PALMETTO – The environmentally unstable Piney Point phosphate processing site is moving towards closure with the completion of work on the first of four wastewater collection ponds, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The work on the pond, built to contain industrial wastewater from phosphate processing operations, is substantially complete, according to FDEP. A liner has been installed on top of the pond, which is located at the top of a phosphogypsum waste stack. A new stormwater control system has been installed and grass has been planted to reduce soil erosion.
On March 25, 2021, Piney Point owner HRK Holdings LLC notified FDEP of a possible leak in the lining of one of the other three ponds, which is now in the process of closure. Five days later, FDEP authorized the emergency discharge of 215 million gallons of industrial wastewater from the pond into Tampa Bay to maintain the integrity of the gypsum stack and avoid a potential flood. Surrounding homes and businesses were evacuated.
From March 30 to April 9, the wastewater poured into the bay, adding an estimated 186 metric tons of nitrogen, exceeding typical annual nitrogen loads in a matter of days, according to the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. The nutrient exacerbated toxic cyanobacteria blooms that peaked in June, followed by a bloom of toxic red tide algae that caused fish kills, triggering the cleanup of more than 1,600 metric tons of dead fish.
On Aug. 5, 2021, FDEP filed a complaint in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court in Manatee County, initiating enforcement action against Piney Point owner HRK Holdings LLC. In the complaint, the agency requested a judgment against HRK of $50,000 a day in civil penalties for each day that it failed to remove process water at Piney Point, and $15,000 per day for failure to provide FDEP with financial assurance. The total maximum penalties for all of HRK’s violations total $119,745,000, according to the complaint.
“This action enforces compliance with the state’s environmental laws and all of HRK’s existing authorizations, orders and agreements with the department. The department is seeking the maximum allowable penalties and recovery of costs and damages under existing laws and regulations,” according to FDEP.
On Jan. 3, 2023, FDEP filed a motion for a default final judgment against HRK claiming in part that HRK failed to remove groundwater from Feb. 15, 2019 to May 15, 2022, and failed to meet groundwater standards on 18 separate occasions, equating to $270,000 in penalties. The case remains open.
On Dec. 16, 2021, FDEP issued a permit to Manatee County to build an underground injection well on Buckeye Road to receive industrial wastewater from Piney Point. The well began receiving the wastewater from the site on April 4, 2023. To date, more than 97 million gallons of wastewater have been transferred to the well.
PALMETTO – Approximately 4.5 million gallons of stormwater contained in a storage pond at the Piney Point property will soon be discharged into Tampa Bay at Port Manatee (SeaPort Manatee).
The water to be discharged contains elevated levels of salinity (salt) but does not contain the same high levels of nitrogen and phosphate as the Piney Point water discharged into the bay in 2021, according to Piney Point’s receiver.
The Piney Point property is the site of a former phosphate processing plant that closed several years ago. In April 2021, a breach in the outer wall of one of the Piney Point retention ponds, also known as gyp stacks, resulted in approximately 215 million gallons of water containing high levels of nitrogen and phosphate being discharged into the nearby bay. At the time the Piney Point property was controlled by HRK Holdings LLC.
In August 2021, Manatee County Circuit Court Judge Edward Nicholas issued an emergency order appointing Tampa-based business attorney Herb Donica to act as the receiver of the Piney Point site. Under that 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.
Attorney Herb Donica is the court-appointed receiver for the Piney Point property. – Donica Law Firm | Submitted
When contacted at his Donica Law Firm office Wednesday morning, Donica explained the pending discharge.
“We have four stack systems. The old gyp stack south had been dewatered and was dry. We have gone out for bid with construction companies to do a final closure on it, which is going to be about $10-12 million for construction, materials and a new liner. They want to get started the second week of August,” Donica said. “That stack has to be dry for them to get their machinery in there and start doing the grading. We’re going to change the contour of the stack so it drains completely and will not hold rainwater.”
