County Manate, Fla., Covers about 740 square miles of land and 151 square miles of fresh resources. The 130-foot ridge in the northeast corner of Manate County produces tops and (1) flow characteristics of the Manate River basin, including the quality and quantity of water. In other words, Manate County itself is a watershed by definition, where all the rainwater reaches its climax throughout the county and flows into a common basin called the Manate River watershed.
The watershed of the Manate River covers most of Manate County in western central Florida. The watershed contains a significant amount of natural freshwater resources in land contracts, streams, lowlands, lakes, rivers, etc. All freshwater resources in the basin flow into the mouth of the Manate River, which in turn flows into the Gulf of Mexico, south of Tampa Bay .
In economic terms, this region of Florida receives billions of dollars annually from tourism, including waterways, agriculture, and cattle. The head of the Persian Gulf Restoration Network said that mining the phosphate strip in Florida "is a direct threat" to Florida in the amount of $ 8.1 billion. USA for fisheries, not counting the income from the above-mentioned industries. Historically, Florida taxpayers make up the difference in lost income based on economic damage from the phosphate industry due to "accidents at work".
Historically, there is a phosphate problem in Manatee County in Port Manat, where taxpayers paid more than one hundred and forty million dollars to neutralize (3) severe environmental “industrial accidents” in the industry. In this case, the phosphate industry was not brought to justice only by filing for bankruptcy. Applying for bankruptcy by phosphate companies is the “norm” after heavy toxic emissions and accidents, which also seem to trigger official obligations and obligations in the phosphate industry.
Unfortunately, the Florida phosphate industry owns most of the land around the four corners in Manate County, with thousands of hectares of environmentally critical land mined with a processing plant. Florida elected officials “authorize” industrial plans to include the complete removal of environmentally important navigable waterways and coastal areas in the Manate River basin for phosphate ore 30-50 feet below the surface. Phosphate practices may be illegal, removing coastal areas and navigable waterways based on state and federal laws and may soon be investigated.
The phosphate industry owns mining rights for phosphate, but cannot violate coastal land, navigable waterways, and downstream user rights in the mining process. Historically, Florida’s elected officials “allow” the phosphate industry to seriously disrupt shipping waterways and coastal land. Florida's elected officials were to be held accountable by their constituents. It is interesting to note that “public rights” to coastal land and navigable waterways may be “missed” by elected officials leaving Florida taxpayers with a small representation, if any, regarding the practice of the phosphate industry.
Interestingly, an economist from the University of Miami investigated the economic benefits of the phosphate industry and related jobs in Hardy County. Hardy County is a supplement to Manate County. The study confirmed an “economic loss” of nearly eight million dollars due to the destruction of landscapes in phosphate industries, removing the fabric of Florida land, including navigable waterways and coastal lands. All other economically managed industries in Florida are completely crushed under the weight of phosphate strip mining. The only winners are the phosphate industry officials themselves.
After the landscape has been mined, industries such as agriculture, cattle and tourism will never return based on (2) a survey of geologists from the University of Florida. The study estimates about five hundred years for less complex ecosystems to recover from severe terrestrial disturbances, such as phosphate belt mining. As soon as the phosphate industry recovers all the phosphates in the region, they move and leave toxic residues for the taxpayers of the county where the abandoned phosphate mines are located.
Historically, once it seemed that local jobs in the first years of phosphate mining at some point, eventually, will occur a local economic disaster in the next generation? Economic and environmental models for various stages of the life of a phosphate mine are known and studied in depth.
According to statistics, the end result of phosphate extraction, both economically and ecologically, shows a high probability of being bad long-term investments and leaving local economies in ruins.
reference
1. Action plans for the management of the pool. - dep.state.fl.us/water/watersheds/bmap.htm.
2. University of Florida - nrli.ifas.ufl.edu/reports/hainsesity.HTML.
3. wetmaap.org/Manatee_River/Supplement/mr_background.HTML.
