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Tag: Manatee County water quality

New Year’s resolution: Vote water

New Years Resolution: Vote Water

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Environment, Fishing, Outdoors, Reel Time.

I’ve reported frequently about concerns for our coastal waters in Manatee County and beyond. Loss of seagrass, lyngbya blooms, sewage releases, more frequent and stronger hurricanes and hundred-year rain events, months apart.

These insults to Florida’s environment point to the lack of political will to effect the changes that are necessary to preserve our environment and the economy it supports. Until recently, former Manatee County commissioners even voted to let developers build closer to our wetlands.

Now facing an uncertain political future when climate issues are likely to fall farther down on the national agenda, the recent election of pro-environment Republican Manatee County commissioners is a bright spot that highlights an important point. The health of the environment shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Economic realities aside, we all need clean air and water to survive and prosper.

That’s why you’ll find a Vote Water bumper sticker on the front of my car. I vet candidates not by party but by the actions (votes) they’ve taken on issues that affect the quality of the air that I breathe, the water I drink and the fish I pursue. Unfortunately, unscrupulous politicians separate us from the things we all depend on using wedge issues that may matter but pale in comparison.

If you’re looking for a way to source information on candidates and how they’ve voted, and join concerned anglers and voters, check out the “Vote Water” Initiative. The efforts dovetail perfectly with issues that groups like Suncoast Waterkeeper, Captains For Clean Waters and others are seeking to address.

This advocacy is a continuation of Florida Sportsman magazine’s long involvement in protecting Florida’s angler’s interests. Founder Karl Wickstrom and the magazine have been in the forefront in lobbying for common sense rules and regulations.

In Wickstrom’s words, “If you had to pick one reason for the lack of success in protecting our state’s water from continual degradation, it would have to be lack of political will from our elected officials to get something done.”

“What we have in the state of Florida (and the nation as a whole) is a political problem, not a party issue, but when it comes to fixing the state’s water, the political problem requires a political solution. Democracy isn’t a spectator sport. If you truly want to have clean air, clean water and public officials that represent the public interest instead of the special interest, the people that vote need to be informed.”

That’s the same argument I’ve used on these pages pointing out the shared responsibility we as voters have to effect much-needed change.

The VoteWater team highlights politician’s votes but also the amount of money they accepted from special interests. “The Dirty Money part of the Voter Guide is definitely something we want to spend more time on in 2025 and beyond,” VoteWater board member Wil Revehl said. “As the adage says, you have to follow the money. It’s clearly the case in politics.

“In order for people to be represented, to have a true democracy, we need to help make taking money from a special interest, such as the phosphate industry, toxic,” emphasized Revehl.

Once again, those who love Florida’s natural treasures and anglers can thank Florida Sportsman for taking a major role in effecting the change that our elected officials have avoided. I encourage you to learn about and to support the effort by joining the coalition, volunteering, spreading the word, donating to the cause and voting for politicians that have a track record of voting for clean water and healthy fisheries. Don’t be fooled into believing what candidates promise, check their voting record.

What better resolution to adopt this New Year? Vote Water. The future of fishing, Florida’s natural wonders and the economy hang in the balance.

Piney Point stormwater to be discharged into Tampa Bay

Settlement reached in Piney Point litigation

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Featured, Outdoors, Water Quality.

PALMETTO – Prompted by a 2021 lawsuit by multiple conservation groups, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has agreed to allow more oversight of discharges from the Piney Point phosphate facility.

The settlement agreement also establishes enforceable limits on pollution discharged into Tampa Bay and provides for taxpayer funding to monitor Piney Point’s impacts on Tampa Bay’s water quality.

“The Piney Point phosphogypsum stack is a mountainous heap of toxic waste topped by an impoundment of hundreds of millions of gallons of process wastewater, stormwater and tons of dredged spoil from Port Manatee,” according to a press release from the plaintiffs, The Center for Biological Diversity, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, Suncoast Waterkeeper, ManaSota-88 and Our Children’s Earth Foundation.

Three years ago, after discovering a leak in the facility’s reservoir liner, regulators ordered the discharge of 215 million gallons of wastewater from the gypsum stack into Tampa Bay to avert a collapse and flooding.

“During the 2021 wastewater release, Tampa Bay received more nitrogen – nearly 200 tons – than it usually receives from all other sources in an entire year. The red tides that have plagued Florida are fueled by nitrogen,” according to the press release. “Following the release, Tampa Bay experienced a deadly red tide that killed more than 600 tons of marine life in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.”

After the spill, the owner of the site, HRK Holdings LLC, filed bankruptcy and proceedings began to permanently remove the wastewater from the facility and close it. Treated wastewater from the site is currently being pumped into a deep well in eastern Manatee County.

The conservation groups requested that U.S. District Court Judge William Jung hold HRK responsible for violating the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants into Tampa Bay without a lawfully issued permit.

“The settlement establishes a new standard of transparency for the water quality exiting the plant, a crucial step in safeguarding the well-being of our community,” Suncoast Waterkeeper Executive Director Dr. Abbey Tyrna said. “Additionally, it imposes critical restrictions on key pollutants, ensuring a more sustainable and healthier future for our bay.”

“The Piney Point disaster shook the Tampa Bay community to its core. It wasn’t too long ago that shorelines once teeming with life were littered with all kinds of dead fish for months. If you had previously found it swimming in Tampa Bay, it was likely dead after Piney Point,” said Justin Tramble, executive director of Tampa Bay Waterkeeper. “This brings some closure to the past and shifts the focus to making sure mechanisms are in place to prevent even more tragedy in the future.”

The wastewater discharged in 2021 into Tampa Bay continues to spread throughout the estuary and into Sarasota Bay, according to the press release.

“The gyp stacks at Piney Point represent the true legacy the phosphate industry will leave behind in Florida – perpetual spending of taxpayer monies and risks to the public’s health and the environment,” said Glenn Compton, chairman of ManaSota-88 Inc. “There is no economically feasible or environmentally sound way to close an abandoned phosphogypsum stack.”

“A strong, enforceable Clean Water Act permit for Tampa Bay’s most problematic polluter is long overdue,” said Ragan Whitlock, a Florida-based attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It shouldn’t have taken a disastrous pollution event and legal action to prompt our state regulators to do their job, but we’re hopeful this permit is a step toward eliminating the looming threat this site has posed for decades.”