“The rain that came in June and July has accumulated in that south stack. Our estimate is about four and a half million gallons. By rule, and also by the permit we have, once water goes into a stack, even though it’s rainwater, we have to treat it differently than the water lens on the other side of the stack wall that goes out into our stormwater outfalls on the west side of the property. That water’s been segregated and kept away from the other stacks and materials on the property,” he said.
When asked about the quality of the water to be discharged into the bay, Donica said, “It has higher salinity because it came in contact with the dredge material in the stack that previously came from the bottom of the bay.”
The dredge materials Donica referenced were removed from the Port Manatee waters and transferred to the Piney Point site several years ago as part of a port expansion project.
“The salinity level in the old gyp stack south was measured and it’s right around 19,000 microsiemens. The bay is more like 40,000 microsiemens, which is about twice as much,” Donica said.
“We already take water samples two or three times a day and this water will be sampled even more often. We run our own tests and we also provide samples to FDEP (Florida Department of Environmental Protection) and the county so they can independently test it. This water will constantly be monitored and tested as it goes out,” he added. “We’re looking for two things: the quality of water and whether there are any nutrients in it. If the water gets contaminated, we’ll shut it down. You don’t want the pumps picking up suspended solids and the mud off the bottom of the pond. Our agreement is to discharge water, not dredge materials, suspended solids or mud. We’re working closely with DEP and the Port Authority and we’re in constant contact with them. DEP is in charge of that permit. They need to know what’s going on. If anything should change, they need to know. If we need to halt what we’re doing or go a different direction we will.”
The Piney Point reservoir water discharged in 2021 traveled through this canal at Port Manatee and into Tampa Bay. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“We expect to start discharging as early as this week,” Donica said. “My site manager is talking to the Port Authority and everyone wants to be present when it starts so everybody gets a chance to test as it’s happening. I don’t know how long it will take. We’ll have two 6-inch pipes up there that will draw from it and into the 36-inch decant loading pipe. It’s a routine thing. It’s been done before, but this summer it’s a little more sensitive because people are more sensitive to what’s going on.”
Regarding his role as the court-appointed receiver of the Piney Point property, Donica said, “I control the property that’s been taken from HRK Holdings and handed over to me. They are gone. I don’t own the property, but I’m in complete possession and I’m entitled to do anything I need to do to achieve the goal of final closure.”
Donica noted he’s not in charge of the deep well injection project Manatee County has embarked upon to discharge the contaminated water in the other gyp stacks to more than 3,000 feet below the earth’s surface.
Additional insight
Dave Tomasko is the executive director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program and he’s among the environmentalists and concerned citizens who continue to monitor the Piney Point activities and potential impacts.
Tomasko was contacted July 20 and asked about the pending Piney Point discharge.
“It’s rainwater, but it’s rainwater that’s contacted saltwater. It’s not fresh water, but it’s not full-strength saltwater. It’s brackish water with about one-third to one-half the salt content of the Gulf of Mexico. 19,000 microsiemens is about 10 to 15 parts per thousand. The Gulf of Mexico is probably around 45,000 microsiemens. My understanding is this rainwater came in contact with salt materials and the dredge spoil and it can’t be treated as regular stormwater. The salinity is too high to put it into a creek and would be too high for freshwater organisms,” Tomasko said.
He added that he’s been in contact with Piney Point site manager Jeff Barath and trusts the information Barath’s provided him.
“I’ve been told this is something they’ve done for a decade without any problems. I haven’t seen a lab report, but he told me the nitrogen levels in this water were not a concern. I’ve been told this is not the liquid fertilizer that was discharged last time,” Tomasko said. “What was discharged last time was more than 200 million gallons at a concentration of nitrogen 10 times higher than the worst wastewater treatment plant in our watershed.”
The salinity-infused Piney Point stormwater will be discharged into Tampa Bay at Port Manatee. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“It’s disappointing that they’re having to discharge again. It reiterates the fact that our backs were against the wall when it came to a solution and the deep well was our only option,” County Commission Chairman Kevin Van Ostenbridge said regarding the pending water discharge.
