Scientists for the federal government say documents that Georgia state regulators relied upon to conclude a proposed mine won't harm the nearby Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge are riddled with technical errors

Thursday on Political Rewind: In his State of the State speech, Gov. Brian Kemp pledged to crack down on violent crime and laid out his plan for Georgia's surplus. Democrats responded, saying the funds should strengthen social safety nets. Meanwhile, there are continued efforts to stop mining in the Okefenokee.

A company's plan to mine minerals just outside the famed Okefenokee Swamp and its federally protected wildlife refuge is a big step closer to being approved by regulators in Georgia. The state's Environmental Protection Division released a draft plan Thursday for how Twin Pines Minerals would operate its proposed mine and mitigate potential impacts to the swamp.

A landmark U.S. Supreme Court case could have significant ripple effects on the government’s ability to protect the nation’s waterways.

A member of President Joe Biden's Cabinet is urging Georgia officials to deny permits for a proposed mine near the edge of the famed Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a letter to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp that the mining project poses "unacceptable risks" to the swamp's fragile ecosystem.

The firm that wants to mine for heavy minerals near the Okefenokee Swamp scored a major victory Monday after a federal agency reversed its decision to take control of the review process away from Georgia’s environmental agency.

Georgia environmental advocates have released their annual list of water issues they say need to be addressed — their so-called Dirty Dozen. 

Felician Sisters are behind a shareholder resolution to reject mining before it begins in the Okefenokee.

Twin Pines Minerals wants to start out by conducting a 740-acre mining demonstration along Trail Ridge, which is a hydrological divide between the swamp and St. Mary's River. But it has signaled it plans to grow its footprint, although the state has said expansion would require new permits.

The allure of new jobs in a rural corner of the state has won over supporters hoping for an economic boost. But the project is controversial, with Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals planning to mine for titanium dioxide along the edge of the wildlife refuge.

Nearly two years after Alabama’s Twin Pines Minerals publicly unveiled plans to mine heavy minerals near the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge, the company says the project is still a top priority despite potential legal hurdles, and changing environmental rules that loom ahead of its proposal.

Environmentalists hold up the controversial proposal to mine for minerals near the Okefenokee Swamp as a prime example of the lands that lost federal protection under former President Donald Trump’s administration last summer. 

That rule replaced an Obama-era one that opponents criticized as government overreach and shifted the focus of the Twin Pines Minerals’ mining application from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the Ga. Department of Natural Resources, which is now poised to decide the fate of the mining project. 

The Army Corps of Engineers on Friday was considering whether to extend the public comment period for a proposal to mine for heavy minerals near the...

The Georgia Water Coalition’s annual “Dirty Dozen” list was released Thursday. It highlights serious pollution threats to waterways across the state.