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Piney Point deep well injection permit on fast track

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Environment, Featured, Outdoors.

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.

Piney Point spill critics take aim at sewage dumping

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Coast Lines, Outdoors.

When local waters contain enterococci bacteria, which comes from sewage, The Sun publishes a water quality report listing affected beaches to warn swimmers to stay out of the water.

This week, all the local beaches tested negative for the bacteria (in addition to being free of red tide for the second time in two weeks). But the water quality report makes it into print more than anyone would like.

The good news is that the same environmental coalition that sued Piney Point and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) this year for dumping wastewater into Tampa Bay, causing red tide, is now suing the city of Bradenton for dumping sewage in the Manatee River and other waterways.

These lawsuits may never be won in court, but they likely will be a win for the environment, pushing regulators and municipal officials to be accountable after decades of passing the buck.

That’s a win for every resident and tourist who turns on a faucet or flushes a toilet.

Suncoast Waterkeeper, Our Children’s Earth Foundation, ManaSota-88 and Tampa Bay Waterkeeper have put the city of Bradenton on notice for violations of the federal Clean Water Act, claiming that the city “has repeatedly sent raw and partially treated sewage into the Manatee River, storm drains, streams, neighborhoods and local waters including Wares Creek, Palma Sola Creek, and Palma Sola Bay which flow into Lower Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.”

“Bradenton’s sewage woes are unfortunate and follow a familiar pattern of municipalities neglecting critical environmental infrastructure,” said Justin Bloom, founder and board member of Suncoast Waterkeeper. “We hope that Bradenton will follow the path of the other municipalities that we’ve sued and focus their attention on fixing the problems and reducing the sewage pollution that plagues our waterways.”

The notice cites the city’s reports that within the last four years, over 160 million gallons of raw and partially treated sewage was dumped into the Manatee River, bypassing the city’s treatment plant, resulting in high levels of fecal coliform and enterococci bacteria in the Manatee River.

The discharges contribute to red tide, according to Glenn Compton, chairman of ManaSota-88.

“We just endured an incredibly difficult summer, where we witnessed red tide kill large quantities of marine life. If we don’t fix these problems, we’re likely to endure more pain in perpetuity. Red tide and contamination is hurting our local economy, much of which relies on our waterways,” he said. “We have to do better for our quality of life and for future generations.”

The environmental coalition has also petitioned the receiver for Piney Point, the former phosphate plant at Port Manatee, to ensure the remaining wastewater at the site is clean enough to inject into a deep well under the Floridan aquifer, the source of Florida’s drinking water. FDEP is in the process of permitting the well.

“The permit application admits that Manatee County does not know the precise geologic strata in the location of the proposed well, and instead is guessing that the ‘anticipated geologic strata’ is similar to a well located five miles away,” according to the Nov. 10 letter to Tampa lawyer and Piney Point receiver Herbert R. Donica. “The permit application further admits that Manatee County does not know the precise location where the underground drinking water source begins or ends… a thorough analysis of the wastewater must be completed before billions of gallons of dangerous pollution is injected beneath the Lower Floridan aquifer.”

Environmental groups sue over deep well injection plan

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Environment, Featured, Outdoors, Red tide.

PALMETTO – Five environmental organizations notified Manatee County on Sept. 30 that they intend to sue the county over its plan to inject contaminated water from Piney Point into an underground well.

The groups previously sued Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Secretary Shawn Hamilton, Piney Point owner HRK Holdings LLC 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 fertilizer 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 that caused fish kills and respiratory irritation, according to the plaintiffs. Red tide remains in medium concentrations in Manatee County waters, as well as Sarasota County to the south and Pinellas County to the north, according to the latest Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report.

FDEP sued HRK on Aug. 5 asking the 12th Judicial Circuit Court for injunctive relief to prevent any more discharges of wastewater from Piney Point, claiming that HRK failed to safely operate the gyp stacks and protect surface and groundwater.

