Mosaic $2 Billion Deal with EPA is Not Enough, Environmentalists Say

Phosphate mine near Flaming Gorge National Park, UT Photo by Jason Parker-Burlingham via Wikimedia Commons

By Rob Lorei

In October, phosphate mining giant Mosaic reached a $2 billion agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency to settle a lawsuit regarding the mishandling of toxic material at 6 mines in Florida and two in Louisiana. But a local environmental group says the deal does not do enough. Joining us talk about the phosphates mines and the environmental and health damages they have caused is Ande Mele of the Suncoast Waterkeepers. The first part of the settlement’s approval process is a 30 day public comment period, which will end next Monday, Dec. 7.

Then we talk with one of the state’s top political reporters, Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau Chief Steve Bousquet, about a growing bloc of Florida voters- the non party affiliated electorate, or those who do not register with the Democratic, Republican, or Third Parties. Bousquet talks about who these voters are, where they are outweighing registered Democratic and Republican voters, and the prospects of an amendment that would open up primary elections to them and all other voters regardless of party affiliation.