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Titan Cement Company based out of Athens, Greece, purchased Tarmac America, LLC. This international cement manufacturing company, through its newly–acquired subsidiary Tarmac America, LLC, has proposed a 4,000-acre limestone mine in the heart of Gulf Hammock. The swampy lowlands of Gulf Hammock are intertwined with spring-fed creeks that merge with the Gulf of Mexico in a pristine estuary. Despite much of the land being owned by Plum Creek Timber and logged for decades, habitat suitable for threatened and endangered wildlife remain.
Residents share many concerns with the Tarmac proposal, citing increased truck traffic, un-wanted growth along US 19, pollution to the area's wells, decreased sporting and recreation, and an overall negative impact on their quality of life. More than a quarter of the proposed mine site – 1,150 acres – are wetlands. Pollution is a significant concern because USGS tests of other mine sites in Florida have shown carcinogenic pathogens traveling at 1,200 feet per day through the fractured limestone caused by mining. Six thousand acres in Dade County’s “Lake Belt”, an area of intense mining, were order closed by a federal judge due to possible contamination of the region's groundwater, putting pressure on the mining industry to find new locations for their rock. This search is now dividing rural Levy County. Some residents are for the mine, saying that Levy County needs the jobs and the tax revenue. The mine pits will be up to 100 feet deep in the fragile aquifer and pump 22 million gallons of fresh water to process the mined rock.
The mine is at odds with Levy County’s Comprehensive Development Plan, which identifies the Gulf Hammock Swamp as “Environmentally Sensitive Lands” protected by specific goals, objectives and policies, namely policy 3.8, which states: "Environmentally Sensitive Lands including, but not limited to, coastal resources and designated areas of critical state concern, will be protected from mining operations." However, the mine proposal is not compatible with other comp plan objectives and policies in general.
- Objective 4 – "Encourage the long-term conservation and proper management of forest lands in the County to ensure
a continuous yield of forest products, habitats for wildlife, forest associated recreation, aesthetics, clean air
and clean water."
- Objective 5 – "The County, in cooperation with the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission and the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection, shall identify the locations of, and protect endangered and
threatened wildlife species."
- Policy 6.1 – "Any activities known to adversely affect the quality and quantity of water sources will be prohibited by the county through adopted local ordinances and rules."
- Policy 6.4 – "Natural groundwater recharge areas, wellfield protection areas and surface waters shall be protected from activities, such as, inadequate stormwater management, inappropriate use of septic tanks, intense development in karst sensitive areas and inappropriate densities and intensities of development in areas identified environmentally sensitive land."
The issue of the Tarmac mine is one that all Nature Coast counties face: how to ensure economic vitality while protecting the area's natural resources? Although there is much to suggest that the Tarmac mine will not provide the sustainbility of Levy County's environment and the economy, projects like this can be, and are, approved throughout Florida. The Tarmac mine continues to be pushed through the approval process at a snails pace .
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Conservation 
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