In Earth Day push, Okefenokee backers want no-mining pledge near swamp
Environmental groups launched a new pressure campaign on Earth Day, calling on one of the world’s largest producers of titanium-based products to pledge never to mine near Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp.
On Wednesday, several nonprofit groups delivered a petition with more than 26,000 signatures to executives at the Chemours Co. asking its leaders to vow “to never mine (near the swamp) or source titanium mined from the surrounding area.”
The petition said mining near the swamp “could jeopardize the Okefenokee by drawing ground water out of the swamp, fragmenting habitat and rendering the vegetation more vulnerable to wildfires.” The groups’ push came as several large wildfires burned Wednesday in South Georgia amid the Peach State’s worst drought in more than a decade.
The signatures were delivered electronically to Chemours’ president and CEO, Denise Dignam, and its independent board chair, Mary Cranston. A Chemours spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the petition’s demands.
The signature-gathering effort was led by the nonprofits Environment Georgia, Environment America, Environmental Action and Georgians for the Okefenokee.
Southeast Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp is home to one of the most pristine wetland ecosystems left on Earth. The federal wildlife refuge within the swamp has been nominated to join the UNESCO World Heritage list, a prestigious honor reserved for the planet’s most significant natural and cultural wonders.
But areas that surround the swamp have drawn attention from miners for decades.
On its eastern edge, the Okefenokee is flanked by a line of ancient, inland sand dunes known as Trail Ridge. The ridge is closely tied to the flow of water in and out of the swamp, but the dunes themselves are known to contain mineral sands with high concentrations of valuable metals like titanium and zircon.
Chemours manufacturers a wide range of titanium-based materials, including titanium dioxide, a whitening agent used in paint, toothpaste and other household goods.
That connection, along with the fact that Chemours has existing mining facilities in southeast Georgia, has placed the company in the crosshairs of environmentalists worried about the fate of North America’s largest blackwater wetland.
Many scientists believe mining on Trail Ridge next to the swamp could cause permanent damage to the vast wetland ecosystem. The Okefenokee is home to hundreds of types of plants and animals, including threatened and endangered species. It also harbors millions of tons of decayed vegetation known as peat, keeping carbon that could warm the planet locked safely away.
Just last year, a controversial proposal to mine near the Okefenokee was on the verge of becoming reality, before it was defused by a landmark conservation deal. The property where an Alabama-based company had planned to mine was acquired by The Conservation Fund, which plans to permanently protect the land.
In the past, Chemours has said it has no plans to mine on Trail Ridge next to the Okefenokee, but has stopped short of making a permanent commitment to never mine the area. Chemours has, however, supported research to study the hydrology of the region.
Chemours was spun off from another chemical and materials giant, DuPont, back in 2015.
DuPont has its own history of interest in mining near the swamp. Back in the 1990s, the company had plans to mine on Trail Ridge, but backed off in the face of stiff environmental opposition.
Josh Marks, the president of Georgians for the Okefenokee, said, “Chemours should follow that lead and pledge to permanently avoid having anything to do with mining at the Okefenokee.”
A note of disclosure
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About the Author
Drew Kann is a reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution covering climate change and environmental issues. His passion is for stories that capture how humans are responding to a changing environment. He is a proud graduate of the University of Georgia and Northwestern University, and prior to joining the AJC, he held various roles at CNN.