The state agency then issued a draft permit on Sept. 1 for Manatee County to build and test an underground injection well and a monitor well at 3105 Buckeye Road up to 3,300 feet deep to hold the wastewater. The monitor well to test drinking water would be up to 950 feet deep; the permit states that drinking water in the Floridan aquifer at the site is located at about 900 feet.

Injection well concerns

In its forthcoming case, plaintiffs say they oppose the county’s plan to inject the 271 million gallons of wastewater remaining in the gypsum stack pond into a deep well, claiming that “Piney Point’s radioactive waste would be injected underground into the fragile, porous karst geology that holds the groundwater supplies millions of Floridians depend on for drinking water.”

The Center for Biological Diversity, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, Suncoast Waterkeeper, ManaSota-88 and our Children’s Earth Foundation explained the reasons for their lawsuit in a press release.

“This risky, shortsighted plan would be a dangerous experiment and set a troubling precedent for how we handle failing phosphogypsum stacks,” said Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director at the Center for Biological Diversity.

“The phosphate industry and FDEP continue to fail to ensure safe disposal of the industry’s polluted waste,” said Justin Bloom, Suncoast Waterkeeper founder and board member.

“There are many problems associated with deep well injection; wells are subject to failure and there are too many unknown hazards with injecting phosphogypsum wastewater,” said Glenn Compton, chairman of ManaSota-88.

“Florida’s officials are gambling with our water quality and our children’s futures,” said Annie Beaman, co-executive director of the Our Children’s Earth Foundation.

“There are too many unknowns for this to be our way forward,” said Megan Eakins, board chair of Tampa Bay Waterkeeper. “We need more clarity about injection well risks, the composition of the waste stream, and alternatives to be sure that this is the best way to protect our vulnerable environment and communities from this toxic, radioactive waste.”

“It is both unlawful and unwise for Manatee County to inject Piney Point’s hazardous waste into the ground simply for the sake of expediency,” said Daniel Snyder, an attorney with the Law Offices of Charles M. Tebbutt, P.C., who is representing the groups. “For too long, Florida regulators have stood by while the situation at Piney Point deteriorated. Now, instead of directly cleaning up this environmental disaster and abating the endangerment it poses, regulators decide to sweep the problem under the geologic rug, putting Florida’s groundwater at risk of significant contamination.”

Public comments sought

A public meeting is scheduled on Wednesday, Oct. 6 from 4-7 p.m. at the Manatee County Central Library Auditorium, 1301 Barcarrota Blvd., Bradenton, to allow an opportunity for citizens to provide input on the draft permit for the well and ask questions and obtain information about the draft permit and permitting process.

Anyone unable to attend the meeting in person who wishes to provide public comments in writing can mail them to: Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Aquifer Protection Program, 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 3530, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400.

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Rainfall threatens to overfill Piney Point ponds

Piney Point ‘closure’ not the last word

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Environment, Outdoors.

PALMETTO – When the former Piney Point phosphate plant is finally closed, the site will require monitoring – permanently – the Florida House of Representatives’ Agriculture and Flooding Subcommittee learned last week.

Closure of the environmentally-compromised site “… does mean that we’ll be doing monitoring of the site perpetually now until you and I are long gone from this planet,” subcommittee member Rep. Tobin “Toby” Overdorf (R- Port St. Lucie) said to Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Secretary Shawn Hamilton on Sept. 22 during Hamilton’s update on Piney Point.

“Yes, sir. Long-term monitoring will be required. That is a fact and is expected,” said Hamilton, calling the closure process of the site at 13300 U.S. Hwy. 41 N. a “multi-year event.”

A meeting is scheduled on Wednesday, Oct. 6 from 4–7 p.m. at the Manatee County Central Library Auditorium, 1301 Barcarrota Blvd., Bradenton for public comment on the FDEP’s draft permit to allow Manatee County to build a deep injection well for Piney Point’s wastewater.

