String of environmental violations raises concerns about firm linked to Okefenokee mine project

In October 2019, state authorities received a call from a farmer in northeast Georgia who reported a creek running through his land had turned pitch black.

Investigators soon traced the source of pollution to a nearby power plant in Franklin County, where workers had spent days spraying more than 1 million gallons of water on a smoldering wood fuel pile to prevent a fire, state records show.

The runoff overwhelmed the plant’s stormwater system and infiltrated the adjacent waters, according to records from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. The pollution killed an estimated 2,159 fish along 4.6 miles of the creek, which became so contaminated the farmer’s cows would no longer drink from the stream, records show.

Credit: Georgia Department of Natural Resources

Credit: Georgia Department of Natural Re

The plant is owned by Georgia Renewable Power, one of several subsidiaries of Greenfuels Energy LLC — the company that is ultimately behind the controversial plan to mine near the Okefenokee Swamp in South Georgia.

Greenfuels subsidiary Twin Pines Minerals is seeking to mine titanium from atop the ancient sand dunes near the edge of the swamp. The plan has pitted the company against environmental groups, residents and scientists who argue the mine will endanger the swamp’s fragile and important ecosystem.

Twin Pines is led by Steven Ingle, who once served as vice president of engineering at two Greenfuels subsidiaries: Georgia Renewable Power and North Carolina Renewable Power. In the face of immense public pressure, including more than 70,000 comments to the Georgia EPD, Ingle has sought to assure critics that Twin Pines can be trusted with protecting the treasured natural resource. Meanwhile, many conservationists fear the mine could be greenlighted by state regulators this summer.

“We expect stringent government oversight of our mining-to-reclamation project, which will be fully protective of the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge and the region’s environment,” Ingle told the AJC in February .

But a review by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution of hundreds of pages of government records and court documents, along with numerous interviews with experts, environmentalists and residents, reveals a pattern of operational failures and environmental violations by Twin Pines and other Greenfuels subsidiaries.

Since 2016, these companies accumulated more than $1 million in settlements and fines, according to the AJC’s review. More than 70 violations are linked to facilities in Georgia and three other states.

Those facilities include a Twin Pines titanium processing plant in Florida fined for air pollution violations in 2019 and 2020; a Greenfuels subsidiary’s power plant in North Carolina cited repeatedly by regulators and fined 64 times since 2016; and, at a mineral sands operation in northern California, an unpermitted Twin Pines mining pit that drew the attention of environmental inspectors last year.

The environmental record raises questions about Twin Pines’ claim that the company will be a good steward of one of Georgia’s most treasured natural resources, critics say.

“We shouldn’t be trusting a company with this track record,” said Megan Huynh, an environmental attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.

For more than five decades, the swamp — a designated National Natural Landmark with an ecosystem that has remained virtually undisturbed since humans first laid eyes on its dark waters — and the surrounding wetlands enjoyed broad federal protections. But a 2020 federal rule change during the Donald Trump presidency and a series of administrative decisions and settlements concerning oversight of the mine have allowed Twin Pines to bypass federal agencies and seek a state permit.

In February, the Georgia EPD released draft permits for the company’s proposal for a nearly 600-acre mine, one of the last steps in Twin Pines’ five-year effort to seek approval.

Repeated calls and messages left at phone numbers linked to Greenfuels, owned by Alabama businessman Raymon Bean, went unanswered. Multiple attempts to reach Bean through Greenfuels subsidiaries were also unsuccessful. Ingle declined to be interviewed for this story but offered written responses to AJC questions.

Ingle said that while Greenfuels owns a majority stake in Twin Pines, Bean is an investor and has no role in the company’s operations. Ingle said his role as vice president of engineering for Georgia Renewable Power and North Carolina Renewable Power ended years ago. He said he left before many of those companies’ violations occurred.

“I have had no association with any of the renewable power entities since August 2018,” Ingle said.

