SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — As a proposed mine on the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge nears final approval, Georgia lawmakers are considering a three-year pause on future permits to allow expansion of the mining project. Critics fear any such mining could irreparably harm a national treasure.
The sponsor of House Bill 1338, approved by a House committee Thursday at the state Capitol in Atlanta, calls the measure a compromise between conservationists who oppose the mine and supporters living near the swamp who say the project would bring needed jobs.
The bill by Rep. John Corbett, a Republican from Lake Park whose district includes the swamp, would prohibit until July 1, 2027, any new permit applications in Georgia for the type of mining Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals plans to use to extract titanium dioxide just outside the federally protected swamp.
Corbett’s measure would not affect the draft permits Twin Pines received earlier this month from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to mine on 773 acres less than 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, the largest refuge east of the Mississippi River. The agency will collect public comments and could make adjustments before issuing final permits.
Several conservation groups dismissed the proposed moratorium as ineffective. They had backed a different bill that would outright ban future mining near the Okefenokee, including any expansion by Twin Pines. That measure stalled in the same committee that moved swiftly on Corbett’s permitting pause.