The unanimous decision by Charlotte County commissioners would not only ban mining, but all activities that turn phosphorus into phosphate used in fertilizer. That includes the building of phosphogypsum stacks, which hold waste created by the production of fertilizer.
A mine has been proposed just to the north in DeSoto County, where commissioners last year banned gypstacks from being built.
That came after a rupture at the Piney Point stack in Manatee County poured hundreds of millions of gallons of toxic water into Tampa Bay.
The mining giant Mosaic, which wants to mine in DeSoto, has said it has no plans to dig farther south in Charlotte County. It already operates several mines and fertilizer plants in Polk, Hardee, Manatee and Hillsborough counties.
