The state agency tasked with cleaning up the environmental disaster at Piney Point contributed to many of the problems at the site, critics say, raising questions about the effectiveness of Florida’s environmental regulations.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection on Friday stopped the flow of untreated wastewater from Piney Point into Tampa Bay and is working to implement a long-term solution, while also pledging to hold property owner HRK Holdings responsible for the disaster.
Yet it was DEP’s own decisions that helped push the problems at the former fertilizer plant property to another breaking point, according to some environmental advocates and public officials.
It’s been a week since a significant leak at a long-abandoned fertilizer plant in the Tampa Bay area threatened the surrounding groundwater, soil, and local water supplies. Last weekend, officials ordered more than 300 families living near the 676-acre Piney Point plant site in Manatee county to evacuate. The sheriff even emptied out his jail’s first floor of inmates in case a “ 20-foot wall of water” came rolling their way. By Monday, local.
Environmental disaster at Florida s Piney Point was long in the making heraldtribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from heraldtribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Article by Amanda Jasi
ENVIRONMENTALISTS are concerned about the impacts on marine life after days of leakage of contaminated wastewater into a local creek leading to Tampa Bay, Florida’s largest open-water estuary. Researchers are currently investigating the effects.
On 26 March, owner HRK Holdings reported signs of a leak from a wastewater reservoir at its Piney Point facility, a former phosphate plant. The reservoir contained about 480m US gallons (1,817 L) of wastewater when the leak was identified. It holds mixed seawater, primarily saltwater from dredging of a local port, along with legacy process water and stormwater runoff and rainfall.
Authorities stated that news reports of a second leak from the reservoir were “unsubstantiated”.
Evacuation Order Lifted at Florida Leaky Phosphate Reservoir claimsjournal.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from claimsjournal.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.