ESTERO, Fla. -- County commissioners are moving forward with a plan to open up more of Lee County for lime rock mining.
However, the issue is controversial and Thursday night, you can voice your thoughts and concerns at a public forum in Estero.
Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass will be at the public forum representing the county.
It’s being held at the Estero Recreational Center at 6PM.
Many community members said more mining will affect the water quality in the county.
Hundreds went to a county commissioner's meeting last week. The fear of more mining drove a heated, long meeting.
In the end, commissioners voted to ease restrictions.
It's a controversial issue and now environmentalists said the new rule proposals mean new mines can be approved with less public input.
They worry that will hurt the county's drinking water.
The Village of Estero wrote a detailed letter to the state saying the county is downplaying and ignoring critical issues such as the affect the mining has on water flow and keeping that water clean.
But builders and the water management district argue there's nothing to worry about and said the water is safe.
“You hear mining and so all of a sudden you say it's going to impact water. But we haven't seen anything and there's no studies that show and even the county staff and the state have said it's not going to impact water,” said Phillip Ford with Lee Building Industry Association.
The decision does not approve any new mines, it just allows for the possibility of mining in more areas throughout Lee County.
