![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/the-mosaic-facility-in-the-hookers-point-YWQ2CWYUIZAYDDWOTXDRYQWGWQ.avif\")
Mosaic urged the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss as \u201cmoot\u201d a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity challenging the project. The environmental group filed the lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which last year approved the use of phosphogypsum for the pilot project on Mosaic property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMosaic began construction activities the week of August 25, 2025, and began applying phosphogypsum as road base on October 7, 2025,\u201d the company, which intervened in the case on the side of the EPA, said in Friday\u2019s filing. \u201cIt completed all portions of the road that involved phosphogypsum on November 4, 2025. Although Mosaic is still working to complete some \u2018control\u2019 sections of the road, those sections do not use any phosphogypsum \u2014 they are constructed from common road materials. Mosaic and University of Florida scientists and engineers will also test and monitor the road base as described in the (EPA) approval.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mosaic attorneys added, \u201cThis action (lawsuit) is now moot because construction of the phosphogypsum portions of the pilot road project is complete. The court should accordingly dismiss the (Center for Biological Diversity) petition for review.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Center for Biological Diversity filed the challenge in February, about two months after the EPA approved the project at Mosaic\u2019s New Wales facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The issue of using phosphogypsum in road-building has long been controversial, as opponents have pointed to potential cancer risks from the substance, which is typically stored in huge stacks, known as \u201cgypstacks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In challenging the project, the Center for Biological Diversity has contended, in part, that a 1992 federal rule bars using phosphogypsum in road projects. It has cited concerns about radon emissions and potential air and groundwater pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The EPA said in a court filing this year that the project was limited to a 3,200-foot road. Mosaic \u2014 a major player in the phosphate industry \u2014 used phosphogypsum from a stack on the New Wales property for the project, according to a declaration a company official attached to the company\u2019s filing Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mosaic and the EPA have disputed the Center for Biological Diversity\u2019s arguments in the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt bottom, EPA approved a site-specific project presenting total risks that are at least an order of magnitude less than placement of phosphogypsum in a stack,\u201d EPA attorneys wrote in a September brief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mosaic said in a separate September brief that the Center for Biological Diversity\u2019s \u201creal concern is that the pilot will serve as a gateway to broader beneficial use of phosphogypsum in road base.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Phosphogypsum includes radium, which decays to form radon gas. Radium and radon can cause cancer, and the giant stacks are used to try to limit public exposure to radon emissions, according to information on the EPA\u2019s website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Center for Biological Diversity filed the challenge in February, about two months after the EPA approved the project at Mosaic\u2019s New Wales facility. Mosaic Fertilizer on Friday told a… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvbGFrZWxhbmRnYXpldHRlLmluZm9cL25ld3NcL3dwLWNvbnRlbnRcL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMjVcLzEyXC90aGUtbW9zYWljLWZhY2lsaXR5LWluLXRoZS1ob29rZXJzLXBvaW50LVlXUTJDV1lVSVpBWUREV09UWERSWVFXR1dRLmF2aWYiLCJ0eHQiOiJUYW1wYVx1MjAxOXMgTW9zYWljIHNheXMgbGVnYWwgY2hhbGxlbmdlIHRvIHBob3NwaGF0ZSByb2FkIHBsYW4gbm93IFx1MjAxOG1vb3RcdTIwMTkiLCJ0ZW1wbGF0ZSI6ImhpZ2h3YXkiLCJmb250IjoiIiwiYmxvZ19pZCI6MTYzMDQwNjYxfQ.XXmf8F2KUl_Z1dcVU-LoIg5x38K87TZhu2zFsu3SGgwMQ"},"version":2,"attached_media":[{"id":59753,"url":"http:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/the-mosaic-facility-in-the-hookers-point-YWQ2CWYUIZAYDDWOTXDRYQWGWQ.avif","type":"image\/avif"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[14],"tags":[12806],"class_list":["post-59752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-tampas-mosaic-says-legal-challenge-to-phosphate-road-plan-now-moot"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59752"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59754,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59752\/revisions\/59754"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}