Wetlands mining proposed

Army Corps files impact statement on PCS Phosphate's plans near Pamlico River in Beaufort County

A proposal to strip-mine for phosphate in more than 4,000 acres of wetlands near the Pamlico River was outlined Friday by the Army Corps of Engineers in an environmental impact statement.

If the plan is approved after a public comment period, it would result in the largest permitted wetlands destruction in the state's history.

In a 293-page analysis, the corps balanced economic concerns against the least amount of environmental harm from several possible scenarios set forth by PCS Phosphate, which owns and operates the mine.

The company wants approval to extract phosphate for the next 37 years from three separate tracts of land near its existing mine in Aurora. The mining operations would span more than 15,100 acres, including 4,135 acres of water and wetlands. The company expects to spend $4.76 billion over the decades-long expansion plan.

Initially, the company sought to concentrate its efforts on one of the patches of land to the east of its current operations, mining from headwaters of seven creeks that feed into the Pamlico River. That plan was projected to cost $1.72 billion over 16 years, company officials said, but the corps found that proposal was too harmful to the environment.

The corps, which must approve any disturbance of wetlands, instead asked the company to offer alternatives, and issued Friday's environmental analysis on the three-tract option.

Under the Clean Water Act, a federal law passed in the 1970s to protect wetlands, agencies have to determine what environmental and economic factors would result from using wetlands, which serve as habitats for waterfowl and nurseries for fish. The lands also filter pollution and recharge groundwater.

Some environmental groups are questioning why the corps went with a plan that starts by mining in an environmentally sensitive area, near tributaries that serve as important nursery grounds for fish and headwaters of the Pamlico River.

"It would be the largest permitted destruction of wetlands in the state's history," said Heather Jacobs with the Pamlico-Tar River Foundation. Jacobs said she favored the company beginning its mining in the large parcel of land south of N.C. 33, which has the smallest acreage of wetlands of the three parcels, and then making its way to the other land parcels. She said that would leave the more fragile ecosystems in the other two parcels intact longer.

The last time the corps allowed a company to venture into such a large amount of wetlands was in 1997 when PCS Phosphate received certification to begin mining 1,263 acres of wetland on its current operations, said Tom Walker, project manager for the corps.

Ross Smith, PCS Phosphate's environment manager, applauded the corps' release of an environmental study but said that a delay in issuing a permit could hurt the company's finances. In issuing the final environmental impact statement, the corps now moves to a public comment phase, which will last 45 days.

After that, the corps will issue a final decision about whether it will issue a permit to conduct the mining. PCS Phosphate will also have to seek approval from two state agencies before getting the green light from the corps.

"That at least provides us an opportunity to maintain production levels," Ross said, if the corps issues a permit within coming months.

North Carolina and Florida lead the country in phosphate deposits and mining. The reserve in Beaufort County is considered among the nation's largest, and Ross said it produces 5 million tons of phosphate a year. Phosphates are used primarily for fertilizer, but also as phosphoric acid for flavor enhancements in soda, jellies and vegetable oil. There's been an increase in worldwide demand for phosphate, as the diets in third-world countries improve and the need for fertilizers increase.

PCS Phosphate is one of Beaufort County's largest employers, with more than 1,000 people on its payroll. Only the county school system comes close to employing as many people, according to the state Commerce Department.