Legislature clears measure making it harder to sue Mosaic

A bill that would make it harder to sue phosphate mining operators, such as Mosaic, has cleared the Senate. It previously cleared the House, meaning the measure will next head to the Governor.

The measure cleared the Senate 32-4, with Democratic Sens. Lori Berman, LaVon Bracy Davis, Rosalind Osgood and Carlos Guillermo Smith casting the “no” votes. No one spoke in favor of or against the bill (HB 167), sponsored by Sen. Lawrence McClure and Rep. Richard Gentry, both Republicans.

The Senate took up the House bill, as there was no Senate companion.

The measure cleared the House in mid-January on an 87-24 vote, with all of the “no” votes coming from Democrats.

The bill makes it harder to sue companies like Mosaic by establishing a defense from strict liability in lawsuits brought against a phosphate mining operation based on the presence of a natural geological substance at the site of a former phosphate mine.

A phosphate miner can avoid strict liability under the bill if they have provided a notice that the property was a former phosphate mine and if the Department of Health has conducted a radiation survey of the property at the request of the landowner.

Under the bill, plaintiffs suing a phosphate miner would have to include a radiation survey of the property along with their complaint, which could have a negative fiscal impact on plaintiffs due to the cost of hiring a qualified professional to conduct such a survey, according to a bill analysis.

The survey would have to be conducted by a certified health physicist or radiation protection technologist.

This is the third time the Legislature has considered such a measure, with the first two failing to pass. As Sen. Danny Burgess noted in presenting the bill on the Senate floor Wednesday, “third time’s a charm.”

Phosphate mining is conducted in Florida to collect phosphorus, a mineral used in some fertilizers. The process begins by collecting phosphate rock, which contains small amounts of naturally occurring radionuclides, such as uranium and radium, which when broken down create radon, a radioactive gas that can move through the ground and accumulate over time in buildings if they are built on site.

Phosphate mining is the fifth-largest mining industry in the state and is the largest known U.S. source of phosphates, with more than 60% of the nation’s production, according to the bill analysis. The mining is primarily conducted in “Bone Valley,” located in Hardee, Hillsborough, Manatee and Polk counties.