Public attention has grown around the proposed Southland rock mine project, which seeks to excavate over 8,000 acres of land just north of the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir. The EAA Reservoir is a keystone project in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan that will store, clean, and send more water south, reducing the harmful water quality impacts in our estuaries. 

The applicant, Phillips & Jordan (a major construction company), seems to be working on the proposed project with U.S. Sugar, which owns much of the land in question.

“There is a significant amount of confusion concerning the project, and that is largely because the final purpose of the project is not clearly stated,” said SCCF Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis. “The project could be a rock mine to pull aggregate (excavated material) out of the Everglades Agricultural Area, or it could be a water storage project to provide additional storage south of the lake. The applicant is seemingly trying to move forward with both options simultaneously, which is causing some confusion on the part of the governing bodies that will need to make zoning, sighting, and permitting decisions.”

Whether a “water resource project” or a rock mine, both uses come with their own specific requirements for the project. 

Pathway to Mining

Mining is generally prohibited in the EAA, but there are specific allowances for public roadway projects. 

“The hiccup is that the material that is mined must be fully devoted to public road projects, and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has given no indication that they need or want the aggregate that would be produced from this mine,” DePaolis said.

If Southland turns out to be a mining project, and FDOT turns down the aggregate, then the project will not be able to move forward.

“This is established precedent from a previous effort to mine in the Everglades, where the aggregate would’ve only partially been for FDOT projects with a portion being sold on the open market,” DePaolis said. “1000 Friends of Florida worked with the Everglades Law Center to challenge that project in court, and affirmed that the restrictions on mining in the EAA require the aggregate be used solely for public road projects. That decision was upheld in 2018 on appeal.”

So, if the applicant cannot secure a guarantee from FDOT that it will use the aggregate, a mining project would be a nonstarter.

This is why the applicant is also trying to establish the mine as a water storage project. In fact, their application submitted July 1, 2024 is titled “Southland Water Resource Project.”

Pathway to Water Storage Project

“Water storage projects are allowed in the EAA for ecosystem restoration purposes, but they require the partnership of the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), which has not evaluated the plan to see if it would provide benefit, nor if it would not cause harm to the EAA Reservoir currently under construction,” DePaolis said. “The SFWMD’s evaluation would be necessary before any signoff for the project could occur.”

Following the SFWMD’s Letter of Project Identification submitted over the holidays, the applicant submitted a zoning change to the Palm Beach County Zoning Commission. 

Despite some confusion by the commission as to why they were hearing a project that seemed premature, a majority voted to send it to the County Commissioners for the official vote. That vote was supposed to occur on April 24, but was postponed at the request of the applicant until the May 22 Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners hearing, to be held at 1 p.m.

“The letter of identification was the necessary first step in the review process, but doesn’t say anything about SFWMD’s view of the project,” DePaolis said. “All the District has stated so far is that it will be reviewing the proposal for the unsolicited project and that, if it meets specific criteria, it will be brought before the Governing Board.”

Uncertainty Continues

Currently, the project remains in a state of spiritual limbo, existing as both a rock mine and a water resources project. The applicant is trying to move through both processes at the same time, and is making incremental progress. 

“There are many unanswered questions and details that need to be ironed out, but one thing is certain: for the future of America’s Everglades and Florida as a whole, we don’t need mining in the EAA,” DePaolis said.

Currently, land in the EAA is actively sinking from ongoing use as farmland, due to the land historically being under water before large-scale draining and ditching in the late 1800s.

“As the land continues to subside in the EAA and we get closer to the point it can no longer be farmed, we should be asking how we can return that land to conservation purposes to capitalize on the true value of the land — to provide storm buffering, water filtration, habitat, climate mitigation, and all the other ecosystem services associated with our natural spaces,” DePaolis said. “By introducing mining efforts we will, increase the likelihood that the EAA is eventually paved over rather than being returned to something closer to the River of Grass.”