NBC17
reported this evening about the enormous amount of water being wasted by a phosphate mine (run by PCS Phosphate) in Aurora, NC. While a
plan to pipeline this water is still a distant dream, there are those who see an opportunity to develop a solution to the Triangle's water woes.
The jury is out on the feasibility of a $160 million dollar pipeline stretching down either the 264 or I-70 corridor, but what is certain is that the
daily 58 million gallons of wasted water needs to be used for something other than negatively altering the ecology of the Pamlico Sound as it drains from the Castle Hayne aquifer. The aquifer -
formed between 40 and 24 million years ago during the Oligocene -
runs the entire length of the state, and is connected to an underground water system that runs all the way north to New Jersey. Since 1965, PCS has been pumping 60-65 million gallons of water from the aquifer into the sound every day, using
only around 10 million gallons per day for their processing facility. The rest is being removed from the aquifer to depressurize it and ensure safe mining conditions.
If the pricey pipeline was constructed, it could offer water to a number of drought impacted communities, including aiding the Triangle's demand for
41 million gallons per day. At approximately $20,000 per inch of diameter per mile of distance, the pipeline would weigh in at a daunting $1 million per mile. Still, when compared to the cost of creating a new reservoir, this is a price tag that some officials may be willing to pay.
But let's not gloss over the fact that PCS is currently petitioning the US Army Corp of Engineers for permission to expand their facilities and destroy an additional 3500 acres - 2400 of which is wetlands - in Beaufort county along the South Creek and Pamlico River. If granted, this would be the largest wetlands impact in NC history, and PCS's track record on
reclamation is dubious at best.
Since 1965, they've only reclaimed 14% of the land they've mined. While the phosphate mine does employ a number of NC locals (also making PCS a tidy $10 million per year), the Albemarle-Pamlico sound is one of the most productive fisheries of the nation, employing thousands and generating over $1 billion dollars of revenue annually. The destruction of these fisheries isn't readily reversible, and will cause repercussions long after the phosphate has been depleted and PCS has moved on.
Despite PCS’s claims that there is only one option that they can pursue, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined that they can profitably mine two alternate sites; PCS claims these alternatives would be too expensive and has hinted that following the lessened impact plan could result in loss of revenue, jobs and eventually cause the closure of the plant.
In the event a permit is granted, PCS should be required to first mine the extensive phosphate reserves they already own before expanding their facilities to the more environmentally vulnerable areas. And they should definitely be required to mitigate all the environmental impacts of their mining process, while protecting nearby bodies of water from operational contamination.
Before we look at this as the Triangle's holy grail for water, we need to pay attention to what it could really cost us.
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