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VOL 21 No. 28
April 21, 2021
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION | SUBMITTED
On April 13, crews identified and repaired a small leak underneath the plate that had been used to repair a previous leak in the seam of the retention pond liner in the compromised Piney Point gyp stack.
Governor orders permanent closure of Piney Point The potential environmental impacts of the high-nutrient water discharged into Tampa Bay remains a concern. BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT
PALMETTO – State leaders are committing financial resources for the ongoing Piney Point response efforts and the implementation of a long-term plan to permanently close the property. The Piney Point property is owned by HRK Holdings. The company purchased the property in 2006. A phosphate production facility operated on that site from 1966 to 1999.
INSIDE NEWS 4 CALENDAR 7 OUTDOORS 18 REAL ESTATE 22-26 RESTAURANTS 27 SPORTS 28 CLASSIFIEDS 30
On Tuesday, April 13, Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson and Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Noah Valenstein participated in a press conference at the Piney Point property. State Sen. Jim Boyd (R-Manatee), State Rep. Will Robinson (R-Manatee), acting Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes and all seven county commissioners attended the press conference but did not address the media. Regarding the initial state response that included DEP, the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Florida National Guard, DeSantis noted the controlled discharge of containment stack water into Tampa Bay was stopped within seven days. SEE PINEY POINT, PAGE 26
Where will the wastewater from the Piney Point emergency discharge go? Everyone from university professors to international visitors wants to know. BY CINDY LANE SUN STAFF WRITER | clane@amisun.com
PALMETTO – About half the wastewater in a leaking retention pond built into a gyp stack at the idled Piney Point phosphate plant has been pumped into Tampa Bay at Port Manatee, and the 215 million gallons are spreading. Officials initiated the controlled emergency discharge in March to take pressure off the compromised gyp stack and avoid an accidental spill of even more of its contents after a leak was detected on March 26.
The discharge ended April 8, leaving a pollutant plume containing what the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) calls “mixed sea water.” The acidic blend of saltwater and debris from a Port Manatee dredge project, stormwater runoff and rainfall also contains “legacy process water” - wastewater from phosphate processing that carries nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen that can feed toxic red tide algae blooms. Sensitive environmental areas in Tampa Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, the Manatee River, the Little Manatee River, Bishop Harbor and Terra Ceia Bay are impacted so far, according to Dr. Robert H. Weisberg, distinguished professor of physical oceanography at the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science in St. Petersburg. SEE SPREAD, PAGE 9
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