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Roughly a decade ago, Bean and Greenfuels Energy made a play in the Southeast’s budding biomass energy industry.

Through Georgia Renewable Power and North Carolina Renewable Power, Greenfuels acquired three power plants with the intention of burning biomass, a source of fuel that includes wood chips and poultry litter — the waste byproduct created by poultry production.

North Carolina Renewable Power sought to retrofit a shuttered coal plant in Lumberton, North Carolina, a small town near the state’s border with South Carolina. NCRP employed Mark Fowler, who would later become environmental manager at Twin Pines. Ingle, as vice president of engineering for NCRP, served as the company’s point of contact with regulators. Fowler, through a Twin Pines spokesperson, declined to be interviewed.

In an email to the AJC, Ingle said Fowler’s employment with NCRP ended in July 2017, although Fowler continued to help NCRP file regulatory reports through December 2022.

Ingle acknowledged the North Carolina plant’s retrofit “encountered problems.”

The company fired up the plant for the first time in 2015 and quickly ran afoul of North Carolina regulators. From 2016-2022, the company paid roughly $174,000 in fines across 64 violations cited by state environmental regulators, records show.

Efforts to convert the facility’s coal boilers to burn biomass faced setbacks, and the plant would regularly emit too much carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and other pollutants, North Carolina regulatory records show.

In early 2017, the plant was fined $15,000 for emissions violations and entered into a consent order with state regulators that stipulated the company would face additional fines for each month the plant exceeded their emissions limits.

Over a nearly five-year period ending in February 2022, the company paid $110,000 in fines for 55 monthly emissions violations, according to records from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

“The facility has had operational issues since first starting up in July 2015, including emission limits exceedances, baghouse fires, and a multitude of mechanical failures and other challenges,” one inspector wrote in a 2018 report addressed to Ingle and Fowler.

NCRP could not overcome the problems that plagued the facility. The plant ceased operations in November 2020, according to Ingle and records reviewed by the AJC. By 2023, utility company Duke Energy terminated its power purchasing agreement with the company, citing NCRP’s inability to consistently generate electricity. That effectively shut down the plant permanently, according to state records.

Within weeks of the contract being terminated, state inspectors noted a local sheriff had placed a sign at the plant saying it was delinquent on its property tax bill.

Ingle told the AJC that the company cooperated with regulators to address the issues.

“These projects ultimately did not succeed due to challenges associated with the process and equipment,” he said.

While it’s challenging to measure how Greenfuels’ record stacks up against other companies, the violations suggest a “possible pattern of problematic disregard for the rules,” said University of Georgia environmental law professor Adam Orford.

Operational difficulties are especially worrisome for smaller companies, which often lack the financial resources to abide by environmental laws, he added.

“Looking at these violations, I see a company that in the past has deprioritized environmental compliance when the going got hard,” Orford said. “The energy side of the business raises legitimate concerns about how they would run different projects in mining.”

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

In 2019, Greenfuels began operations of a pair of biomass power plants through its subsidiary Georgia Renewable Power. The plants in neighboring Franklin and Madison counties in northeast Georgia faced significant challenges from the outset.

In the first year of operation, the plants were cited by state regulators four times, records show. The problems included two air permit violations and two stormwater violations, including the October 2019 incident in Franklin County that killed an estimated 2,159 fish, according to records.

The Franklin County Commission issued a notice of violation against GRP that year, accusing the company of violating the county’s nuisance ordinance.

“Franklin County seeks relief on behalf of its citizens and demands a full abatement of the noise levels and chemical emissions, which endanger public health,” the commission’s notice said.

In a 2020 presentation the company prepared for state environmental regulators after a string of violations, GRP officials acknowledged the challenges.

“Both facilities experienced a difficult startup due to construction defects and other issues. GRP has worked tirelessly to iron out the issues to gain better reliability at the facilities,” the company’s presentation stated.

