PALMETTO – The owners of Piney Point have been sued a second time in six weeks, this time by their co-defendant, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The closed phosphate processing plant was the site of an FDEP-approved discharge of 215 million gallons of contaminated water into Tampa Bay in March and April. The dumping was intended to prevent a compromised and leaking gypsum stack containing more than 450 million gallons of wastewater from failing and flooding nearby homes and businesses.
Since then, a bloom of red tide in Tampa Bay has emerged and spread to the Gulf of Mexico off Manatee and Pinellas counties. Scientists and bay managers note a connection between nitrogen in the wastewater and the proliferation of toxic red tide algae, which processes the substance as a nutrient.
Five conservation groups, including ManaSota-88 and Sarasota-based Suncoast Waterkeeper, filed a lawsuit on June 24 against Piney Point owner HRK Holdings LLC and FDEP, seeking to hold both responsible for negligence in managing the site. HRK’s authorized representative is hedge fund investor William F. Harley III; the registered agent and site manager is Jeffrey Barath, both of Palmetto, according to the Florida Division of Corporations.
On Aug. 5, co-defendant FDEP sued HRK in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court to seek injunctive relief to prevent any more discharges of wastewater, plus damages and civil penalties, claiming that HRK failed to safely operate the gyp stacks and protect surface and groundwater.
The state environmental agency is seeking $50,000 per day for violations of an order to remove the wastewater by 2019 and $15,000 per day for violations of surface and groundwater standards and other violations on the site. FDEP also seeks the appointment of a court-appointed receiver to oversee the management and closure of the site.
“The ultimate goal remains closure of the site once and for all,” FDEP Interim Secretary Shawn Hamilton said in a press release.
Blood from a turnip?
HRK Holdings LLC and HRK Industries LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2012 and settled the case in 2017, according to records at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa. Chapter 11 bankruptcy provides for a business reorganization plan that enables creditors to be repaid.
The reorganization allowed HRK to create the industrial park adjacent to Port Manatee, according to the Tampa bankruptcy law firm that represented HRK.
The company owns 676 acres at the site, including three wells more than 600 feet deep that are permitted to pump up to 150,000 gallons per day from the Floridan aquifer, according to the company website. While the phosphate operation remains closed, the site is currently used to store salt, fertilizer and other substances belonging to at least nine tenants – including the Manatee County Port Authority, according to the website, which advertises portions of the site for lease for industrial use.
HRK’s reorganization was confirmed in 2016 by Judge K. Rodney May in a bankruptcy case involving more than $33 million in claims. During the case, HRK sold about 65 acres, netting about $15 million to reduce secured debt and “establish funding to ensure the environmental integrity of the phosphogypsum stack system located on the property,” according to the law firm’s website.
About 267 million gallons of contaminated water remain in the pond in the compromised gyp stack, which has been temporarily patched. The water consists of phosphogypsum process water, seawater, rain and dredge material from Port Manatee.
Manatee County commissioners approved a $9.35 million agreement in April for Tampa-based ASRus to design and build a deep injection well on county property to permanently dispose of the water.
Meanwhile, the clock may be ticking on HRK’s ability to fund work at the site; FDEP noted on Aug. 5 in its announcement of the lawsuit that there is an ongoing foreclosure action between HRK and its mortgage holder.
HRK did not respond to a request for comment.
