Resources
The Okefenokee Protection Alliance, a coalition of more than 40 organizations, has coalesced to save the Okefenokee Swamp. This resource page provides descriptions of problems with Twin Pines Minerals LLC’s proposed plan to mine Trail Ridge; hydrological models examining what could happen to the swamp during mining; and maps about recreational water trails in the swamp and on the Suwannee and St. Marys Rivers.
Okefenokee Protection Alliance Talking Points
Key Messages for Okefenokee Protection
- The Okefenokee Swamp holds significant economic, ecological, cultural, and historical value to local communities and all Georgians — and this globally treasured resource should be protected from any mining activity.
- It is critical that elected officials and state regulators step in and play an important role to protect the Okefenokee Swamp from mining.
- Trail Ridge, the site of Twin Pines’ proposed mining operation, is not only ecologically important in and of itself, but also serves to protect the integrity of the Okefenokee Swamp.
Ecological health
- Twin Pines, an Alabama-based mining company, is attempting to operate an 8,000-acre heavy mineral sand strip mine at the doorstep of the Okefenokee Swamp. This project threatens to jeopardize the ecological health of this iconic natural treasure.
- Twin Pines’ proposed mining project would dig pits up to 50 feet deep into Trail Ridge, a feature integral to maintaining surface water and groundwater hydrology in the Okefenokee, St. Marys River, and surrounding areas.
- Given the peat-rich, fire-prone landscape of the swamp, even a small change in water levels could have significant adverse impacts on the swamp ecosystem and surrounding communities.
- The Okefenokee is one of Georgia’s largest and most important carbon sinks, storing the equivalent of 414 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in its peat. Peatlands account for 65% of the carbon stored in the Okefenokee. When peatlands are dewatered, they release vast quantities of carbon-rich greenhouse gasses, exacerbating climate change.
- By disturbing the sediments on Trail Ridge, the mining process is likely to release toxic contaminants, including radionuclides and heavy metals, into the swamp and nearby surface waters like the St. Marys River.
- The Okefenokee Swamp is home to the headwaters of two recreationally and ecologically significant rivers, the Suwannee and the St. Marys. Due to its proximity to the proposed mining operation, the 120-mile long St. Marys River and its blackwater stream ecosystem is particularly vulnerable to toxic contaminants and changes to water level.
- Mining on Trail Ridge could harm and potentially kill threatened and endangered wildlife, including the gopher tortoise, a keystone species, as well as destroy important habitat.
- The Okefenokee is home to a stunning array of biodiversity. The Swamp is home to bald eagles, bobcats, black bears, and 13,000 alligators. Several endangered and threatened species reside in and rely on the Okefenokee, including gopher tortoises, wood storks, indigo snakes, and red-cockaded woodpeckers. Over 850 plant species are found in the Okefenokee, from giant 400-year-old cypress trees to carnivorous pitcher plants and water lilies.
- Light and noise pollution from Twin Pines’ proposed mine would also degrade the visitor experience in the neighboring Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness Area where visitors fish, paddle, camp, and observe wildlife.
Recreational/economic importance
- At more than 400,000 acres, the Okefenokee Swamp is a National Wilderness Area, the largest National Wildlife Refuge in the eastern United States, a Gold-tier International Dark Sky Park, and a National Natural Landmark, a designation reserved for “the best examples of biological and geological features” in the country.
- Local residents depend heavily on the Okefenokee Swamp for stable jobs and quality of life — visitors from across the world visit the refuge for boating, birding, fishing, photography, adventure, hunting, camping, and solace.
- The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge attracts nearly 725,000 visits a year, supports more than 750 jobs, and generates an estimated $64.7 million in economic activity in the four counties surrounding the Refuge.
- The National Park Service has nominated the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge to become the first refuge to receive UNESCO World Heritage Site Status–a non-regulatory designation reserved for international sites of universal value and exceptional natural beauty. Its nomination received support through 13,000 comments from across the country. Only a handful of sites in the United States, like the Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone and Yosemite, have been awarded UNESCO status. Should the Refuge be designated, the swamp would earn its rightful place beside these iconic natural wonders, further catalyzing tourism in the area.
Clean Water Act and federal water protections
- The drastic reduction in federal wetlands protections due to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 Sackett decision makes it more important than ever that the Georgia Environmental Protection Division step up and fulfill its obligations under state law and for Governor Kemp and the Georgia legislature to pass comprehensive state protections for Georgia’s wetlands.