In written responses to the AJC’s questions, GRP’s asset management company, Fairlead Advisors, acknowledged the company’s violations early on but said that they don’t represent a pattern at the plants in Franklin and Madison counties.

Fairlead representative Adam Carte added that an independent board of directors with no prior association with Greenfuels or its affiliates has managed the facilities since 2022, and the violations predate the board’s involvement.

“A small number of environmental violations at Franklin and Madison occurred primarily during the startup phase of the plants in 2019. Every effort is made to minimize disruptions to operations; however, it is not unusual for plants commencing operations to experience some variability in performance,” Carte wrote.

Twin Pines told the AJC said that Ingle advised the Georgia plants during their startup period, but he had no role in constructing and operating the facilities.

Credit: Hyosub Shin

The facilities have been the subject of more than 40 complaints to the EPD since 2018, records show. Many of the complaints were brought by local residents concerned about soot that blanketed their yards and excessive noise, records show.

Several residents are suing the company over noise from the Franklin County plant. During its startup phase, the plant regularly emitted loud discharges of steam that residents said rattled windows and picture frames in their homes, according to court filings.

In Madison County, Greenfuels and GRP agreed to an $850,000 settlement with two neighboring farmers who sued the company in 2019, accusing the plant of discharging heavily polluted wastewater onto their properties, court records show.

“The company has already proven to be a bad actor. It has already damaged the communities in Franklin County and damaged the communities in Madison County,” said local resident David Ramsey, a retired Centers for Disease Control and Prevention public health scientist and outspoken critic of the plants.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Another community flashpoint was GRP’s practice of burning railroad ties treated with the chemical compound creosote, which the CDC has linked to several forms of cancer .

At the behest of his Madison and Franklin constituents, state Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, sponsored legislation in 2020 banning this practice. Residents who testified at the Georgia State Capitol blamed the creosote burning for a host of health concerns, including breathing issues and nosebleeds.

Powell told the AJC that GRP had initially pitched his constituents on a clean, renewable wood-burning power plant.

In one legislative hearing in February 2020, state Sen. Frank Ginn, R-Danielsville, described the company as a nuisance to the community. GRP representatives, speaking at the hearing, said the plants are safe and warned that a ban on burning the compound might force the closure of the plant.

Powell’s bill passed through the Legislature without a single “No” vote, and Gov. Brian Kemp signed it into law in August 2020.

Ginn recently told the AJC that, while the plants had issues in their early days, he believes GRP has been a net force for good in the community. He said the plants have provided good jobs and tax revenues to the counties.

“I think they made some mistakes, but in the end, I know it’s been good for both counties economically,” Ginn said.

But many residents in the northeast Georgia community have argued that their county commissioners fell for GRP’s alluring sales pitch without considering harm to the community. Now, some are upset to see another Greenfuels company making a similar pitch in South Georgia, promising to bring good-paying jobs to a rural community in need of an economic jolt.

The commission in Charlton County, where the mine near the Okefenokee is planned, has shown strong support for Twins Pines’ proposal.

Charlton County District 4 Commissioner Drew Jones told the AJC in a statement he believes it makes “environmental, economic and societal sense” to allow Twin Pines to demonstrate that mining can be conducted without damaging the swamp.

“Our county is in desperate need of an economic catalyst to increase the quality of lives of our citizens, diversify our tax digest and provide economic opportunities,” he said.

But Ramsey, the Madison County resident, said he has heard that pitch before. He said local officials in his community were blinded by promises of tax dollars and economic impact.

“I see it playing out again,” Ramsey said. “It’s too bad, because this company has such a terrible record.”

Although the proposed 582-acre mine near the border of the Okefenokee represents Twin Pines’ highest-profile venture, the company has also established a presence in California and Florida. These operations have also faced scrutiny from regulators.

In February 2023, water regulators inspecting an existing mining operation in Ione, California, made a surprising discovery: A new, unpermitted mining pit and processing plant were also operating on the site, a couple hours northeast of San Francisco.