A leak was detected at the site in a gypsum stack that holds a retention pond on March 25, and FDEP approved the discharge of 215 million gallons of contaminated water into Tampa Bay to avoid an even larger spill that could have flooded area homes and businesses. The damaged area was patched.

The contaminated water contains phosphogypsum process water, seawater, rain, dredge material from Port Manatee and nitrogen and phosphorus, which act as fertilizer for red tide. The toxic algae 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. Medium levels of the toxic algae were detected in water samples last week off AMI.

“Nutrients cause red tide. There’s no debate about that,” Hamilton said.

Shawn Hamilton, Secretary, Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Since the discharge, the contaminated water is being treated to remove nitrogen and phosphorus in the “unfortunate event” that another discharge becomes necessary, he said.

Each time it rains into the open pond, stormwater comes in contact with the contaminated water, increasing its volume, which was 273 million gallons as of Saturday, Sept. 25. Hamilton said the goal is to prevent stormwater from contacting the contaminated water, “…so you’re talking about getting to a point where the only thing coming off of that site to a large degree is clean stormwater.”

More than 2.2 million gallons of treated water have been transported to Manatee County’s North Regional Water Reclamation Facility to keep the pond from overflowing, with stormwater being discharged separately. As of last weekend, the pond had the capacity to store another 9.4 inches of rainfall.

“Dewatering” the plant is the first priority for the new receiver, Herbert Donica, a business lawyer and partner of the Tampa-based Donica Law Firm, appointed in August to manage the 466-acre site owned by HRK Holdings LLC. The company is in bankruptcy and is the subject of a repossession, as well as the defendant in two other lawsuits, one brought by FDEP and one by a group of environmental organizations.

To that end, FDEP issued a draft permit earlier this month for Manatee County to build a deep injection well to contain the contaminated water, which local environmental organizations oppose.

Asked about the safety of the well system, Hamilton called it “a proven technology,” adding, “We would not be supportive of anything that directly put our drinking water at risk.”

A public meeting is scheduled on Wednesday, Oct. 6 from 4–7 p.m. at the Manatee County Central Library Auditorium, 1301 Barcarrota Blvd., Bradenton, to allow an opportunity for citizens to provide input on the draft permit as well ask questions and obtain information about the draft permit and permitting process.

Anyone unable to attend the meeting in person who wishes to provide public comments in writing can mail them to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Aquifer Protection Program, 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 3530, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400.

Related coverage

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Rainfall could prompt second discharge at Piney Point

 

Florida DEP sues Piney Point owner

 

Conservation groups sue over Piney Point discharge

 

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No to deep well injection at Piney Point

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Letter to the Editor, Opinion.

Dear Commissioners:

ManaSota-88 respectfully requests the Manatee Board of County Commission withdraw the application for an Underground Injection Control Well at Piney Point and place this item on the agenda for the next Manatee County Board of County Commission meeting.

ManaSota-88 continues to oppose construction of any deep injection well in the vicinity of the former Piney Point Phosphate Plant.

Groundwater pollution detection is an inexact science, it is easy to miss a toxic plume. Our knowledge of the health risks of long-term exposure of toxic and radioactive substances in phosphate wastewater is very limited.

There are many problems associated with deep well injection. All wells are subject to failure and there are too many unknowns to safely inject treated or partially treated effluent. The operation of a deep well relies very heavily on predictions and good faith.

Deep well injection is done because liquid wastes that cannot be discharged into surface waters are injected into deep wells. Thus, the worst wastes end up in these wells. If a failure occurs, very little can be done to correct it. If an aquifer is contaminated, it’s too late.

Confining layers don’t confine and effluents will ultimately migrate beyond the point of injection.

Monitoring programs are highly ineffective. Little is known of the chemistry and the biology of phosphate related well-injected wastes, excepting that those wastes move underground.
While the models upon which decisions to inject wastes are based look good on paper, changing conditions in the aquifers can allow wastewater to seep into the groundwater supply, and it would be too late then to correct the problem.

