The same Immokalee mine that‘s been the source of a massive amount of sand for at least a half dozen Collier County beach renourishments is expanding to be able to pull even more from the ground.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection intends to issue a permit near the end of the month for the 41-acre expansion of Stewart Materials LLC's Immokalee Sand Mine, says NoticeRegistry.com, a government meetings database.
The database provider says the project would affect 2.3 acres of wetlands and 2.3 acres of surface waters in the former orange grove.
Immokalee is a community north of the Big Cypress National Preserve and the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, but is not within either.
Buying sand in Florida
That Florida’s beachfront towns would need to pay big money for sand may seem as ridiculous as snow being sold to Alaska.
But buying mined sand is now commonplace throughout Florida, especially on the Gulf Coast where shoals of the easy-to-reach white powder with the pitch-perfect squeak have been all but used up.
The inland sand mines are remarkable. Often tall and lanky systems of drills, screens, and conveyors process sand packed deep underground, when the planet’s variable sea height puts Florida’s West Coast some 30 miles to the east.
The mines often custom-mix the grains to match the look and feel of the natural sand at the beach it’s been bought to rebuild.
It’s multi-million-dollar growth industry.
Collier uses inland sand
In 2021 alone, more than a quarter million tons of sand was hauled by dump trucks from the Immokalee Sand Mine to renourish more than three miles of Collier County beachfront.
County beach officials say they switched to inland sand a little over a decade ago due to cost, availability, and the custom-blending.
Inland sand, mined and mixed to beach-quality, costs about $12 a ton in Collier County, but add hauling, dumping, and grading and the price rises. The contract for Collier County’s Park Shore renourishment last year shows it cost $18.90 per ton for “transport, fill placement, grading, and sand.”
Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.
