UPDATED AUG. 30, 2021 at 7:15 P.M. – PALMETTO – Piney Point is now under the management of an independent third-party receiver who will oversee the closure of the former phosphate plant, which has posed environmental problems for decades.
Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Edward Nicholas issued an emergency order on Aug. 25 appointing Herbert Donica, a business lawyer and partner of the Tampa-based Donica Law Firm, as receiver of the site at 13300 U.S. Hwy. 41 N. Under the order, Donica is responsible for maintaining, managing and closing Piney Point “as efficiently and expeditiously as possible.” The order grants Donica judicial immunity from liability, including personal injury and property damage.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) sued Piney Point owner HRK Holdings LLC last month requesting an emergency hearing to appoint a receiver. The emergency was the possibility that summer rains could overflow a storage pond containing water contaminated by phosphate processing, dredge material from Port Manatee and nitrogen and phosphorus, which act as fertilizer for toxic red tide.
Scientists have noted a link between red tide-related fish kills and respiratory irritation in and around Tampa Bay – including around Anna Maria Island – since FDEP approved the discharge of 215 million gallons of contaminated water into Tampa Bay in March and April to avoid the potential collapse of a compromised gypsum stack that contained more than twice that amount of polluted water.
FDEP officials have revised their estimate that Piney Point will get at least another 10 inches of rain by the end of September, saying in a release on Aug. 30 that 8 inches of rain is now expected. The current storage capacity for additional rainfall at the site is about 11 inches. Totals are changing with rainfall amounts and water management activities at the site, according to FDEP, which includes trucking water off site to the Manatee County Southeast Water Reclamation Facility to lower water levels. FDEP reports that 163 trucks have hauled 1,033,220 gallons of contaminated water offsite, leaving 259 million gallons as of Aug. 30.
The state agency also is 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, according to FDEP.
FDEP is a co-defendant with HRK Holdings LLC in a lawsuit filed on June 24 by five environmental groups, including ManaSota-88 and Sarasota-based Suncoast Waterkeeper, seeking to hold both responsible for negligence in managing the site. No hearing has yet been set in the case.
Related coverage
