A group of Georgia lawmakers is trying to prohibit future mining near the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge, though their proposal wouldn’t stop a company’s mining application currently before state regulators.
Rep. Darlene Taylor of Thomasville and five fellow Republicans in the state House introduced a bill Tuesday that would prohibit the state from granting mining permits along Trail Ridge on the swamp’s eastern boundary. But it would only block permit applications submitted after June 30.
The state’s environmental agency last week released a draft mining plan for Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals to mine titanium dioxide on the ridge, moving the project a big step closer to winning approval.
Since 2019, Twin Pines of Birmingham, Alabama, has been seeking government permits to mine less than 3 miles from the southeastern boundary of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, the largest U.S. refuge east of the Mississippi River.
GEORGIA’S OKEFENOKEE MINING…
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