PALMETTO – As summer rainfall fills a near-capacity pond of contaminated water at Piney Point, state environmental officials are sounding the alarm about a possible second discharge into Tampa Bay.
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) officials estimate that Piney Point will get at least another 10 inches of rain by the end of September, nearly as much as the current storage capacity for additional rainfall at the site – 10.6 inches.
“With additional significant rain volumes expected as we continue into the rainy season, water levels at the site will likely need to be lowered to prevent the overtopping of on-site compartment areas into the surrounding areas, including Bishop Harbor (an Outstanding Florida Water), which could include controlled discharges of treated water,” according to an FDEP release.
The potential overflow of the pond “poses an imminent threat to public health and safety, and the environment,” according to a request for an emergency hearing filed by FDEP in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court of Manatee County on Aug. 14.
FDEP originally sued Piney Point owner HRK Holdings on Aug. 5, asking the court to appoint a third-party receiver to take over the site’s water management and eventual closure from HRK. The state agency also is seeking damages and civil penalties, claiming that HRK failed to protect surface and groundwater. No date has yet been set for the emergency hearing.
In March and April, FDEP approved the discharge of 215 million gallons of contaminated water into Tampa Bay at Port Manatee from a pond built on top of a gypsum stack at the shuttered phosphate plant. The discharge was considered necessary to avoid an even larger spill that could have flooded area homes and businesses due to a tear in the liner of the pond that has since been patched.
The contaminated water contains phosphogypsum process water, seawater, rain, dredge material from Port Manatee and nitrogen and phosphorus, which act as fertilizer for toxic red tide, which has caused fish kills and respiratory irritation in and around Tampa Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and connected waterways – including around Anna Maria Island – since mid-April.
About 261 million gallons of contaminated water remain in the pond, more than was discharged this spring, according to FDEP.
The state agency reports that it has been working with a contractor to remove nitrogen and phosphorus from the water in case another discharge becomes necessary. Since the April discharge, the water has been treated to remove about 200 tons of nitrogen and 150 tons of phosphorus. The treated discharges would be less than 1% of the total annual load allocation of total nitrogen and phosphorus for Lower Tampa Bay, according to FDEP.
Contaminated water also is being trucked off the site to the Manatee County Southeast Water Reclamation Facility to lower water levels. As of Aug. 22, 56 trucks had hauled about 319,500 gallons of water offsite.
Additionally, rainfall runoff is being drained from permitted outfalls at the site.
“The priority remains to pursue all available water management tools to ensure safe storage capacities for the remainder of the rainy season,” according to FDEP. “The department expects HRK to continue to explore all short-term water management options to remove water from the site, such as piping and trucking water to nearby water treatment facilities, until a receiver is appointed and long-term water management remedies are in place.”
FDEP is named as a defendant with HRK in a lawsuit by five environmental groups, including ManaSota-88 and Sarasota-based Suncoast Waterkeeper, filed on June 24 seeking to hold both responsible for negligence in managing the site.
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 and operate an industrial park adjacent to Port Manatee, a possible source of funding for mitigation.
Meanwhile, Manatee County officials are pursuing plans to inject Piney Point wastewater underground into a well below the Floridan aquifer, approving a $9.35 million agreement in April for Tampa-based ASRus to design and build the well. The plan would require FDEP approval.
Related coverage
Florida DEP sues Piney Point owner
Conservation groups sue over Piney Point discharge
Piney Point-algae link explored
Piney Point pollution spreading, affecting dolphins
