community focus:

Rock Mining in Palm Beach County

Rock mining can have devastating long-term consequences on Palm Beach County's water supply. The practice involves blasting as far as 60 feet deep into the underlying porous aquifer that provides water for the entire County. The blasting is facilitated through use of dangerous chemicals and the depth of excavation can cause detrimental impacts to the sensitive flow of ground and surface waters, contaminating our drinking water supply and causing environmental and economic regional harm.

In August 2010, Palm Beach County wisely enacted a one-year moratorium on the approval of new or expanded mining operations. That year was intended to allow active stakeholders to come up with a more appropriate regulatory framework to manage rock mining activities in the County. However, after almost a year of negotiations, the rock mining industry and associated landowners have refused to admit the dangers involved in the mining practice or to compromise on a regulatory mechanism.

The decision was brought before the Palm Beach County Commission in July 2011 and sadly a majority of Commissioners voted not to enact stronger regulations to protect the County's residents and water resources from the threat of expanded mining operations. Clean Water Action is urging all Palm Beach County residents to contact your County Commissioners and remind them that they were elected to protect your family's health and well being, not the pocketbooks of the rock mining industry.

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