DeSoto Commissioners Deny Mosaic Mine Rezoning

The DeSoto County Commission voted 4-1 Wednesday to deny a request by Mosaic to rezone 14,000 acres for a future phosphate mine.

The vote came following a two-day hearing in Arcadia.

“Unbelievable but true,” said Marian Ryan, conservation chair for Ancient Islands Sierra and a member of Florida Sierra’s Phosphate Committee.

The DeSoto County vote came a week after the Hardee County Commission and Planning and Zoning Board approved a permit for Mosaic to mine 22,854 acres in Ona in western Hardee County.

Sierra opposed the expansion of mining because of the environmental impact on wildlife habitat and the Peace River and its tributaries.

There was no immediate word on whether Mosaic will appeal the vote, though that seems likely.

 

 

Posted in Group Conservation Issues.