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More than 70,000 comments have already poured into the state Environmental Protection Division as the public comment period wraps up on draft permits greenlighting mining near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
A bill sponsored by Lake Park Republican Rep. John Corbett would block state regulators from accepting any new permit applications for dragline mining for heavy mineral sands in areas where permits have not been previously issued but would not stop an Alabama-based company from moving forward with a 582-acre demonstration proposal planned for Trail Ridge near the refuge.
Opponents of the mining proposal are trying to ramp up pressure on lawmakers to pass a measure that some see as the best shot at protecting the ridge from mining.