​​​💧 How You Can Help: Protect Our Springs, Aquifer, and Community

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Take Action Now​​​

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We are now at a pivotal stage in the permit review process for the proposed Eastern Borrow Site (FDOT’s Sand Mine) connected to Suncoast Parkway Phase 3A.

 

Please take just 10 minutes to make your voice heard by sending one email to the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) regarding the pending Environmental Resource Permit (ERP).

 

The Stop the Sand Mine Committee is reaching out asking for your help because we are now at one of the most critical phases of this project, and time is limited. Your comments could help stop this project. We need decision-makers to see that Citrus County residents are paying attention and demanding denial of this permit to protect our aquifer, springs, wetlands, wildlife, private wells, and drinking water.

 

We truly can make a difference together.

 

PUBLIC COMMENT WRITING GUIDE:

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PLEASE SEND COMMENTS TO:

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One email to both Ms. Tolksdorf and Mr. Catts

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To:

alex.Tolksdorf@swfwmd.state.fl.us

cory.Catts@swfwmd.state.fl.us

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ADD stopthesandminecc@gmail.com  BCC if you would like us to see your comment

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(Scroll all the way down if you want to see their titles with their emails)

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SUBJECT LINE: ​Public Comment – Request for Full Independent Review – Eastern Borrow Site ERP 43016897.016 / App. 935264

 

HOW TO START YOUR EMAIL: (Please copy and paste this section)

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Dear Ms. Tolksdorf and Mr. Catts,

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Please include this correspondence in the official public comment record for SWFWMD ERP 43016897.016 / Application 935264, Eastern Borrow Site / Suncoast Parkway Phase 3A.

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I am writing as a concerned Citrus County resident regarding the proposed Eastern Borrow Site excavation.

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Based on the information currently submitted within the ERP record, I do not believe this borrow excavation should be approved in this location.

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FDOT’s own submitted materials identify substantial concerns involving groundwater interaction, karst terrain, direct infiltration into groundwater, shallow limestone conditions, wetland and wildlife impacts, and the scale of excavation proposed within a sensitive springs recharge area connected to Kings Bay and Crystal River.

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I respectfully request that SWFWMD deny approval of this permit application and require careful protection of Citrus County’s aquifer, springs, wetlands, wildlife, and water resources.

 

[Add 1–2 personal sentences here.]

 

[Choose the points below that matter most to you.]

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For these reasons, I respectfully request that SWFMD deny the eastern borrow site ERP Modification as currently submitted.

 

Respectfully,

[Your Name]

[City / Community]

 

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This part is important because a few personalized, specific comments carry more weight than identical copies.

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Examples: ADD 1–2 PERSONAL SENTENCES:

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I live in Citrus County and care deeply about protecting our springs, aquifer, wildlife, and drinking water.

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I rely on groundwater connected to Kings Bay / Crystal River.

I am concerned about the long-term impact this excavation could have on private wells, wetlands, springs, and wildlife.

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I support transportation improvements, but I do not believe this borrow excavation belongs in this sensitive location.

 

Examples of POINTS you can use THAT MATTER MOST TO YOU:

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These points are based directly on materials submitted within the Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) record. You do not need to use all of these points.

Choose the concerns that matter most to you personally and feel free to put them into your own words or as is.

 

GROUNDWATER & SPRINGS CONCERNS

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Residents may wish to mention:

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• FDOT’s own stormwater report states that runoff from the excavation area will infiltrate into the underlying soils and discharge directly into the groundwater table.

 

• The project is located within a sensitive springs recharge area connected to Kings Bay and Crystal River.

 

• The site is within an Outstanding Florida Springs Priority Focus Area, where groundwater protection should receive heightened scrutiny.

 

• The site is in karst terrain, where water can move through limestone, cracks, sinkholes, and underground pathways.

 

 

• The record shows shallow groundwater, shallow limestone, and limited protective separation in portions of the site.

 

• FDOT’s own reports acknowledge high infiltration soils and routing stormwater toward low-lying karst areas within the borrow site.

 

• Where sand lies over limestone with little or no protective clay separation, sending runoff into groundwater can function more like an open sieve into the aquifer than a protected filtration system.

 

• Hydrogeologic expert evaluations for this same site identified hydraulic communication between the surficial and Floridan aquifer systems.

 

• Many residents rely on groundwater and private wells. Groundwater impacts are also public-health concerns.

 

SIZE & SCALE OF THE PROJECT

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Residents may wish to mention:

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• FDOT’s own documents describe the Eastern Borrow Site as a major excavation project, not a small roadside drainage feature.

 

• FDOT’s May 6, 2026 SEIR Re-Evaluation states the borrow site involves approximately 346 acres, approximately 313 excavation acres, and more than 5.1 million cubic yards of material.

 

• Combined with surrounding roadway disturbance, the overall impact area approaches approximately 894 acres within this short 5.5-mile stretch of the Suncoast Parkway corridor.

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• FDOT’s May 2026 SEIR states that six new parcels were added after the August 2024 reevaluation, increasing project acreage by approximately 345 acres and introducing a newly defined borrow excavation footprint.

 

PUBLIC PROCESS & TRANSPARENCY CONCERNS

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Residents may wish to mention:

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• FDOT’s May 7 response does not demonstrate that the current Eastern Borrow Site excavation footprint was fully evaluated under the original 1998 PD&E process or prior roadway-focused reevaluations.

