We have great news to share today: the mine operating permit application for West Cox Ferry Road Sand Mine has been withdrawn. This is a win for the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge!Moss Park Partners II, LLC notified the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control that it is withdrawing its permit application, and there has been no indication that a new permit application will be submitted.
In light of this, the public hearing scheduled for later this week has been canceled. This mine would have been surrounded by the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge on three sides. Mining and associated activities may have impacted water quality, wildlife, recreation, and flood mitigation potential for surrounding communities and the refuge.
It was yet another example of a mine on the edge of conservation land—lands that are supposed to be protected in perpetuity and your comments and advocacy made a difference in protecting it. Thank you for your dedication to protecting the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge.