Stop FDOT’s Secret Borrow Pit Deal in Citrus County

Florida’s Department of Transportation (FDOT) is pushing to buy and mine the Southworth borrow pit — 344 acres in one of the most environmentally sensitive areas of Citrus County.

Officials told the public in October 2025 that review of this site was “just beginning.” But records prove FDOT had detailed geotechnical reports as early as March 3, 2025, warning of sinkhole risk, karst terrain, and direct aquifer connection. By April, maps already labeled the property a “Future Borrow Pit.”

Instead of transparency, residents got misdirection:
• County Attorney announced eminent domain before it was even filed, leaving people to believe the mine fight was already over.
• Special Master ruling (June 27, 2025) found the mine violates County Policy 17.13.4 and cannot be reclaimed — a ruling that should have stopped the project in its tracks.
• September 23, 2025: County resolutions quietly handed unelected staff authority to sign off on permits with FDOT, SWFWMD, and FDEP — eliminating public oversight.
• FDOT has admitted it never looked at alternative sand sources, even though Phase 2 had a surplus that was sold off.

Now taxpayers face a multi-million-dollar land deal in a FEMA floodplain, right inside the Priority Focus Area for the Kings Bay Outstanding Florida Spring — with full knowledge this site is unsafe for mining.

This is not how government should work.
Instead of protecting our aquifer and springs, FDOT and Citrus County are subverting the process, bypassing public hearings, and putting taxpayer money on the line for a dangerous project.

We, the undersigned, call on FDOT, SWFWMD, FDEP, and Citrus County to:
1. Halt the purchase and mining of the Southworth site.
2. Release all documents and appraisals related to this deal.
3. Re-evaluate sand needs with transparency, using safe and permitted alternatives.

Citrus County deserves honesty, accountability, and protection of its water resources — not backroom deals.

Add your name to stop FDOT’s secret Southworth borrow pit deal.