Commission confronted about status of mining plan
BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — Mining opponent Carol Mosely returned to the county commission Feb. 7 to address discrepancies about the study of a plan to mine phosphate in Bradford County.
Mosley has been pushing to find out why the study has supposedly taken years to complete, delaying a public hearing during which the county commission will have to decide whether or not to grant HPS Enterprises II a special use permit for mining. She has repeatedly requested the commission’s help in receiving these answers.
Based on public records she obtained, Mosley found that HPSII’s engineer submitted an updated version of the mining plan in November 2019 with the intention that the application move forward to a public hearing. That meeting was going to be scheduled, but never was.
At the request of the commission last year, County Attorney Will Sexton said he contacted the consultant hired to study the plan, Onsite Environmental Consulting. He reported to the board in March 2021 that HPSII was gathering information based on a request for additional information from hydrologist Peter Schreuder.
Mosley tried repeatedly to get information about this request for additional information, but was told it was a verbal request never reduced to writing. She recently contacted the hydrologist directly and was thrown by what she was told.
Schreuder wrote Mosley and said his final evaluation of the mining was submitted in January 2020, and he has since retired.
That being the case, Mosley said the county should obtain the final report from the consultant and proceed with a hearing, or HPSII should withdraw its application and resubmit when it ready.
“It is not the business of our consultants to be involved with alterations to HPSII’s plans, and there is no sense asking our consultants to review the plans of HPSII if those plans are not ready for review,” she said.
“The public needs you to help us assure things don’t get dragged on and on, but get dealt with promptly and efficiently. This is the moment when this mining plan either needs to prove it is a viable concept or HPS needs to withdraw their application.”
Sexton responded to a request for comment, writing that the commission would be updated in “due course” about the status of the study of the mining plan.
Sexton wrote, “Bradford County staff has continuously worked with OEC and the applicant, HPS Enterprises II, LLC (HPS), to ensure that the review of the materials submitted by HPS is thorough and complete so as to allow the Board to have a meaningful public hearing on the merits of HPS’ application for a special permit for mining and will continue to do so moving forward.
“I fully expect that an update will be presented to the Board in due course which fully and completely updates them on the status of the OEC review and the next steps for consideration of the HPS application; including the scheduling of any appropriate public hearings.”
Sexton did not say whether the county had received a completed version of the study, claiming that the county has worked consistently with the consultant, but not with the subconsultant hydrologist Schreuder.
“Therefore, I cannot shed any more light on what he may have represented to Ms. Mosley which led to her comments at this morning’s meeting,” he wrote.
Others joined Mosely in addressing the safety of phosphate mining and the viability of HPSII’s plan, including Kate Ellison of Melrose and Kristin Rubin and Jim Tatum of Our Santa Fe River.
Food distribution Feb. 17
The next food distribution at Starke Church of God by Faith will be Thursday, Feb. 17, from 10 a.m. to noon. Food distributions are the first and third Thursday of the month. The church is located at 730 Old Lawtey Road in Starke.