Groundwater is one of our most precious natural resources. Contaminated groundwater is extremely difficult, expensive and time-consuming to clean up. It is impossible to pump and treat all the contaminated groundwater in a plume and some of the contaminants will cling to soil particles and remain untreated in any event.

There are no easy answers to getting rid of the radioactive and toxic wastewater at the former Piney Point Phosphate Plant, however, deep well injection is not a solution that should be considered.

Sincerely,

Glenn Compton – Chairman
ManaSota-88, Inc.
P.O. Box 1728
Nokomis, Florida 34274
(941) 966-6256

Rainfall threatens to overfill Piney Point ponds

Piney Point deep water injection well draft permit issued

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Environment, Featured, Outdoors.

PALMETTO – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has issued a draft permit for Manatee County to build and test an underground injection well to store contaminated water from Piney Point under the Floridan aquifer, the state’s drinking water source.

The April 20 permit request by the Manatee County Utilities Department is for two wells at 3105 Buckeye Road – an injection well and a monitor well. Under the permit, issued Sept. 1, the injection well would be up to 3,300 feet deep and could be filled at the rate of up to 4 million gallons a day. The monitor well to test drinking water would be up to 950 feet deep.

A public meeting on the permit will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 6 from 4-7 p.m. at the Manatee County Central Library auditorium, 1301 Barcarrota Blvd. in Bradenton to give citizens an opportunity to comment on the draft permit, ask questions and obtain information.

Written comments also can be submitted to FDEP Aquifer Protection Program, 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 3530, Tallahassee, Florida 33637-0926 by Oct 6.

Manatee County commissioners approved a $9.35 million agreement on April 20 – the same day as the permit request – for Tampa-based ASRus to design and build the deep injection well.

The permit, which makes the county liable for harm to human health or animal or plant life, also prohibits anything that “causes or allows movement of fluid into an underground source of drinking water,” which the permit states is located at about 900 feet deep at the site.

Should the injection well fail, the permit requires that current methods of water management resume, including trucking and piping the water off site. The removal of the contaminated water began after FDEP approved the emergency discharge of 215 million untreated gallons into Tampa Bay in March and April to avoid the potential collapse of the compromised south gypsum stack. The pond at the top of the stack then contained more than twice that amount of polluted water, which the state agency feared could flood the surrounding neighborhood.

Deep well injection “is one potential critical element of the necessary water disposal 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 permanently,” according to an FDEP release.

Opposition to the well

Local environmental group ManaSota-88 asked the Manatee County Commission today to withdraw its application for the permit and place the issue on next week’s agenda for public discussion.

The group 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.

“The operation of a deep well relies very heavily on predictions and good faith,” Glenn Compton, chairman of ManaSota-88, wrote the commission. “Deep well injection is done because liquid wastes that cannot be discharged into surface waters are injected into deep wells. Thus, the worst wastes end up in these wells. If a failure occurs, very little can be done to correct it. If an aquifer is contaminated, it’s too late.”

Compton also is concerned that changing conditions in the aquifer can allow wastewater to seep into the groundwater supply, and that detecting a leak in the system is “an inexact science.”

“There are no easy answers to getting rid of the radioactive and toxic wastewater at the former Piney Point Phosphate Plant, however, deep well injection is not a solution that should be considered,” he wrote.

ManaSota-88 is among five environmental groups that sued FDEP and Piney Point owner HRK Holdings LLC on June 24 seeking to hold both responsible for negligence in managing the site. No hearing has yet been set in the case.

A public meeting on the permit will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 6 from 4-7 p.m. at the Manatee County Central Library auditorium, 1301 Barcarrota Blvd. in Bradenton to give citizens an opportunity to comment on the draft permit, ask questions and obtain information.

Written comments also can be submitted to FDEP Aquifer Protection Program, 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 3530, Tallahassee, Florida 33637-0926 by Oct 6.

