EDITORIAL

Miami Herald     Posted on Sun, Jul. 29, 2007

First, protect our water supply

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/184669.html

Economic chaos or contaminated water? When you listen to the litigants battling in federal court over rock mining in northwest Miami-Dade County wetlands near the Everglades, those are the two stark outcomes that they predict will result from a recent decision by U.S. District Court Judge William Hoeveler. In truth, neither outcome is a certainty, but Judge Hoeveler chose to restrict some mining operations -- wisely, we believe -- in order to protect wetlands and, more important, our water supply. If South Florida's primary water supply is contaminated, the consequences -- economically, healthwise and otherwise -- could last for years, even generations.

Mining company lawyers say that South Florida will suffer an economic disaster of epic proportions if the judge's July 13 order lifting three mining permits isn't reversed. The three companies involved will be ''irreparably harmed,'' employees will be dismissed, contracts will be lost, and extraction of 22 million tons of limestone will be jeopardized, the lawyers say. A sign of the lawyers' overheated rhetoric is their personal attacks on the judge in their appeal and in a meeting with The Miami Herald's Editorial Board. They accuse Judge Hoeveler of a ''lack of impartiality and predetermination of the issues.'' That is not the impression one gets after reading the judge's opinion and the case record.

The judge's order, in fact, affects only three of nine mining companies operating in the wetlands -- and only those closest to the drinking-water wellfield where the possibility of contamination is greatest. The other companies are free to continue mining, although the judge could have lifted their permits, too. None of them could reasonably claim to be surprised, and therefore unprepared, for the order. The judge had signaled his intent in March 2006 when he issued a summary judgment for the plaintiffs, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups.

In that ruling, Judge Hoeveler said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Fish and Wildlife Service, by routinely approving mining permits, had failed to live up to their obligation to protect the environment as outlined in various federal codes. Since the 2006 ruling the judge has continued to conduct hearings, giving the Corps, the FWS, mining companies and their lawyers time to produce evidence that could challenge his findings. However, none of the data, including on-site visits, was persuasive enough.

In 2002, the Corps gave mining companies permission to expand on 5,400 acres of wetlands near the northwest wellfield. Although mining has been permitted near the Everglades since the 1950s, in recent years scientists have developed better techniques for measuring the impact of all the blasting and digging. A key finding is that the depth of the wells at 80 feet and the material used in the explosive charges create conditions that could increase risks to the wellfield. Environmentalists describe the situation as creating a superhighway for transporting high-risk pathogens and chemical contaminants to South Florida's primary water supply.

The mining activities also pose a potential long-term threat to the Everglades wood stork, especially chicks, whose habitat are slowly deteriorating.

Judge Hoeveler says the Corps simply hasn't done enough to identify or to test for the potential contaminants and, instead, it essentially gave the mining companies a green light to do whatever they wanted. On balance, the judge's order is a limited and modest response to a potentially devastating problem. It takes action against the most-immediate threat, gives the mining companies time to plan and adjust, and calls for proactive strategies to protect a fixed, irreplaceable asset -- our indispensable water supply.

Shame on us if we fail to heed the warning.

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