Interior Says Mine Damage to Okefenokee Will Be Irreversible (2)

A proposed titanium dioxide mine near America’s largest blackwater swamp could permanently harm Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp and risk endangered species protected there, the US Fish and Wildlife Service said in comments published Monday.

The agency said scientific data provided by Twin Pines Minerals LLC that show the effects the company’s proposed titanium dioxide mine would have on southeast Georgia’s Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is inadequate to prove that the proposed mine won’t irreparably harm the swamp, according to the agency’s comments and report on the mine.

The Fish and Wildlife Service believes the proposed mine and its “dewatering” techniques pose ...