Immense opposition to the project
- Twin Pines’ proposed mining project has drawn an unprecedented level of opposition—throughout all of the opportunities for public comment to Georgia Environmental Protection Division and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, there have been nearly 200,000 comments submitted in opposition to the mining proposal and in support of the Okefenokee Swamp.
- It is not just environmental and conservation organizations opposed to Twin Pines’ risky mining project— local communities, federal and state officials, legislators from both sides of the aisle, independent experts and scientists, and faith leaders have spoken out in favor of protecting the iconic Okefenokee Swamp.
- A June 2024 poll shows that 92% of voters feel it is important to protect the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, and its wildlife, from pollution and other environmental dangers. When asked to choose between protecting the Okefenokee and allowing economic development, 93% of voters say it’s more important to protect plants and wildlife of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge from harm, even if it might prevent economic development.
Titanium dioxide mining
- The key mineral that Twin Pines’ hopes to mine is titanium dioxide, a commonly occurring mineral. Ninety-five percent of titanium dioxide is refined into pigments that are primarily added to paint, paper, and plastic. Only a fraction of the remaining 5 percent is turned into titanium metal.
- In 2022, more than half of the titanium dioxide mined in the United States was exported.
Fast Facts on the Permit Process
- Twin Pines Minerals, LLC, currently has surface mining, air quality, and groundwater permits pending with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA EPD).
- Georgia EPD solicited comments on the draft permits in early 2024 and is weighing whether to issue final permits to Twin Pines Minerals.
- Because the proposed mine may lower water levels in the Swamp, the US Fish and Wildlife Service asserted the federal government’s reserved water rights in defense of the Okefenokee Refuge, in January 2024.
- Long upheld by the Supreme Court, the reserved water rights doctrine holds that, when national parks, monuments and refuges are established, the federal government sets aside the amount of water necessary to fulfill their purposes. Because Okefenokee is managed as a refuge and a wilderness area, developers cannot take the water needed by wildlife and paddlers.
- Georgia EPD must comply with federal law by either denying the permits or pausing the permitting process to reach an agreement with the US Fish and Wildlife Service that protects the federal government’s reserved water rights.
(July 9, 2024)
2024 Refuge Advocate of the Year
Mike Oetker (Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Southeast Region), Christian Hunt (Defenders of Wildlife), Martha Williams (Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service), Bill Sapp (Southern Environmental Law Center), Rena Ann Peck (Georgia Rivers) and Michael Lusk (Refuge Manager at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge)
OPA Member & Partner Comment Letters to the EPD (2024)
Click here to view Georgia Rivers’ Comment Letter to the EPD
OPA Member & Partner Comment Letters to the EPD (2023)
Click here to view UGA Professor Dr. Rhett Jackson’s Letter to the EPD
Click here to view Georgia River Network’s Comment Letter to the EPD
Click here to view Senator Jon Ossoff’s Public Comment to the EPD
Permit Application
2023:
Click here to visit EPD’s Twin Pines announcements page for all recent materials and correspondence between EPD and Twin Pines
2020 & prior:
Click here for Twin Pines original Permit Application and the Corps’ Public Notice from July 2019 to mine 12,000 acres in multiple phases
Click here for a recording of the virtual public meeting on May 13, 2020.
OPA Member Group Comment Letters to the Corps (2020)
SELC Supplemental Comments to Corps on May 28, 2020
Georgia River Network Comment Letter to Corps
Other Resources
A Letter From the Science Community – The science and engineering community has composed and signed a letter about the most-likely effects of a mine near the Okefenokee Swamp. Read the letter here.
A Letter from 100+ Faith Leaders – Over 100 Faith Leaders have signed a letter calling on public officials to protect the sacred Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Read the letter here.
Poster Presented at the Georgia Water Resources Conference
PowerPoint Presented at Okefenokee Swamp Park
Maps
Water Trails
The refuge is part of the National Water Trail System, one of only 21 designated trails in the U.S. Explore the Okefenokee Wilderness Area Canoe Water Trail, St Mary River Water Trail and Suwannee River Wilderness Water Trail. To learn more about Georgia Water Trails, click here.
Georgia River Guide Mobile App
Plan your next paddling or boating trip on the Okefenokee Wilderness Area Canoe Trail, St. Marys River Water Trail or Suwannee River Water Trail using the Georgia River Guide mobile app. Learn more and download this free resource here.
