Is Big Sugar Trying to Put a Railroad and a Rock Mine in the Everglades Agricultural Area?

A proposal for a rock mine in the Everglades is moving quickly through the Palm Beach County Zoning Board. Florida Crystals and U.S. Sugar wants to turn its land south of Lake Okeechobee into rock mines, according to a proposal submitted to the South Florida Water Management District. Records show lobbyists hinting at requesting public funds for the project, too.

A private contractor is seeking approval to build a limestone mine just south of Lake Okeechobee in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) on land owned by U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals – dubbed “Big Sugar” by environmental groups. The proposal could be heard by Palm Beach County planners as early as April, according to Lisa Interlandi, an attorney for Friends of the Everglades. 

In July of last year, Phillips and Jordan, an infrastructure contractor headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., submitted an unsolicited proposal named the Southland Water Resource Project – a rock mine that would provide in-ground water storage after 20 years of excavation. The proposal claims the contractor will provide all funding, but they might be asking for public funds later on down the line. Two Florida Crystals lobbyists disclosed “water storage funding” in their registration this year – wording not seen in past years' registries. 

“Is this just opening the door for what the future land use will be in the EAA?” said Chris Whittman, co-founder of Captains for Clean Water, in an interview with MediaLab. “Once that land is no longer viable for sugar farming, is the next step to turn it into mines? Does it just start a domino effect of other areas being mined and turn really valuable land for Everglades restoration into rock mines?” 

Captains for Clean Water (CFCW), a nonprofit founded in 2016, advocates for environmental protection and Everglades restoration. They’ve closely followed this proposal, concerned about its environmental impact and the dangerous precedent it could set.

Understanding the Project

The application outlines that  “reservoirs” will be excavated down 15 feet and that the limestone will be sorted, washed, and graded onsite. A railway will be constructed solely to export material offsite, likely to be sold to the state – or the highest bidder – for road construction material. The railway and rail yard are permanent and will remain.

“If proposals by mining companies are allowed to dictate the future of Everglades restoration,” said Interlandi in an interview, “it could seriously impact our ability to actually restore the Everglades and set a precedent for other land uses in the region.” 

Once the mines are exhausted, they would leave in-ground reservoirs for water storage to send water south during the dry season. The proposal claims this project could add as much as 120,000 acres of water storage – after an anticipated 20 or more years of construction. 

A Quick-Moving Proposal 

Palm Beach County policy prohibits commercial mining in the EAA – unless it falls under one of these categories: to support public roadways or agricultural activities, a water management project, or flood protection. Therefore, a letter from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) identifying this project as one of those three things would be necessary for this project to move forward. 

The Southland group submitted an unsolicited proposal to the SFWMD in July 2024, but withdrew it in September before it could undergo public evaluation.

The group later re-submitted their proposal on December 24, 2024. Only seven days later, executive director of the SFWMD, Drew Bartlett, issued a letter to Matt Eidson, VP of Phillips and Jordan, which reads like an endorsement of the project as a “water resource project.” An excerpt from the Dec. 31 letter reads, “The project will likely provide viable alternative technologies for both water management and water treatment for ecosystem restoration…” 

However, as investigative journalist Jason Garcia first reported, records reveal the language of this letter came directly from an earlier draft. Data from the original document identified Richard Sanchez, a U.S. Sugar executive, as the author. Garcia also reported the political ties between sugar executives and the governor's office. A document provided to the SFWMD by Phillips and Jordan discloses interaction with the governor's Chief of Staff, as well as two U.S. Sugar executives – including Richard Sanchez. 

“When something stinks, it’s not always possible to eliminate the source of the rot, but airing things out certainly helps,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, during the Feb. 13 SFWMD Governing Board meeting.  “Today, we ask you to air this out. Have a public discussion about the massive rock mine proposal and the alarming impacts it would have on Everglades restoration,” she added. 

Endorsement or not?

Within the Palm Beach County zoning application documents for the Southland project, there is space for comments from the board and responses from the applicant. The applicant (Phillips and Jordan) was asked to provide “a revised letter from the appropriate agency that claims the project for water resources.” 

In a document dated Feb. 13, the same day as the SFWMD governing board meeting, Phillips and Jordan provided their response:

“Please see letter from Drew Bartlett to Matt Eidson dated December 31, 2024,” indicating Phillips and Jordan consider the Dec. 31 letter as an endorsement from the SFWMD. 

Yet, during the Feb. 13 meeting, Bartlett, the executive director for the SFWMD, told the governing board, “If the staff concludes it is viable and does not conflict with the EAA reservoir project, only then will the district staff bring it to the [board] for your consideration. At this time, there's really nothing for you to review or approve.” This raised red flags for environmental groups over Southland groups’ response to Palm Beach County, implicating the letter is, in fact, a letter of project identification. 

“Was the governing board [of the SFWMD] aware that a letter was going to be sent on New Year's Eve?” pressed Whittman during public comment at the Feb. 13 meeting. “It seems that…the intent of the letter by the district, and how the letter is being utilized by the applicant to Palm Beach County, might not be one of the same.” 

Environmental groups like Captains for Clean Water, Everglades Law Center, and the Everglades Coalition are raising alarms about the developments happening out of public view. 

The Everglades Coalition, a group of 57 different organizations dedicated to Everglades restoration, issued a letter to Bartlett and the SFWMD Governing Board on Feb. 7 expressing their concerns with the Southland project, including the precedent of allowing rock mines in the EAA and lack of future restoration planning.  

When asked to clarify if the Dec. 31 letter was, in fact, a letter of project identification, the SFWMD provided MediaLab@FAU with a letter sent in reply to the Everglades Coalition on Feb. 21. 

The letter states the district will turn its attention to “thoroughly evaluating the project proposal” and that it will be brought to the Governing Board for consideration if staff “concludes that it is a viable storage and treatment project that will provide regional benefits, and that it will not impact the construction or operation of the EAA Reservoir Project.”

On March 6, The Everglades Law Center issued a letter to Palm Beach County Zoning Director Lisa Amara, urging them not to advance the project. 

Either way, this project presents itself with serious possible implications for the EAA reservoir and the future of Everglades restoration to “send the water south.”

“The future use of these 400,000 or so acres [the EAA] that are currently in sugarcane cultivation will dictate our success or our failure,” Samples said. “It’s the missing link of the River of Grass.”

With the future of the Everglades at stake, environmental groups are urging the public and policymakers to scrutinize this fast-moving proposal, which they say could set a dangerous precedent for the region's environmental health.

U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals did not respond to requests for comment.