Pond status

Water management at the site is ongoing. FDEP officials estimate that Piney Point will get at least another 7 inches of rain by the end of September. The current storage capacity for additional rainfall at the site is about 10.5 inches as of today. Totals are changing with rainfall amounts and water management activities at the site, including trucking water off site to the Manatee County Southeast Water Reclamation Facility to lower water levels; 228 trucks have hauled about 1,440,480 gallons of process water off site as of today. Contaminated water began to be piped to the North Regional Water Reclamation Facility on Sept. 2. About 263 million gallons remain in the pond, up from 256 million gallons on Aug. 28, the increase due to rainfall.

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. Both act as fertilizer for toxic red tide, which has plagued area waters since mid-April.

This week is the first that no red tide was detected in Manatee County waters since the discharge, although it remains in waterways in Pinellas County to the north and Sarasota County to the south.

FDEP Secretary Shawn Hamilton visited the Piney Point site on Sept. 1 to receive an update on the latest site conditions and meet with the new court-appointed receiver, Herbert Donica, a business lawyer and partner of the Tampa-based Donica Law Firm. Under the Aug. 25 court order appointing him, Donica is responsible for maintaining, managing and closing Piney Point “as efficiently and expeditiously as possible.”

FDEP sued Piney Point owner HRK Holdings LLC last month requesting an emergency hearing to appoint the receiver, concerned that heavy rains could overflow contaminated water ponds this summer.

Related coverage

No to deep well injection at Piney Point

 

Piney Point under new management

 

Rainfall could prompt second discharge at Piney Point

 

Florida DEP sues Piney Point owner

 

Conservation groups sue over Piney Point discharge

 

Piney Point-algae link explored

 

Piney Point spill leads to lawsuit

 

Piney Point pollution spreading, affecting dolphins

 

Piney Point wastewater spreading

No red tide detected

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Algae, Outdoors.

UPDATED SEPT. 12, 2021 – ANNA MARIA ISLAND – For the second week in a row, no red tide was detected in any water samples tested in Manatee County last week, according to Friday’s Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission weekly report.

The toxic algae began appearing near Piney Point in mid-April after 215 million gallons of contaminated water was dumped into Tampa Bay at the former phosphate plant. The water contained the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus, which act as fertilizer for red tide.

The discharge was approved by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to prevent the collapse of a compromised gypsum stack containing the contaminated water. The former phosphate plant is in receivership and is slated for closure and the disposal of the remaining contaminated water.

Despite the clean Manatee County report, red tide remains in waterways in Pinellas County to the north and Sarasota County to the south. Fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were reported in or offshore of Manatee County, as well as Pinellas, Sarasota, Charlotte and Lee counties over the past 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.

Health officials recommend that people experiencing symptoms stay away from the water and go inside to an air-conditioned space with closed windows and a clean A/C filter. Wearing masks, especially during onshore winds, is also advised.

Health officials warn against swimming near dead fish, and advise keeping pets away from dead fish and seafoam, which can contain high concentrations of red tide. Pets are not allowed on Anna Maria Island’s beaches but are allowed on the Palma Sola Causeway on Manatee Avenue.

Officials also warn that consuming shellfish exposed to red tide can cause neurotoxic shellfish poisoning.

Updated red tide forecasts are available at habforecast.gcoos.org and at visitbeaches.org.

Piney Point under new management

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Environment, Outdoors.

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.

Related coverage

 

Rainfall could prompt second discharge at Piney Point

Rainfall threatens to overfill Piney Point ponds

Rainfall could prompt second discharge at Piney Point

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Environment, Featured, Outdoors.

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.