According to an inspection report, the owner of the site told state regulators the unpermitted mine was run by Twin Pines.

Credit: Natasha VIdic

In September, California environmental regulators with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board issued a notice of violation for the unauthorized mine, state records show. The violation was issued to the owner of the site, US Mine Corporation, and Twin Pines Minerals was cc’d on the notice.

In the document, the quality control board demanded US Mine submit a report detailing the changes to its mining operations and cease unpermitted discharges to a mining waste pond. In April, US Mine submitted an updated plan, which asked regulators to accommodate “the inclusion of a new heavy minerals facility on the mine property.”

A representative for the board said agency staff are reviewing the company’s updated plan, adding that no fines have been proposed or planned. US Mine did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In an email, Ingle, the Twin Pines president, said US Mine was responsible for maintaining the permit. Twin Pines said it sold the facility to US Mine late last year and no longer operates on the property.

“Twin Pines’ Ione operation was acquired by US Mine Corp. and has been operated continuously by US Mine Corp,” Twin Pines said.

Credit: Natasha VIdic

Twin Pines also ran into state environmental regulatory issues at a processing plant it operated in North Florida.

The plant in Starke, Florida, which processed titanium mining waste, was issued air pollution violations in 2019 and 2020, according to Florida Department of Environmental Protection records. The first fine, in March 2019, was for $6,300. The second violation, in April 2020, was for $3,000.

Twin Pines operated the plant until 2020, when the company shut down operations, according to state business records.

While Twin Pines has yet to receive the green light for its proposed mine near the edge of the Okefenokee, the company has already run into trouble with authorities reviewing the Georgia project.

In 2020, a South Georgia property owner — TIAA Timberlands — near the proposed mine noted that Twin Pines misrepresented itself as owner of TIAA’s land. This resulted in Twin Pines having to amend its initial mine permit application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Ingle said in his written response to the AJC’s questions that Twin Pines had discussed buying the land from TIAA before the permit application. Twin Pines included the land in the application because it “incorrectly believed” TIAA was willing to sell the tract.

In January, Twin Pines was fined $20,000 by Georgia regulators for drilling on the proposed swamp mining site without the supervision of a state licensed geologist or professional engineer, state records show. Twin Pines has denied wrongdoing, arguing the law regarding licensed supervision is ambiguous.

But experts say a violation of this nature is more serious than Twin Pines has acknowledged and that the company’s response suggests a lax attitude regarding the environment.

“If any of my colleagues or I used this excuse in an attempt to avoid wrongdoing by not following the law, we would lose our jobs and our licenses to practice geology,” said Kristen Ritter Rivera, a former EPD employee.

In March, Ritter Rivera submitted a letter to the EPD signed by 13 geologists and former EPD officials that raised questions about the accuracy of the model Twin Pines submitted to state regulators.

“Together we have a combined 294 years of public service to the State, and we implore you to pause (and) invest the time to ensure this project is evaluated correctly,” wrote Ritter Rivera, a former co-chair of the Georgia State Board of Professional Geologists.

So far, the criticism directed at the company doesn’t seem to be hampering advancement of the mining proposal. Efforts to limit or pause mining near the swamp — efforts made during the Georgia legislative session, seen by many conservationists as the last chance to impede the planned project — failed this year.

When asked by the AJC whether the violations committed by Twin Pines and its affiliates in Georgia and elsewhere will factor into the EPD’s decision-making regarding the Okefenokee proposal, agency spokeswoman Sara Lips said, “EPD takes compliance seriously and responds to violations with appropriate and timely enforcement.”

Josh Marks, an Atlanta attorney and longtime opponent of mining near the swamp, criticized Twin Pines for its environmental record and lack of experience in titanium mining. Marks said he hopes state regulators with the EPD will review Twin Pines’ track record and factor that into its decision on the permit.

“It’s not too late for the agency to change course, follow the science, the law and the overwhelming will of the public, and deny Twin Pines Minerals’ permits,” he said.

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