Bill 71, a measure that sought strong protections for the Okefenokee by banning future mining permitting on Trail Ridge, failed to get a vote in the House Natural Resources Committee, putting an end to the hopes of a comprehensive legislative safeguard for the Swamp. However, in the latter half of the Legislative Session, a compromise bill supported by the Georgia Conservancy was introduced by House leadership. An amended Senate Bill 132 proposed a 3-year moratorium on the acceptance of applications by Georgia EPD for dragline surface mining permits of heavy sand minerals, the type of mining specific to Twin Pines’ proposed operations on Trail Ridge. The measure overwhelmingly passed the House with a vote of 167 to 4. However, on sine die, the amended SB 132 succumbed to a slow-moving process and did not receive a floor vote by the Senate.

Thank you to all who have continued to fight for the Swamp! Your voice will continue to be heard! While we await word from EPD and work on potential solutions for the 2025 Legislative Session, we encourage everyone to continue celebrating the Okefenokee and expressing concerns about proposed mining.

APRIL 2024 UPDATE

GEoRGIA Conservancy submits Comment Letter to EPD Regarding twin Pines, LLC DRAFT PERMITS

The Georgia Conservancy issued public comments on April 5, 2024 requesting that Georgia EPD reject Twin Pines Minerals’ revised Mining Land Use Plan and deny the Surface Mining Permit.

“Due to Twin Pines’ inability to demonstrate faithful compliance with the Rules for Surface Mining, and because of the obvious threat that mining poses to one of Georgia’s most unique and valuable natural resources, Georgia Conservancy respectfully requests that the Georgia Environmental Protection Division reject the revised Mining Land Use Plan and deny the Surface Mining Permit.”

Click here to read our April 2024 comment letter.

On February 9, 2024, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division issued draft Groundwater Withdrawal, Air Quality, and Surface Mining Permits to Twin Pines, LLC for the Phase 1 Demonstration Mine on Trail Ridge.

Per Georgia EPD: “On February 9, 2024, Georgia EPD initially placed the draft permits on a 30-day public notice to solicit public comment. After receiving multiple requests to extend the comment period, EPD has decided to extend the public comment period to 60 days. These draft permits can be found on the EPD website.

EPD will consider all public comments and may request the applicant make changes to address those comments. EPD will post a response to comments on the EPD website after the official comment period closes.”

Please submit your comments and questions of concern to Georgia EPD by Tuesday, April 9. Comments will be accepted at TwinPines.Comment@dnr.ga.gov.

MARCH 2023 UPDATE

In March 2023, the Georgia Conservancy issued public comments requesting that Georgia EPD reject Twin Pines Minerals’ Draft Mining Land Use Plan and deny the Surface Mining Permit. Click here to read our March 2023 comment letter.

Two months prior, in January, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division released Twin Pines Minerals LLC’s (TPM) Draft Mining Land Use Plan (Draft Plan) and opened the 60-day public commenting period – allowing concerned citizens and Swamp advocates to voice their concerns and opposition to Twin Pines’ mining proposal. Additionally, Georgia EPD allowed comments through two scheduled virtual public meetings on February 21 and 23. Comments gathered during these two public meetings were in resounding and overwhelming opposition to the proposed mine.

Summary of our March 2023 comment letter:

The Okefenokee Swamp and National Wildlife Refuge provides a safe haven for thousands of species of plants and animals, including many that are threatened or endangered. In addition, the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge functions as an international destination for boating, fishing, birding, and research and serves as an unmatched location for wonder, spiritual renewal, and solitude for its 725,000+ visits per year. The Okefenokee Swamp is the economic engine that supports a $64 million eco-tourism industry and the associated 750 long-term, sustainable jobs, while simultaneously providing invaluable ecosystem services such as water quality protection and carbon sequestration. 

While the reasons for protecting the Okefenokee Swamp are myriad, and the desire to value and protect this unique natural resource has been clearly expressed through the more than 100,000 comments received by the State, our comments focus specifically on concerns with TPM’s Draft Plan and its inability to meet the minimum standards set by the Rules for Surface Mining.

