Miami Herald? knock, knock: is anybody home? by gimleteye

Palm Beach Post editorial

Retain county control over road-rock mining
Friday, February 08, 2008

The task force that spent six weeks looking at mining regulations in Florida doesn't know if there's a critical shortage of aggregate rock, which mines produce for building roads. The task force doesn't know how much rock is left or how much the state needs. Without that information, the task force last week refused to issue firm recommendations on regulations.

That's a good thing; the mining industry controlled nine seats on the 17-member task force. Rather than create a report that opponents could justifiably criticize as biased toward the industry, task force Chairman Harkley Thornton - a former South Florida Water Management District board member - insisted on a range of options.

The miners want the Legislature to eliminate local authority for decisions about who gets to mine where and how much. In some cases, county authority is the only thing blocking mining. But mining can have environmental consequences. So the industry cites the rising costs for road materials and the court-ordered closure of mines in Miami-Dade County to promote the urgency, without having proved that there's an urgent need.

Mining is a big issue in Palm Beach County. Even though the task force identified 33 counties that have rock, the industry has been pushing particularly hard for the right to mine in the Everglades Agricultural Area, the county's vast western half. The industry is taking advantage of a gap in Everglades restoration planning that limits objections to new mines.

The industry's preferred option would allow counties to go through all the motions of zoning review but "in the event that local government does not approve a mine," the applicant could appeal to the governor and Cabinet, whose decision would be binding. The task force offered a better option: planning to identify potential rock mines; clear standards; cooperation among local, state and federal authorities; and at least two neighborhood meetings.

The second option would allow counties to balance the need for rock against possible environmental damage. In the Everglades, widespread mining could hurt restoration and prevent construction of a flowway to release water south from Lake Okeechobee and not east into the St. Lucie River, which has been harmed by such discharges.

It was smart of the task force to keep its pro-mining sentiments at bay. Among its members was Enrique Tomeu, appointed by Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie. Mr. Tomeu, an owner of Palm Beach Aggregates, made deals that benefited former Commissioners Tony Masilotti and Warren Newell that contributed to their downfall in corruption probes. Mr. Tomeu's behavior shows how far mining interests will go to get their way. Legislators should not enable them.



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