MosaicFertilizer wants to start mining for phosphate on about 18,000-acres of land in the Peace River Basin in DeSoto County, about three miles from Arcadia. Phosphate mining is big business in Florida, but its potential environmental impacts make it a contentious issue. Mosaic just recently finished plugging a giant sinkhole at one of its phosphate mines near Plant City, but not before millions of gallons of contaminated water poured into the Floridan Aquifer. We’re going to get an update today on the proposed mine with Rachael Curran from the Center for Biological Diversity, in advance of the first public meeting about it tomorrow in Arcadia.
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