MOORE HAVEN — A new ordinance about mining and mineral extraction was discussed during the Glades County Board of County Commissioners Aug. 13 meeting.  A second public hearing is planned for Monday, Aug. 26 at 6 p.m.

Commissioner Chair Tim Stanley said the ordinance is about mining in the whole county. It is not about any one particular mine, he added.

Commissioners agreed an ordinance is needed. “Without, it’s just the wild west,” said Stanley.

In the public comment period, some residents said mine trucks should not be allowed to use county roads. They referenced the damage already done to county roads by mining trucks.

Some speakers said hauling routes should not be allowed to include roads that go through school zones. This was in an earlier version of the ordinance but the Planning and Zoning Board found language restricting mining trucks from going through school zones is overly broad. Commissioners noted US 27 goes through a school zone.

Some speakers opined mines are needed but should be required to follow strict standards.

The draft ordinance includes:

• Mining activities can open occur in the Open Use Flood Plain District, Open Use Flood Plain District, Open Use Agricultural District, Light Industrial District and Heavy Industrial District. Mining activities and operations shall only be permitted by a special exception approval and the issuance of a separate mining activity and operation permit.
• Ingress and egress from the mining property shall be from a roadway that meets the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) stability factor for a major collector road. If the roadway does not meet FDOT’s stability factor, the property owner shall bring that portion of the roadway up to FDOT stability factor until it intersects with a road that meets FDOT stability.
• Access and truck routes to and from the site are prohibited through active recorded subdivisions.
• The property owner where the mining operation is located shall ensure that neither public nor private property is damaged by the hauling of material, and that hazardous traffic conditions will not be created. In the event hazardous traffic conditions occur at any time, the county may, in addition to other legal remedies that are available to the county, terminate and prohibit the hauling of material through a revocation of the special exception by the Planning and Zoning Board or through a nuisance abatement process.
• Ingress and egress from the driveway connection point with the connecting roadway to the mining property for a minimum distance of 250 feet is required to be paved or constructed of other durable and appropriate material as approved by the county for the purpose of reducing the tracking of dust, soil and/or rock onto the public roadway … A truck washing station located on the property may be required by the county to reduce the impacts on the public roadways.
• Advanced warning signs stall be installed on the connecting roadway to alert users to the ingress and egress points for the mining operation … A stop sign shall be installed to require all trucks to stop before they enter onto a public road at the ingress/egress point from the mining site.
• A proposed haul route plan from the mining site to the county line shall be prepared by a licensed engineer registered in the State of Florida which describes the adverse impacts on the road improvements and the traffic using he proposed haul route … If the use of county roads is proposed for the haul route, additional performance security shall be required in an amount determined by the county to be sufficient to maintain and repair any county roads that are affected by the mining activities. No other haul routes except for the haul route approved by the Planning and Zoning Board can be used for the hauling of mined material or for any other purposes related to the mining activities.

The ordinance also details required setbacks, berms, landscape buffers, hours of operation, water use, stormwater management and reclamation of the site after the mining operation ceases.

Stanley requested the mining permits go to the county commission for approval after they have been recommended by Planning and Zoning Board.

A revised version of the ordinance will be reviewed at the second public hearing.