Interior secretary, Ossoff visit Okefenokee

With a controversial plan to mine titanium near the edge of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge still alive, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Sen. Jon Ossoff paid a visit to the South Georgia swamp last Friday.

Their visit comes in the wake of a surprising turn of events concerning the mine’s fate.

In June, the Army Corps of Engineers reclaimed oversight of the project, putting the proposed mine in doubt, or at least adding years to its timeline as it faced a lengthy federal environmental assessment. In its determination, the Corps said the Muscogee Creek Nation — which has deep cultural and historical ties to the swamp — had not been properly consulted about the project.

But last month, there was a dramatic shift.

In August, a settlement agreement was announced between the Corps and the company pursuing the mine, Alabamabased Twin Pines Minerals LLC, which put the project’s permitting back in the hands of a state agency — the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. The mine’s opponents fear a takeover by Georgia EPD could fast-track the project.

The settlement didn’t explain why the parties reached a deal out of court, but the agreement prevents the Corps from reclaiming jurisdiction over the mine on the grounds that the Muscogee Creek were not included in discussions.

Since 2019, Twin Pines has been seeking permits to extract titanium from a 740-acre tract along the swamp’s eastern flank.

During their visit, Haaland and Ossoff were briefed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials, took a helicopter tour and met with local leaders to hear what the refuge — which is home to thousands of species of plants, birds and reptiles — means to their communities.

The circumstances surrounding Haaland’s trip resemble those from 25 years ago, when one of her predecessors visited the swamp. When then-Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt visited the Okefenokee in 1997, uproar was growing over a different titanium mine pursued near the refuge by The DuPont Company. But Babbitt took a stand against the project and days later, DuPont abandoned it.

Environmentalists hoping for a Babbittesque speech opposing the project were left wanting by Haaland’s visit. An Interior Department news release about the trip made no mention of the proposed mine. And in a press release from Ossoff’s office, Haaland said only that the Biden administration is committed to “protecting special places like the Okefenokee.”

Steve Ingle, the president of Twin Pines, confirmed in a statement that no one from his company was invited to the meeting with Haaland or Ossoff, but said a number of officials who support the project did attend.

“We appreciate their support as we work through the permitting process with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division,” Ingle added.

Twin Pines has said the project will bring jobs to rural Charlton County and poses no threat to the refuge. However, several prominent scientists and hydrologists say they disagree, warning the mine could lower the swamp’s water levels and imperil the fragile ecosystem.

The swamp also stores millions of tons of carbon-rich peat deposits, keeping huge amounts of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere and serving as a buffer against climate change.

Josh Marks, an environmental attorney who led the fight against the DuPont mine, said he was pleased that Haaland visited the swamp, but he and others are holding out hope that the secretary will speak out against the mine.

He also called on Gov. Brian Kemp to halt the project.

“I urged and fervently hope Secretary Haaland will follow in Babbitt’s footsteps, follow the lead of the scientific community who say that TPM’s (Twin Pines) mine will damage the swamp, and urge Governor Kemp to deny the permit applications for this dangerous project,” Marks said.

There is also the possibility that the mine could become a campaign issue in the hotly-contested governor’s race.

Kemp’s Democratic opponent, Stacey Abrams, has expressed concern about the mine’s potential impact on the swamp. But Kemp spokesman Andrew Isenhour referred a request for comment to state environmental regulators, citing their ongoing permit reviews.