Lee County approves 20-foot increase to approved mine depth at Seagate Mine with monitoring conditions

Lee County commissioners on July 21 approved an amendment to an existing Industrial Plan Development at Seagate Mine to increase the approved mine depth from 40 feet to 60 feet. County staff and the applicant said the approval includes additional groundwater monitoring and other controls recommended by the hearing examiner.

Beth Workman, principal planner in the county zoning section, said the request would increase the permitted mining depth from 40 to 60 feet and that the site is located south of State Road 82 in a wetlands area. She said there is no expansion of the pit footprint; the master concept plan remains the existing site and the request affects only depth. Workman noted that a natural-resources review required an additional monitoring well and that the hearing-examiner conditions include a barrier trench and cross-section monitoring to protect off-site groundwater and water quality.

Richard Aiken, for the applicant, cited a hydrogeological analysis by Kirk Martin and multiple soil borings and geotechnical studies, saying: "The studies show that there should be no negative effect to the ground water levels or to water quality." A county commissioner asked specifically whether groundwater had been reviewed; staff and the applicant described monitoring wells, soils borings and geotechnical analysis conducted over time.

One participant of record, Randall Johnson, appeared and the hearing examiner recommended approval. A commissioner moved to approve the hearing-examiner recommendation, a second was recorded and the motion carried. The transcript records that the approval included the hearing-examiner's conditions (including an additional monitoring well and barrier trench) intended to monitor and limit any off-site groundwater effects. No dates for additional monitoring or required reports were read into the record during the hearing.