PALMETTO – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) is scrutinizing proposed engineering plans to close wastewater ponds at Piney Point.
The agency is requesting more information from the court-appointed receiver assigned to oversee the permanent closure of the former phosphate plant, which dumped 215 million gallons of contaminated water into Tampa Bay a year ago.
The wastewater was stored in a pond dug into the top of an eight-story-tall gypsum stack that FDEP officials feared could collapse and flood surrounding homes and businesses. The pond’s capacity was roughly 500 million gallons of contaminated water.
FDEP approved the March and April discharge, which spread throughout Tampa Bay and Sarasota Bay. The water contained nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, which worsened a bloom of the toxic algae red tide that lasted from April to November, causing fish kills and respiratory irritation.
The state agency last week asked Piney Point receiver Herbert Donica for more details on how the contaminated water remaining in the stack system will be moved to a deep injection well, and how the stormwater management system is expected to perform.
The 3,300-foot-deep well is now under construction near the plant at 3105 Buckeye Road and is expected to be completed by next spring.
FDEP officials issued a permit in December for Manatee County to build the well despite objections from five environmental groups that sued Piney Point owner HRK Holdings LLC, Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Manatee County Port Authority and FDEP, citing the potential for contaminating underground drinking water in the Floridan aquifer. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa. The case is pending as the judge considers FDEP’s motion to dismiss the case.
Meanwhile, work continues to stop a new leak discovered in January in one of the gyp stacks on the site. The source of the leak has been identified, according to FDEP, which reports that workers plan to deploy a larger box structure over the existing box structure they are using to filter the water and increase visibility so repairs can continue.
There is no indication of any concern with the integrity or stability of the stack system, according to last week’s FDEP report.
PALMETTO – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) intends to approve a permit for Manatee County’s plan to inject industrial wastewater from Piney Point into an underground well, according to a Nov. 24 notice.
The county applied for the permit in April to build and test a deep injection well system at 3105 Buckeye Road. The project consists of a 3,300-foot-deep well to hold wastewater from the former phosphate fertilizer plant and a test well of up to 950 feet deep to monitor drinking water. The permit request states that drinking water in the Floridan aquifer at the site is located at about 900 feet.
FDEP issued a draft permit on Sept. 1 for Manatee County to build and test the system. On Nov. 24, the state agency announced it had reviewed more than 7,356 public comments and determined the county’s application for the well meets “all applicable regulations for protection of groundwater resources and the environment.”
In a release, FDEP said: “This project is one potential element of the necessary water removal that will enable the ultimate closure of the Piney Point facility once and for all, eliminating the threat from this site to the environment and the community. DEP continues to support the court-appointed receiver on his next steps to manage and treat water at the facility, and to ultimately complete a final closure of the site in a safe manner as quickly as possible.”
The FDEP notice states that the agency plans to issue the permit unless a petition for an administrative hearing is filed within 14 days of publication of the notice, Dec. 8.
Five environmental organizations notified the county on Sept. 30 that they intend to sue the county over the plan. The Center for Biological Diversity, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, Suncoast Waterkeeper, ManaSota-88 and our Children’s Earth Foundation previously sued Piney Point owner HRK Holdings LLC, Gov. Ron DeSantis, FDEP Secretary Shawn Hamilton and the Manatee County Port Authority in June over the dumping of 215 million gallons of contaminated water into Tampa Bay in March and April from a storage pond on a compromised phosphogypsum stack at the closed plant. FDEP approved the discharge to avoid the stack’s collapse and potential for flooding area homes and businesses.
The contaminated water spread throughout Tampa Bay and Sarasota Bay, transporting nitrogen and phosphorus that spurred a red tide bloom in April causing fish kills and respiratory irritation, according to the plaintiffs. The red tide lasted until November.