Related coverage

 

Florida DEP sues Piney Point owner

 

Conservation groups sue over Piney Point discharge

 

Piney Point-algae link explored

 

Piney Point pollution spreading, affecting dolphins

 

Piney Point wastewater spreading

Red tide, respiratory irritation, fish kills linger

Red tide, respiratory irritation, fish kills linger

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Outdoors, Red tide.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – NOAA reports a continuing risk of red tide-related respiratory irritation in Manatee and surrounding counties, with impacts varying by beach and with wind direction.

Respiratory irritation was reported in Manatee County at Manatee Beach and Coquina Beach from July 29 through Aug. 5, as well as in Sarasota, Pinellas, Charlotte and Lee counties, according to Friday’s Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission weekly report.

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. Health officials recommend that people experiencing symptoms stay away from the water, go inside to an air-conditioned space, or wear masks, especially during onshore winds.

Manatee County had medium levels of red tide in water samples at the Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach and the 10th Street pier on Aug. 2.

Low levels were detected at Longboat Pass boat ramp in Bradenton Beach and the Rod and Reel Pier in Anna Maria on Aug. 2.

Current forecasts are available at habforecast.gcoos.org and at visitbeaches.org.

Red tide-related fish kills were reported over the past week in Manatee, Sarasota, Pinellas and Charlotte counties.

Health officials warn against swimming near dead fish, and advise keeping pets away from dead fish and seafoam, which can contain high concentrations of algae. Pets are not allowed on Anna Maria Island’s beaches, but are allowed on the Palma Sola Causeway on Manatee Avenue.

Officials also warn that consuming shellfish exposed to red tide can cause neurotoxic shellfish poisoning.

Five conservation groups filed a lawsuit on June 24 against HRK Holdings, the owners of the closed Piney Point phosphate plant in Manatee County, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, claiming that the discharge of 215 million gallons of nutrient-rich wastewater from Piney Point’s phosphogypsum stack could be feeding the algae bloom. The nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus act as fertilizer for the red tide algae. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection sued HRK on Aug. 5.

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Florida DEP sues Piney Point owner

Florida DEP sues Piney Point owner

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Environment, Featured, Outdoors.

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.

HRK did not respond to a request for comment.

Red tide causes fish kills, symptoms

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Health.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Red tide is not only killing fish in waters around the Island, but people are experiencing the trademark respiratory symptoms associated with the toxic algae.

Visitor Jackie Harling said she and her husband and daughter began having symptoms on July 20.

“We know for sure it was a red tide as the moment we opened our truck doors we all started coughing,” she said. “We loaded everything into our condo and spent the majority of the time in the condo until the next day where my husband and daughter were outside for a couple of hours and realized it was not a good situation. Even though I had been indoors most of the time, I was having trouble breathing.”

NOAA has issued a red tide respiratory warning for Manatee and surrounding counties, noting that impacts vary by location and with wind direction. Current forecasts of respiratory irritation are available at NOAA and at Mote.

Red tide-related respiratory irritation was reported in Manatee County at Coquina Beach and Manatee Beach, and in Sarasota, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, according to Friday’s Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission weekly report.

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. Health officials recommend that people experiencing symptoms stay away from the water, go inside to an air-conditioned space, or wear masks, especially during onshore winds.

Manatee County registered high levels of red tide in water samples at the Longboat Pass boat ramp and 10th Street Pier on July 19.

Levels were medium at the Rod and Reel Pier in Anna Maria on July 19 and at the Seafood Shack Restaurant on July 22.

Low levels were detected at the Palma Sola Bay Bridge in Bradenton on July 19 and very low at Key Royale in Holmes Beach on July 15.

Levels ranged from background to high concentrations in 21 samples collected from Manatee County waters. The FWC also reported high concentrations of red tide in areas of Pinellas and Sarasota counties and medium levels in areas of Hillsborough County.

Red tide-related fish kills were reported over the past week in Manatee, Sarasota, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Hernando and Lee counties.

Health officials warn against swimming near dead fish, and advise keeping pets away from dead fish and seafoam, which can contain high concentrations of algae. Pets are not allowed on Anna Maria Island’s beaches, but are allowed on the Palma Sola Causeway on Manatee Avenue.

