TAMPA BAY – Five conservation groups issued a notice today saying they intend to file a federal lawsuit over the intentional discharge of “hundreds of tons of pollutants into Tampa Bay” earlier this year.
The Center for Biological Diversity, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, Suncoast Waterkeeper, ManaSota-88 and Our Children’s Earth Foundation announced a forthcoming lawsuit against the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Manatee County Port Authority and HRK Holdings, the owner of Piney Point, for violations of the Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Endangered Species Act.
They claim the defendants are liable for “endangering the public and harming marine ecosystems and endangered species” by failing to maintain the gyp stacks and the waste storage ponds built into them at the closed Piney Point phosphate plant in Palmetto.
The environmental crisis at the old Piney Point fertilizer plant didn’t originate overnight, and blame doesn’t fall only on the land’s private owner, HRK Holdings. That’s why it is good that a coalition of environmental groups announced its intention to sue state and local agencies in addition to the company for the pollution that poured into Tampa Bay. This is an opportunity to hold all .
Holding everyone responsible for Tampa Bay s Piney Point disaster tampabay.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tampabay.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Local conservation groups have notified the state, Manatee County Port Authority and HRK Holdings of a lawsuit that they plan to file in the coming weeks over the wastewater breach in April at the former Piney Point fertilizer plant.
The lawsuit seeks to shed light on the involvement that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection had in decisions leading to two emergency situations at the former fertilizer facility during the past decade. The DEP and the state have basically just been pointing the finger at HRK and saying we are going to bring all our resources to hold them accountable, but I think they need to be introspective, said Justin Bloom, founder of the Suncoast Waterkeeper. The facts will show they (the DEP) have been in control of this facility for 20 years.