The Georgia Conservancy’s comment letter highlights two main issues that we have with the Draft Plan:

• TPM has failed to provide sufficient evidence in the Draft Plan that its proposed operation will not adversely affect the hydrology or wildlife of the Okefenokee Swamp or the St. Marys River, nor has an acceptable plan for mitigation been provided if impacts result from mining operations. Furthermore, the water level and quality monitoring plan proposed is insufficient to identify or address any water quality or quantity impacts resulting from mining operations.  

• TPM’s proposed heavy industrial strip mine is incompatible with rural, agricultural, and forestry land uses and certainly inconsistent with a bedroom community with a rural quality of life.  We believe that issuing such a permit would be in direct conflict with Georgia’s Rules for Surface Mining because of the clear lack of consistency with the State-approved Charlton County Comprehensive Plan.

Click here to read our March 2023 comment letter in full.

More information on the Draft Plan can be found at: https://epd.georgia.gov/twin-pines 

Please see the Okefenokee Protection Alliance’s Okefenokee Talking Points here: https://protectokefenokee.org/resources/

September 2022 Update – Permitting responsibility again returned to State after U.S. Army Corps reverses position

In October 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced that under the Trump Administration’s guidance of Clean Water Act’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR), the 400+ acres of wetlands in Twin Pines’ Phase 1 mining area adjacent to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge no longer fell under Federal regulations, subverting a federal review process normally required for projects of this magnitude and significance.

As a result, the proposed mining project entered a phase of minimal Federal oversight, placing primary responsibility for permits with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and Charlton County, the location of the proposed mine.

In our efforts to protect the Okefenokee from the potential impacts of nearby mining, the Georgia Conservancy expressed our continued concerns to the Georgia EPD in a March 2021 letter, encouraging all in opposition to the mining project to voice their concerns as well.

In August 2021, in a review of the 2020 changes to Clean Water Act guidance, a Federal court struck down the previous Administration’s reduced regulations for U.S. waterways, opening up the opportunity for the Biden Administration to reverse any rollbacks in waterway protections.

With this ruling, U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Rafael Warnock (D-GA) intensified advocacy for the Okefenokee and efforts to restore Federal oversight to the Twin Pines proposed mining project. These efforts paid off. A few weeks following meetings between Senator Ossoff and Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, a June 3, 2022 memorandum was issued by Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, Michael Conner, reversing the prior NWPR Approved Jurisdictional Determination (AJD) for the Twin Pines project Phase 1. Cited in the memo was a failure by the Federal government to conduct the required government-to-government consultations that had been requested by the Muscogee Creek Nation regarding the Twin Pines site.

In September of 2022, in another twist of jurisdictional back and forth, Sec. Haaland’s June memorandum was nullified when the U.S. Army Corps reinstated the prior NWPR AJD, essentially returning key permitting responsibility to Georgia EPD.

Learn more here: https://www.wabe.org/company-legal-settlement-puts-okefenokee-mine-back-on-track/

In Georgia, we know of no other projects of this magnitude in recent history that had not triggered an individual federal permitting process. However, due to this project’s timing and circumstances, the State of Georgia is now forced to provide the primary permitting and Georgia EPD is placed in the unenviable position of assessing the potential impact the project will have on the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

What does this mean going forward?

Permitting oversight for Twin Pines’ proposed Phase 1 mining area along Trail Ridge again rests with the State of Georgia Environmental Protection Division (Georgia EPD).

The Georgia Conservancy and our partners in the Okefenokee Protection Alliance will continue our advocacy and outreach efforts to protect the Swamp.

Learn more about the Okefenokee Protection Alliance: www.protectokefenokee.org

Background on Proposed Mining Near the Okefenokee

In March 2020, Twin Pines, LLC, an Alabama-based mining company, submitted a revised application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) seeking issuance of a permit to “construct a demonstration mining project on 1,042 acres that will mine heavy mineral sands on 898 acres over 6 years” from Trail Ridge near the southeastern edge of the Okefenokee Swamp. That application was later reduced to 556 acres for a Phase 1 mining project.

From the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: “Trail Ridge forms a rim or geomorphological “dam” on the east side of the swamp maintaining the hydrology of the swamp. The soil of Trail Ridge has a profile or distinct layers. This gives it water holding and water movement characteristics.”

