Active Coalition Fight
Stop the Sand Mine
Industrial sand mining brings hundreds of heavy trucks, dust, noise, and groundwater risk to a rural community that was never built to absorb them. Montura is organizing to stop it — and we need every neighbor.
What's Being Proposed
An industrial mine in a residential and agricultural community
Proposed and active sand mine operations near Montura's homesteads, ranches, and equestrian properties would convert rural land into a 24/7 industrial site: excavation pits, processing equipment, stockpiles, and a continuous parade of tri-axle dump trucks moving sand to construction markets outside our county.
Truck Traffic
Hundreds of heavy hauls per day on roads designed for residential and farm use — shared with school buses, horses, ATVs, and families.
Dust & Air Quality
Silica dust from mining and stockpiles is a documented respiratory hazard for children, elders, and livestock downwind.
Groundwater Risk
Excavation below the water table changes flow patterns and exposes our shared aquifer — the same wells every Montura home relies on.
Cost Shift
Profits leave the county. Road damage, drainage repairs, and lost property value get charged back to residents.
Why We're Fighting It
Industrialization without infrastructure is not progress
Montura is zoned and lived in as a rural agricultural community. We chose this place for its quiet, its space, its horses and gardens, its room to raise a family. A commercial sand mine is incompatible with that — not because mining doesn't have a place in Florida's economy, but because this is not the place. The roads can't carry it. The water table can't absorb it. The community didn't agree to it.
The coalition is not anti-business. We support legal review of every permit, an honest traffic study, real air and groundwater monitoring, and binding conditions that protect residents. So far, those things have not been on the table. Until they are, we oppose the project.
Where We Stand
Hearing Timeline
- March 2026
Public hearing — residents packed the chamber
The board postponed a vote after sustained community testimony.
- Upcoming — TBD
Next zoning / permit hearing
Date to be posted in the coalition newsletter and on this page as soon as it's set. Sign up for alerts below.
- Ongoing
Coalition legal review
Independent counsel reviewing permit conditions, traffic study assumptions, and compliance with county comprehensive plan.
How to Help Right Now
Six things that move the needle
1. Attend the next hearing
Showing up in person matters more than anything else. Sign up for newsletter alerts so you never miss a hearing date.
Get alerts2. Submit a written objection
Email the Board of County Commissioners and the Planning & Zoning Department. Use your own words — even one paragraph helps.
Email template3. Sign the coalition petition
A signed petition with hundreds of Montura names becomes part of the official record at every hearing.
Sign up & I'll receive the petition4. Document the trucks
Every load that already moves through Montura should be reported — date, time, location, company, plate. Patterns matter.
How to report trucks5. Share the flyer with neighbors
Print, post, hand out. Most Montura residents still don't know this is happening.
Browse downloads6. Donate to the legal fund
Independent legal review and expert testimony cost real money. Any amount helps.
DonateJoin Us
Resident Sign-Up
Stand with your neighbors. The coalition is strongest when every road, ranch, and homestead is represented.
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- • Issue briefings and voter guides
- • Cleanup and volunteer opportunities
Latest from the Coalition
Sand Mine Hearing — What Happened and What's Next
Residents packed the chamber. The board postponed a vote. Here's the timeline and how to prepare for the next hearing.