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Palm Beach County to block new rock mining

Article by Mitra Malek and Hector Florin - Palm Beach Post - Tuesday, November 14, 2006

WEST PALM BEACH — Better safe than sorry.

County Commissioners agreed Monday to block new rock mining in Palm Beach County until its staff finishes a study showing how blasting affects the Everglades Agricultural Area.

Commissioners in July had approved the "moratorium" on a preliminary basis. Monday's 5-1 vote, with Warren Newell dissenting, adopted the change.

But the move doesn't mean that mining, which provides rocks for roads and concrete products, will stop in Palm Beach County. Instead, the measure allows existing mines to expand if they prove they won't cause long-term damage.

Lobbyists and employees representing Florida Crystals, United States Sugar Corp., the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida and Rinker Materials fought to have the county accept applications while the study is under way. Otherwise, they argued, established mines, such as Palm Beach Aggregates, would have a local monopoly.

Plus, the moratorium would drive up road and housing costs, Rinker employee Scott Banyan said.

Florida's Department of Transportation is "beyond freaked out" at the prospect of higher road costs and reduced access to road materials, Commissioner Jeff Koons added.

But environmentalists said pricing is a short-sighted concern.

"Threats of economic impacts to get sufficient fill pale against the environmental costs to restore the Everglades," said Rosa Durando, Audubon Society of the Everglades conservation chairwoman.

That translates to myriad issues, among them a strain on water resources.

"You can survive without roads, but you can't survive without water," said Drew Martin, conservation chair for the Loxahatchee group of the Sierra Club.

Lisa Interlandi, an attorney representing the Florida Wildlife Federation and Sierra Club, said if the county accepted applications to mine in the EAA, the study would be pointless because it could establish new criteria for mining.

"That's the whole purpose of having the study," she said.

County Commissioner Karen Marcus pushed for the policy change and study several months ago, after county commissioners approved Stewart Mining Industries' plan to excavate 3,900 acres of U.S. Sugar land. The study is scheduled for completion by Dec. 1, 2008.