On Thursday, February 2, at 9 am, Mosaic Phosphate will go before the Manatee Board of County Commissioners to ask for another permit to mine in eastern Manatee County. The permit would allow Mosaic to mine 661 acres and destroy another 50 acres of wetlands. Our Planning Commission voted in favor of this permit and now it goes before the Board and this is where it must stop.
This $3.9 billion cash corporation has severely mined Central Florida (over one million acres) and is now coming south into Northeast Manatee County and our Peace River and Myakka River watersheds. They draw 65 million gallons of water a day from our already declining aquifer, while we are on water restrictions. This water that they are stealing from the state is non-replaceable and will come to tremendous cost to us all.
Don’t be deceived by their showy ads on TV and their jobs claim. Mosaic provides fewer workers per acre, than any other industry. They are currently spending millions of dollars monthly on advertising to convince you that they are doing a good thing. Why would a company advertise so much and put large billboards on 301 when they do not sell their product to you? They want to conceal the negative aspects of their operations which add billions of dollars of cleanup in its wake.
The Federal Courts have insisted Mosaic STOP any further mining until a complete and thorough Area-wide Environmental Impact Study (AEIS) has been performed. Evidently, Mosaic is in fear of the outcome, as they chose to circumvent the rules by attempting to secure another mine before the truth comes out.
Please stop Mosaic in their tracks, have the wisdom and courage that The Planning Commission lacked, and find out the real story.
Mosaic and their consenting codependents are counting on the apathy of Manatee citizens to get their way. Please, please, make an effort to show-up on Feb. 2, at 1112 Manatee Avenue, First Floor Commission Chambers and STOP this from going any further. We need to fill the chambers. You may or may not speak, but fill a chair.
We can’t leave our kids with enough of anything to fix what Mosaic is getting away with.