FDEP sued HRK in August, asking the 12th Judicial Circuit Court in Manatee County for injunctive relief to prevent any more discharges of wastewater from Piney Point, claiming that HRK failed to safely operate the gyp stacks to protect surface and groundwater. The company has defaulted in the case by failing to respond, according to Manatee County Clerk of Court documents. HRK has been in receivership since August; it also is in bankruptcy and is the subject of a repossession.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In a Notice of Intent to Sue, the conservation groups note that protected marine species including loggerhead sea turtles and manatees make their home in waters that are currently affected by the plume of pollution spreading from Piney Point.
After a leak in a gyp stack was discovered on March 26, officials ordered the emergency evacuation of hundreds of nearby Manatee County homes and intentionally discharged 215 million gallons of water into Tampa Bay at Port Manatee to take pressure off a compromised stack, avoiding its collapse and a potentially more serious spill.
A retention pond on top of a gyp stack at Piney Point. – Submitted
The discharge ended April 9, leaving a pollutant plume containing what DEP calls “mixed sea water,” an acidic blend of saltwater and debris from a Port Manatee dredge project, stormwater runoff, rainfall and “legacy process water” – wastewater from phosphate processing that contains nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen that feed toxic algae blooms.
“Phosphate companies have had over 70 years to figure out a way to dispose of the radioactive gypsum wastes in an acceptable manner; they have yet to do so,” Glenn Compton, chairman of ManaSota-88, Inc., said in a press release.
Faulting DEP for allowing the storage of dredge waste in gyp stacks that the Army Corps of Engineers warned had structural issues, and for authorizing HRK Holdings to discharge the polluted water, the conservation groups charge that “Piney Point presents an imminent and substantial danger to human health, our drinking water, the regional economy and the environment.”
“Piney Point was and still is a ticking timebomb,” Justin Bloom, Suncoast Waterkeeper founder and board member, said in a press release. “Instead of appropriately closing this toxic waste site when they had the chance, the DEP allowed the site to become even more perilous, knowing full well the risk of collapse and catastrophic contamination.”
The plume of water continues to spread, according to scientists at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science in St. Petersburg, which developed a forecasting model of where the polluted water will be on any given day. On May 19, the forecast predicts it will be swirling around both ends of Anna Maria Island, into Palma Sola Bay and Terra Ceia Bay, into the Manatee River, around both sides of St. Petersburg Beach, into Tampa Bay and up the Little Manatee River.
Red tide
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports that low concentrations of red tide were detected at the Rod & Reel Pier in Anna Maria and in Sarasota Bay at the Longboat Pass boat ramp in Bradenton Beach last week.
Red tide produces a neurotoxin called brevetoxin that can cause respiratory irritation, coughing, and more serious illness for people with severe or chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma, emphysema or COPD, according to the Florida Department of Health. It can also cause fish kills and poison shellfish, making it unfit for human consumption.
If the plume of nutrient-rich water from the Piney Point discharge reaches the red tide, “… it’s like adding gasoline to a fire,” Sarasota Bay Estuary Program Executive Director Dave Tomasko said.
Blue-green algae
DEP is monitoring area waters for blooms of blue-green algae. No cyanotoxins – the neurotoxins that are produced by blue-green algae – were detected in May 11 water samples. Results taken from samples on May 13 are pending.
However, widespread blooms of the blue-green algae Lyngbya have been reported in Anna Maria Island waters and at Robinson Preserve, the Intracoastal Waterway, Sarasota Bay and Tampa Bay, according to a report by Manatee County environmental scientists distributed to county commissioners by Acting County Administrator Scott Hopes earlier this month.
Contact with Lyngbya can result in itching, burning, pain, rash, blisters and cell death, resulting in loss of superficial layers of the skin, according to the report. Airborne toxins from the algae can cause eye and respiratory irritation. Excessive growth of Lyngbya can result in damage to seagrass beds and oyster bars, foul odors, oxygen depletion in the water and fish kills.
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