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Corkscrew residents fear state would take control of mines from county

By Charlie Whitehead (Contact)

Friday, March 30, 2007

A group of Estero residents really, really wants something done about mining in southeastern Lee County.

What that something is, they’re not quite sure.

Those warily eyeing thousands of acres of potential mines east on Corkscrew Road know what they don’t want. They don’t want more mines. They don’t want more mine trucks. They don’t want their drinking water affected.

And they don’t want the state to keep the county from protecting them.

There are already four different mines seeking zoning off Corkscrew. Those four would total more than 2,600 acres. There are two more applications pending, totaling more than 1,000 acres, off State Road 82.

Chip Block, the county planner who reviews mine applications, says only one has reached the public hearing stage. The Estero Group proposal to mine fill from 318 acres is headed for a hearing in July.

That’s if it has to, and if the county still has any authority. If a bill winding its way through Tallahassee becomes reality, those mines could be allowed without a county hearing.

The legislation, originally proposed by Sen. Carey Baker of Eustis, would deem construction aggregate — rock — a strategic and critical state need. The bill also would pre-empt local control, saying that on lands where mining is a permitted use — like the nearly 100,000-acre Density Reduction/Groundwater Resource area in Lee County — additional county approval isn’t required.

“We’re not fond of that idea,” said Mike Roeder, planning chief for a Fort Myers law firm representing east Corkscrew residents.

He’s not the only one. The Florida Association of Counties is tracking the bill and feels the same way.

“If it either has mining in the comp plan, or is zoned or is classified for mining, you can’t regulate even local concerns like hours of operation or traffic,” said Gragin Mosteller, spokeswoman for the Florida Association of Counties. “And the March 1 date makes it all retroactive.”

The bill refers to lands on which mining could be allowed as of March 1, 2007.

Don Eslick, a member of Estero’s Community Planning Panel and Council of Community Leaders, said that right now anyone who owns land along Corkscrew sees the legislation as a way to make big money.

“Everybody who’s got some land out there and thinks there’s rock under it thinks they might be sitting on a gold mine,” he said.

Eslick, a former professional lobbyist, says letters are hitting every key legislator who could have a hand in the bill.

“We want to make sure the county’s not pre-empted,” he said.

Not that he’s thrilled with the county. Eslick and others in the community are pushing the county for another hard look at mining in the area. The county’s launched studies of the area, and a growth management plan amendment on mining was tabled in December.

“We’re not there yet,” Eslick said. “There are a lot of people looking at it.”

Both the bill and the opponents are citing the Lake Belt lawsuit, which might end with at least a temporary halt to mining in the state’s richest rock area in Miami-Dade. With the potential kink in a supply expected to hit 120 million tons this year, and the Florida Department of Transportation being the biggest single user, the bill says, the need is critical.

About 55 million tons of aggregate is expected to come from Lake Belt mines this year. The second biggest producing county in Florida is Lee County.

The bill passed through the House Environmental and Natural Resource Committee on Wednesday. Its next and final stop before the House floor is the Policy and Budget Council.

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