The DeSoto County Commission agreed this week to enter into mediation with Mosaic over the phosphate company’s attempt to get approval to rezone 14,000 acres to allow phosphate mining.
Commissioners voted 4-1 on July 25 to deny the request.
Mosaic officials formally requested mediation in an Aug. 14 letter to the commission, according to news reports.
The prospect that the mediation may result in a reversal of the July 25 vote has angered mining opponents.
The principal issues in this debate over mining include water use, protection of the Peace River and its tributaries and loss of native habitat and productive farmland.
Two major landowners are seeking protection via conservation easements for ranches in this area of the Peace River Basin.