Skip to main content

Tag: Piney Point closure

Piney Point contamination extends to Tarpon Springs

Piney Point contamination extends to Tarpon Springs

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Environment, Outdoors.

PALMETTO – A recent study shows the contaminated water from the 2021 Piney Point spill, which contributed to algae blooms and red tide in Tampa Bay waterways, traveled farther than originally thought.

According to the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program (SBEP), a chemical signature from the spill was found more than 30 miles away, in St. Joseph Sound near Tarpon Springs.

Immediately after the spill in 2021, SBEP partnered with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the University of Florida and the University of South Florida to set up a series of sites to monitor existing conditions and determine the extent of the spill’s impact, according to the SBEP.

Results of that collaboration among agencies showed evidence of algae blooms and high concentrations of red tide in the months following the spill.

“A chemical signature, unique to the Piney Point effluent, was also found at a location in St. Joseph Sound, originally chosen to be a reference site, as it was assumed to be far enough away from the spill to avoid impact,” according to the SBEP website. “This was not the case as evidence of the Piney Point spill was also found at this location.”

In 2021, FDEP authorized the intentional emergency discharge of 215 million gallons of wastewater from the former phosphate plant into Tampa Bay to avoid a potential flood after a leak was discovered in the waste storage system. Surrounding homes and businesses were evacuated.

From March 30 to April 9, 2021, 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 a report released by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. The nitrogen worsened 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, according to the report.

Last March, Manatee County Utilities crews began disposal of those waters into a permitted injection well.
The well, drilled to a depth of 3,300 feet below land surface, was completed by Fort Myers-based Youngquist Brothers Inc., working with consultants ASRus of Tampa and Manatee County Utilities staff. By collaboratively working with the FDEP, crews were able to expedite the well work, which was completed in late 2022.

The well holds Piney Point’s process water in a confined saltwater aquifer over a half mile below the surface under the Floridan aquifer, the state’s drinking water source.

The phosphate process water will continue to be drained from the reservoirs atop nearby phosphogypsum stacks as the plant is permanently closed, and will be pre-treated before injection.

Piney Point well to begin operations

Piney Point well to begin operations

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Community News, Manatee County.

PALMETTO – Two years after an intentional discharge of contaminated water stored in ponds atop the Piney Point phosphogypsum stacks, Manatee County utilities crews will begin disposing of the remaining wastewater in a new deepwater injection well.

Operations will begin next week, according to a March 28 statement from Manatee County Information Officer Bill Logan.

The well will hold Piney Point’s process water in a confined saltwater aquifer over a half mile below the surface under the Floridan aquifer, the state’s drinking water source. The phosphate process water, which will be drained from the reservoirs atop nearby phosphogypsum stacks, will be pre-treated before injection. Work on the pre-treatment facility has been underway since earlier this year, according to Logan.

Local environmental group ManaSota-88 opposes the deep injection well on several grounds, including that wells are subject to failure, and that leaks of the contaminated water – which is also slightly radioactive – could poison the state’s drinking water.

ManaSota-88 is among five environmental groups, including Sarasota-based Suncoast Waterkeeper, that sued the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and Piney Point owner HRK Holdings LLC on June 24, 2021 seeking to hold both responsible for negligence in managing the site. A pretrial conference is scheduled on July 12 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa; a trial is scheduled for Aug. 7.

In a separate lawsuit, HRK Holdings was sued by FDEP in Manatee County Circuit Court in 2021, a case that remains open with no hearings scheduled.
In 2021, FDEP authorized the emergency discharge of 215 million gallons of wastewater from the former phosphate plant into Tampa Bay to avoid a potential flood after a leak was discovered in the waste storage system. Surrounding homes and businesses were evacuated.

From March 30 to April 9, 2021, 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 a report released by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. The nitrogen worsened 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, according to the report.

The well, drilled to a depth of 3,300 feet, was completed by Fort Myers-based Youngquist Brothers Inc., working with consultants ASRus of Tampa and Manatee County utilities staff. By working with FDEP, crews were able to expedite the well project.

“The cooperation and collaboration with the DEP have been key in getting this project fast-tracked,” Manatee County Utilities Director Evan Pilachowski said. “We are so pleased that we are to this point in the process already.”
“We are excited to write the final chapter of this Piney Point story,” Manatee County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge said. “The teamwork involved in this important project – from the receiver to the DEP, to the consultants and our hard-working staff – have brought this to fruition.”

Piney Point stormwater to be discharged into Tampa Bay

Stormwater released this week from Piney Point

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Environment, Featured, Outdoors.

PALMETTO – Stormwater collected over several months in a pond on top of a phosphogypsum waste stack at Piney Point is being released this week into Tampa Bay at Port Manatee, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).

The “dewatering,” another step toward the final closure of the idled phosphate plant, began on Aug. 12 and will amount to about 4.5 million gallons, spokesperson Alexandra Kuhta said.

“This is the first pond to be closed and contains strictly rainwater,” she said. “Ultimately all (ponds) will be closed on the site.”

The stormwater is separate from the 262 million gallons of phosphate process wastewater still on site, which is contained in separate lined compartments and is managed separately, according to an FDEP press release.

A leak in one of the gypsum stacks in March 2021 resulted in FDEP approving the dumping of 215 million gallons of contaminated process water into Tampa Bay to prevent flooding of homes and businesses in the event of the stack’s collapse. The discharged water spread throughout Tampa Bay and Sarasota Bay, transporting nitrogen and phosphorus that worsened a bloom of the toxic algae red tide that lasted from April to November, causing fish kills and respiratory irritation.

The stormwater is less problematic, according to FDEP.

“DEP and the court-appointed receiver have independently tested the water, and current water sampling results indicate the concentrations of total nitrogen range from 2.3 to 3.5 mg/L.

At this level, the nutrient loading to the bay is expected to be less than 0.1%
of the federally adopted annual Total Maximum Daily Load for Lower Tampa Bay,” according to the press release.

The stormwater pond will be modified so that it will no longer accumulate rainwater, eliminating the need for future stormwater releases, according to the agency.

Court-appointed receiver and Tampa-based attorney Herb Donica recommended a phased approach to closing the ponds, which are less than two miles from Tampa Bay, near two state aquatic preserves.

The Piney Point site will be closed by December 2024, according to a plan approved by the FDEP on March 30.