Mine plan would erase wetlands

PCS Phosphate's proposal threatens 2,500 acres, the most ever in N.C

AURORA -- A massive Beaufort County strip-mining operation wants to expand its extraction of phosphate ore in one of the state's most environmentally fragile areas.

The proposal by PCS Phosphate, if approved, would represent the single largest destruction of wetlands permitted in the state -- 2,500 acres including the headwaters of seven creeks near the Pamlico River.

The rich deposit of black phosphate rock, left by ancient oceans and buried 100 feet beneath the surface, has been extracted from the site by various companies for about 40 years. PCS has worked the mine since 1995 to get phosphate for fertilizer and for use in food additives. In food, it's turned into phosphoric acid -- a flavor enhancer in such products as Coca-Cola, jellies and vegetable oil.

In a 300-acre canyon, huge cranes with buckets the size of two-car garages scoop ore mixed with sand and clay. The mining grinds on 24 hours a day, every day and consumes about 200 acres a year. At the current rate, PCS expects to exhaust the deposit it's working by 2011.

It is seeking permission from federal and state agencies to extend its activities to nearby land, much of which is covered with marshes and creeks.

"One of the things we absolutely need is the ability to continue our mining operation to provide phosphate-based fertilizer," said Tom Regan, president of PCS Phosphate. "It's very unique to Aurora because of the high quality of phosphate rock here."

Representatives of PCS and government agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and various state offices, have been discussing alternatives. The corps, which must approve any disturbance of wetlands, will issue an environmental study of the proposal this fall, then seek public comment.

The mining plan likely will draw interest from environmental groups, commercial fishermen and nearby residents, who sometimes complain about plant emissions that smell like rotten eggs.

They'll also hear from community officials who support the plant as the county's largest employer, providing more than 1,000 jobs. The company is a division of Canada's Potash Corp., one of the world's largest fertilizer producers.

The company's preference is to mine 3,600 acres between its current site and South Creek. It is one of three tracts totaling 15,100 acres with 6,379 acres of wetlands that the company is considering mining. PCS officials say the area near South Creek holds the highest quality ore and would be least costly to extract.

But it also contains the largest amount of wetlands.

Environmental groups say an 8,686-acre tract south of N.C. 33 is preferable because it would disturb fewer acres of wetlands.

"That is a far less ecologically damaging alternative," said David McNaught, a policy analyst with Environmental Defense. "That is the alternative they should pursue."

PCS says the ore is deeper at that site and would cost $30 million a year more to extract and transport, making it economically impractical at present. They say it might be a viable site in several decades if the price of phosphate increases as worldwide supplies are depleted.

The Clean Water Act, the federal law passed in the 1970s that protects wetlands, requires agencies to identify alternatives that have the least environmental damage that are economically feasible.

Historically, North Carolina had about 11 million acres of wetlands concentrated primarily in Eastern North Carolina. But more than 5 million acres were drained and converted to farmland or other uses before wetlands were protected by law. In recent years, the state has permitted the destruction of 200 to 300 acres a year for road building and other development.