The proposed mining project would mine for minerals (titanium dioxide and zirconium) at a depth of 50 feet below the ground surface, which is below the level of the Okefenokee Swamp depression and integral to maintaining surface water and groundwater hydrology in this region of southeast Georgia.

Twin Pines plans for a facility on a larger 12,000-acre tract along Trail Ridge and very close to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Charlton County.

The proposed mine in the revised application is smaller, but still represents a similar, if not identical, threat, in that the company still intends to mine all of the economically-viable deposits on the entire 12,000-acre tract.

The Georgia Conservancy views the revised permit application as a classic case of permit “segmentation” where an applicant reduces the size of the impact to lessen the regulatory review.  In this case the applicant is hoping to circumvent the requirements brought by an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The development and issuing of an EIS requires several thorough studies of the proposed mine’s potential impacts. Additionally, the EIS will provide the public with new opportunities to issue comment letters.

The proximity to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, which is one of Georgia’s most precious ecological sites and wilderness areas, heightens Georgia Conservancy concerns over the proposed mining. The mining would impact wetlands on or adjacent to this tract and could permanently impact the hydrology of the entire Okefenokee Swamp. Of additional concern, the Okefenokee’s 438,000-acre biodiverse ecosystem is home to the headwaters of two notable rivers, the Suwannee and the St. Marys.

Each year, the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge receives more than 650,000 visits, generating millions of dollars in economic impact in Charlton, Clinch, and Ware Counties.

Risking the health of the Okefenokee, its ecosystem, and its current economic impact is as unthinkable today as it was in the late 1990s. Then, the swift action of concerned citizens, scientists, lawmakers, and conservation groups fought off a similar mining threat.

2020 Comments to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The Georgia Conservancy submitted formal comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on April 8, 2020. We will continue to monitor and share public comment opportunities from the Federal government and the State of Georgia.

In looking at the April 2020 revised application, as with the original application, the Georgia Conservancy sought to have the following issues be addressed in the USACE wetland impact permitting (and any forthcoming Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s Open Pit Mining Permit) process for this first phase of a proposed multi-stage mine:

Hydrologic impacts 

• It is vital to understand if there are potential impacts to the water level of the Okefenokee from the mining operations and soil homogenization.

• Portions of the proposed mine site drain surface water to the Okefenokee Swamp. Turbidity and surface water quality is frequently an issue at similar mines.

• Changes in groundwater flow from mining operations, which lower the area water table, could have an impact on adjacent (Trail Ridge) isolated wetlands.

• Changes in fire frequency and intensity due to hydrological changes could result from lower groundwater levels.

Habitat impacts

• Habitat reduction and fragmentation on the unique Trail Ridge sands.

• Loss of habitat for the gopher tortoise, a keystone species, and the other notable species that depend on the tortoise, including the eastern indigo snake.

• Noise, light, and other impacts for wildlife and visitors to Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

Sacred Waters: The Okefenokee In Peril

The short film, "Sacred Waters: The Okefenokee In Peril", takes viewers into the heart of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, showcasing its mystical natural beauty, cultural importance, and incredible ecological value. But, as the title of the film sets forth, the sacred waters are threatened. The threat of a proposed mineral mine near the edge of the Okefenokee looms large, putting the natural integrity of the Swamp at risk. As "Sacred Waters" brings us deeper into the Okefenokee, we understand how great this threat truly is.

"Sacred Waters" is presented by the Okefenokee Protection Alliance (OPA) with the generous support of the National Parks Conservation Association.

SUPPORT THE SWAMP

Thank you to all who have supported the protection of one of America's greatest natural treasures! You can continue to support our efforts to protect the Okefenokee!

Thanks the support of donors, the Georgia Conservancy has been able to make essential site-visits, develop and submit comprehensive comments of concern, provide valuable outreach to members and others, meet with local and national partners, as well as attend and/or present at public meetings in Atlanta, Savannah, Folkston, and St. Marys.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Coastal Director Courtney Reich at creich@georgiaconservancy.org, or Communications Director Brian Foster at bfoster@gaconservancy.org.