The opposing sides usually are not barefoot on Jekyll Island’s seaside, however there’s a particular line drawn within the sand. Toes are dug in, and muscle groups are straining. On one aspect is an Alabama mining firm and its fleet of high-powered lobbyists. Pulling the opposite manner are tens of millions of nature-loving Georgians who wish to thwart Twin Pines Minerals from strip-mining close to the Okefenokee Swamp.
This tug-o-war has been on and off for years. First it was Dupont that lusted for what’s beneath Path Ridge. However within the Nineties, the enormous company dropped the rope and walked away. Chalk a win for the environs of America’s largest blackwater swamp and for individuals who know that the Okefenokee is each fragile and irreplaceable.
Case closed?
Not hardly.
Enter Twin Pines in 2019. The agency picked up the rope and began tugging. The much-coveted titanium-dioxide and zircon deposits beneath the sands of Path Ridge are magnets that appeal to speculators similar to Twins Pines. I perceive that. The previous rule nonetheless dictates, “Observe the cash, and also you’ll discover the foundation of the motive(s).” There are tens of millions of {dollars} to be made out of the mines.
I additionally perceive that the Okefenokee Nationwide Wildlife Refuge is a nationwide treasure, one which deserves particular safety. The vast majority of the 684-square-mile swamp is in Georgia. And polls have proven that just about 70% of Georgians don’t need the Okefenokee endangered in any manner. I’m with the bulk.
Most of Charlton County’s residents would in all probability disagree. Whereas they love having the Okefenokee of their yard, their financial system wants a lift. They’re starved for extra and better-paying jobs. I perceive that. Good-paying jobs can treatment a mess of any neighborhood’s ills.
However what’s to say Charlton County residents will take house most of these Twin Pines paychecks? The proposed mine website is simply as shut—or nearer—to hungry rural Floridians. And in Florida, there is no such thing as a state revenue tax. That’s one motive Charlton County is challenged to compete for brand new business with its across-the-state-line neighbors.
However Georgia has an ace in its pocket. Our economic-development crew is—I imagine—the most effective in America. Have a look at the billions of {dollars} being invested right here and the tens of hundreds of recent jobs blossoming within the Peach State.
Why not have a rural growth strike drive that may laser in on the Charlton counties of Georgia? With sufficient shiny minds, willpower and enough funding, oxygen will be pumped into the gasping communities which might be—for probably the most half—on life assist.
Gov. Brian Kemp has led Georgia to be the envy of many of the different 49 states. I applaud him and his administration. They’ve demonstrated that the “Georgia Method” is the profitable manner. Georgia is repeatedly honored as the most effective state by which to do enterprise. Nevertheless, because the saying goes, “A series is simply as sturdy as its weakest hyperlink.” Charlton County isn’t Georgia’s solely weak financial hyperlink, but it surely’s an excellent goal for this much-needed initiative.
Now again to the to-mine or not-to-mine tug-o-war.
Steve Ingle, president of Twin Pines, tugs again by refuting “the absurdity of allegations” that his mines will drain the swamp or hurt it. On the opposite finish of the rope are UGA scientists, different specialists, conservationists and folks identical as me who’re tugging with info that say, “Don’t do it.” In addition to the environmental dangers, tens of millions of ecotourism {dollars} shouldn’t be jeopardized, both.
How do you are feeling about this?
Georgia’s Environmental Safety Division (EPD) has opened a 60-day public-comment interval at [email protected]. The EPD can also be internet hosting digital public hearings on Feb. 21 and Feb. 23 at 6 p.m.
Right here’s how I really feel.
I belief UGA scientists greater than Twin Pines. However irrespective of which aspect wins, the tug-o-war gained’t be over till the authorized wrangling is finished. In the meantime, I’m not turning unfastened of the not-to-mine finish of the rope.
