Southeastern Massachusetts has become the center of vigorous pushback against sand mining, a globally occurring extractive and environmentally degrading process. Despite being major stakeholders in the issue, locals have largely been kept in the dark by sand mining companies. Plymouth’s finite natural resources are being rapidly strip-mined as companies exploit legal loopholes to undermine what is meant to benefit agricultural markets, animal health, and conservation. Sand extraction is regulated at the local level, allowing for corrupt regional regulators to green light deceptive projects that expand mining operations under flimsy legality. Strip-mining causes toxic carcinogens to seep into the water supply, causing harm to the people, animals, and plants of Massachusetts. Additionally, disrupting natural sediment decreases the fertility of surrounding soil, harming the agriculture sector and the indigenous people of Plymouth. For instance, the Herring Pond Wampanoag tribe have “fished these waters, cultivated these lands and raised our children here” for thousands of years, yet mining operations destroy sacred archaeological sites and precious ancestral land. The legacy of settler violence and colonialism is perpetuated by sand-mining.The Community Land and Water Coalition is a grassroots effort that advocates for climate justice, which is inextricable from indigenous solidarity. The continued degradation of the water, forests, and lands stolen from the Wampanoag, Massachusett, Pokanoket, and Patuxet tribes at the hands of colonizer agencies is unacceptable. For the sake of Plymouth residents, indigenous people, the stability of our ecosystems, and the protection of biodiversity, we must demand an immediate moratorium on all sand and gravel mining in Southeastern Massachusetts. The moratorium would delay sand mining and call for an investigation of broken environmental laws, damage assessment, and implement ecological revitalization in harmed areas. Furthermore, the outcomes of sand mining typically benefit the social and economic elite, while creating more infrastructural poverty for marginalized communities. According to the International Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology, potential alternatives to sand mining for construction materials include “recycled aggregates, dredged materials, and artificial sand”, which “offer promising solutions to alleviate the pressure on natural sand resources while minimizing ecological harm” (Poonia, K., Kansara, P., & Choudhary, P. Environmental Impacts of Sand Mining: A Comprehensive Review).
In Plymouth, public and private water sources are derived from either the Plymouth Carver Aquifer or nearby streams, ponds, and wetlands. Forests and natural sediments filter and protect groundwater from contaminants, which is why mining that razes forests and exacerbates erosion is so damaging to the health and wellbeing of the community. Currently, the rare and unique Pine Barrens forests, which support endangered species, are being clear cut for strip mining. The loss of Pine Barrens will have irreversible consequences on Plymouth, as it protects the Plymouth Carver Aquifer. Federally protected by the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Plymouth Carver Aquifer supports about 200,000 individuals, therefore mining operations that damage the town’s water quality are illegal. We must demand justice; some actions you can take to urge the passage of the moratorium are writing to your senator about the damage of sand mining in our communities, signing The Community Land and Water Coalition’s petition, and educating yourself and others on the topic of sand mining.