 

• The May 6, 2026 SEIR appears to show that the borrow site was added later through a new re-evaluation.

 

• FDOT’s May 7 response also states that no roadway stormwater is routed or piped to the borrow site, which supports that this is a separate excavation and hydrologic system.

 

• Earlier Eastern Borrow Site ERP materials initially described the site as parcels being evaluated for embankment suitability, while later materials increasingly reframed the excavation as roadway ROW and a roadway-associated component set within the broader corridor project.

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• The October 2025 FDOT Open House did not follow the same formal public presentation process used during earlier roadway reevaluations and did not clearly present the later 345-acre borrow excavation now formalized within the May 2026 SEIR.

 

EASTERN BORROW SITE – SAME SITE WHERE PRIOR BORROW PIT FAILED TO ADVANCE

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Residents may wish to mention:

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• The same general site was previously proposed as the Crystal River Borrow Pit and did not advance to final approval after significant environmental and land-use concerns.

 

• The Citrus County Special Master recommended denial of the prior proposal based on County policy prohibiting resource extraction that adversely affects environmentally sensitive areas that cannot be restored.

 

• FDOT’s current proposal involves the same sensitive site area but now with a substantially expanded excavation footprint.

 

• The record shows continuity between the earlier Southworth / Crystal River Borrow Pit review and the current FDOT Eastern Borrow Site review, including many of the same groundwater, excavation, and environmental concerns.

 

WETLAND & WILDLIFE CONCERNS

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Residents may wish to mention:

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• The current FDOT materials appear consistent with earlier concerns about shallow groundwater, limestone proximity, and reduced protective clay separation.

 

• The record uses “Wetland 3” to refer to different wetlands in different Suncoast records, creating a need for clear identification and independent review.

 

• The current borrow-site Wetland 3 appears to correspond to the feature previously identified as Wetland H.

 

• Wetland H / Borrow-Site Wetland 3 has been identified as providing groundwater recharge, water quality, nutrient cycling, and wildlife habitat.

 

• Field observations documented standing water, saturated soils, cold clear water, and wetland vegetation, raising questions about groundwater or seep influence.

 

• Approximately 342 potentially occupied gopher tortoise burrows were documented in the project area, including approximately 258 active burrows.

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• Gopher tortoises are considered a keystone species because their burrows provide shelter for hundreds of other species within Florida ecosystems.

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• Here are the full gopher tortoise statistics from the FDOT / Eastern Borrow Site materials:

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“A 100% gopher tortoise survey was conducted in September 2025 within the parcels for the proposed borrow site which documented a total of 342 potentially occupied burrows. Of these:

 

• 258 were classified as Potentially Occupied – Active

• 74 were classified as Potentially Occupied – Inactive

• 23 were classified as Abandoned

• 10 were classified as Juvenile

 

• FDOT’s materials further state that a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Conservation Gopher Tortoise Relocation Permit would be obtained and tortoises would be relocated to an off-site recipient location.

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Copy and paste e-mail version below:

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Add a few of your own sentences if possible

 

Dear Ms. Tolksdorf and Mr. Catts,

 

Please include this correspondence in the official record for:

SWFWMD ERP 43016897.016 / Application 935264

and the original roadway ERP file 43016897.012.

 

I am writing as a concerned Citrus County resident regarding the proposed Eastern Borrow Site associated with Suncoast Parkway Phase 3A.

 

Based on the information currently submitted within the ERP record, I do not believe this borrow excavation should be approved in this location, and I respectfully request denial of this permit application.

 

FDOT’s newly approved SEIR (State Environmental Impact Re-Evaluation), signed May 6, 2026, confirms that this is a major excavation project involving approximately 344.9 acres and more than 5.1 million cubic yards of excavation material.

 

The SEIR and supporting ERP materials further state that:

 

• the project will change land use on currently undeveloped property

 

• stormwater from the excavation area will infiltrate directly into shallow groundwater

 

• the project is located within a sensitive springs recharge area connected to Kings Bay and Crystal River

 

• the site is located within karst terrain with shallow groundwater and limited protective separation in portions of the site

 

• approximately 342 potentially occupied gopher tortoise burrows were documented onsite

 

This appears to be far more than a minor roadway drainage feature or incidental component of the original roadway corridor.

 

FDOT’s own submitted materials identify substantial concerns involving groundwater interaction, karst terrain, direct infiltration into groundwater, shallow limestone conditions, wetland and wildlife impacts, and the scale of excavation proposed within a sensitive springs recharge area connected to Kings Bay and Crystal River.

 

For these reasons, I respectfully request denial of this permit application and careful protection of Citrus County’s aquifer, springs, wetlands, wildlife, private wells, and drinking water resources.

 

Thank you for your consideration.

 

Respectfully,

[NAME]

[CITY]

 

 

 

 

Email list with titles:

 

• Alex Tolksdorf
  Engineering Supervisor, Environmental Resource Permit Bureau  alex.Tolksdorf@swfwmd.state.fl.us

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• Cory Catts
  Senior Environmental Scientist, Environmental Resource Permit Bureau
  cory.Catts@swfwmd.state.fl.us

 

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District, Regulatory Division Florida Department of Environmental Protection

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PublicMail.CESAJ-CC@usace.army.mil

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• Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP)

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Public.Services@floridadep.gov

 

FEMA-FMIX@fema.dhs.gov