Titan America’s subsidiary in Florida had its mining operations partially closed down after it was linked to contamination in Miami-Dade’s water supply at the same time New Hanover County was vetting the company for a $4.2 million incentive package, according to news reports and court documents.

U.S. District Court Judge William Hoeveler issued an injunction on July 13, 2007 against Titan’s Florida subsidiary, Tarmac America, ordering it to cease all lime rock mining activity because its quarry on a Miami-Dade well field had been linked to contamination.

That ruling was overturned by a Court of Appeals on May 9, 2008, according to Reuters. The court argued that Judge Hoeveler was biased in his interpretation of the lawsuit.

New Hanover County issued the company a $4.2 million incentive package on April 21, 2008, more than two weeks before the injunction was lifted.

Two county commissioners, Bobby Greer and William Caster, who were on the board at the time, said they were unaware of the injunction.

"People are digging into every little thing that sounds bad about (Titan)," Greer said via telephone Wednesday, Jan. 27. "I think the overall good record speaks for itself."

Greer said he was part of a group that visited the Tarmac facility sometime before the incentive was granted but could not recall precisely when. "I don’t remember when it was exactly. Probably in that time frame but I can’t really say," he said.

"The property is properly zoned for heavy industrial. They could come in and not have even seen us," Caster said in a telephone interview Wednesday, adding that as long as the company meets the rigorous environmental requirements, it should be allowed to locate in New Hanover County.

"If they can’t meet the environmental requirements, then I don’t want them," he said.

Titan’s mines were closed in Florida as the result of a lawsuit brought by environmental groups against federal agencies including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and several rock mining industries, including Tarmac.

The lawsuit accused the federal agencies with violating federal law by granting permits to rock miners in April 2002 for the destruction of approximately 5,400 acres of wetlands to remove the underlying limestone for processing into cement.

The lawsuit was brought after elevated levels of benzene, a federally classified hazardous chemical with links to cancer, were detected at a county water treatment facility, according to the Miami New Times. The benzene was traced to the county’s Northwest Wellfield, the main water supply for most of Miami-Dade County.

After the lawsuit was brought forth, Judge Hoeveler sided with the environmental groups, setting aside the rock miners’ permits and ordering the companies closest to the wells, including Tarmac, to cease all mining in the area.

A spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nanciann Regalado, said the rock miners’ permits have not been reinstated, but she declined to comment further. "We’re in litigation and we don’t comment during litigation on the case," she said.

The contamination concerns spurred backlash among environmental groups and officials in Miami-Dade. The mayor of Miami Lakes, Michael Pizzi, is reported as a vocal opponent of the mining industry.

With Titan slated to build a plant along the Cape Fear River in Castle Hayne, the water quality concerns in Florida echo that of some New Hanover County residents. Others feel that state and federal environmental standards will stave off degradation.

Of particular concern to some residents is what effect the plant and quarry will have on the Castle Hayne aquifer, a large source of drinking water for residents on wells in that area.

A Titan spokesperson could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.

Charles Stehman, regional supervisor for the North Carolina Division of Water Quality, underscored those water-quality concerns in an interview Wednesday. He said that in order to mine, Titan will have to dewater, possibly affecting well water in the area.

He also said that because of chromium contamination already in the water supply, there is "concern about spreading that chromium contamination out further."

"There’s concern for reducing the resource, perhaps lowering water in water supply wells such that people would have to modify their pumps or they might not even be able to use wells anymore," Stehman said. "And then there’s the contamination issue."