EPA Seeks Greater Environmental Protections as Mining Expands
On Monday, April 6, 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency made the decision to elevate the pending permit decision by the Corps of Engineers for phosphate mining in Beaufort County. At stake is the largest destruction of wetlands in the state's history by PCS Phosphate. EPA argues that the potential destruction of 4,000 acres of wetlands and 5 miles of streams will have long-lasting negative effects for the Pamlico River estuary, harming North Carolina's billion dollar fishing industry.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Pamlico River and its tributary creeks are critical parts of an essential nursery habitat for most commercial and recreational fish and shellfish in the North Carolina coastal area and important habitat for waterfowls, shorebirds and other migratory birds.
The most immediate impacts would be felt in adjacent waters. According to records from the last 11 years, the section of the Pamlico River within Beaufort County produced nearly $3 million annually in commercial finfish and shellfish harvests. Annual commercial landings for Beaufort County had an average dockside value of $6.5 million between 1994 and 2005. Effects from the mine would also be felt further downstream, adversely affecting the statewide commercial finfish and shellfish in North Carolina which produced nearly $1 billion annually between 1994 and 2005.
Because of these impacts, both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries recommended denial of PCS Phosphate’s proposed mine expansion. The National Marine Fisheries Service and the South Atlantic Marine Fisheries Commission have also publicly declared that the mine expansion would do long-term damage to fisheries in this estuary system.
In addition to providing habitat, natural wetlands improve water quality, buffer hurricanes and storms, and act as freshwater reservoirs when water is scarce. These benefits are ever more vital for North Carolina as the climate changes.
By elevating the permit, EPA has asked for further review and analysis of other mining alternatives that would reduce the harm to the natural resources of the Pamlico River estuary. EPA and the USFWS both agree that economically feasible mining alternatives exist that will avoid long-lasting damage to the region's resources.