Waterlogged and contaminated: In rural Florida, locals suspect a mining company is to blame for their flooding troubles

Waterlogged and contaminated: In rural Florida, locals suspect a mining company is to blame for their flooding troubles

The storm had passed, but the water kept rising. In September 2017, Hurricane Irma slammed into Florida, causing tides to surge and dumping about a foot of water across much of the state. A few days later, Jane Blais stood on a bridge with her neighbors near her High Springs ranch, watching the Santa Fe River below swell higher and higher.  “We had zero notice,” Blais said, recalling how she ran home to evacuate the tenants of a small cluster of…