Officials also warn that consuming shellfish exposed to red tide can cause neurotoxic shellfish poisoning.

Gov. Ron DeSantis last week refused the request of conservation groups to declare a state of emergency due to ongoing red tide in and around Tampa Bay.

Five conservation groups filed a lawsuit on June 24 against the owners of Piney Point and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, claiming that the discharge of 215 million gallons of nutrient-rich wastewater from the Piney Point phosphogypsum stack in Manatee County could be feeding the algae bloom. The nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus act as fertilizer for the toxic red tide algae.

DeSantis said the state had budgeted money to mitigate red tide, and that the tourism industry could be harmed by declaring a state of emergency.

“It would have been very irresponsible to do that,” he said, adding that the Legislature has appropriated up to $100 million to “mothball Piney Point.”

Red tide reaches Manatee waters

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Outdoors, Red tide.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – For the first time since red tide emerged several weeks ago in surrounding counties, Manatee County registered high levels of red tide in water samples at the Longboat Pass boat ramp on July 12, according to Friday’s Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission weekly report.

Levels were very low at the Rod and Reel Pier in Anna Maria, at Key Royale in Holmes Beach and at the Palma Sola Bay Bridge in Bradenton on July 12. Levels ranged from background to high concentrations in 18 samples collected from Manatee County waters.

The FWC also reported high concentrations of red tide in areas of Pinellas, Hillsborough and Sarasota counties.

Respiratory irritation was reported in Manatee County at Coquina Beach and Manatee Beach, and in Sarasota, Pinellas and Lee counties.

Red tide-related fish kills were reported over the past week in Manatee, Sarasota, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough and Lee counties.

Some scientists claim that the discharge of 215 million gallons of nutrient-rich wastewater from the Piney Point fertilizer plant in March and April could be feeding the algae bloom.

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. Health officials recommend that people experiencing symptoms stay away from the water, go inside to an air-conditioned space, or wear masks, especially during onshore winds.

Consuming shellfish exposed to red tide can cause neurotoxic shellfish poisoning. Health officials also warn against swimming near dead fish, and advise keeping pets away from dead fish and seafoam, which can contain high concentrations of algae. Pets are not allowed on Anna Maria Island’s beaches, but are allowed on the Palma Sola Causeway on Manatee Avenue.

Conservation groups sue over Piney Point discharge

Conservation groups sue over Piney Point discharge

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Environment, Outdoors.

PORT MANATEE – The dumping of 215 million gallons of wastewater into Tampa Bay this spring from a phosphogypsum stack at the closed Piney Point phosphate fertilizer plant has prompted five conservation groups to file a lawsuit today.

The suit, which claims the release endangers the public, marine ecosystems and protected species, names as defendants Gov. Ron DeSantis, Shawn Hamilton, acting secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), Piney Point owner HRK Holdings LLC and the Manatee County Port Authority.

The wastewater was released from the compromised stack, which is topped by a pond containing hundreds of millions of gallons of process wastewater, stormwater and tons of dredged spoil from Port Manatee, to take pressure off the stack and avert a worse spill. Surrounding areas were evacuated for fear of flooding prior to the release in late March and early April.

“Piney Point was and still is a ticking timebomb,” said Justin Bloom, Sarasota-based Suncoast Waterkeeper founder and board member, in a press release. “Rather than closing it when they had the chance, FDEP allowed the site to become even more dangerous, knowing full well the risk of collapse and catastrophic contamination. Now Manatee County is seeking to inject the hundreds of millions of gallons of remaining hazardous wastewater into our groundwater. We’re not confident in our regulators’ ability to manage this mess and this legal action is necessary to protect our communities and waterways from further harm.”

According to the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Florida, Piney Point is an ongoing threat to public health and the environment for several reasons, most pressing, the wastewater discharge into Tampa Bay, which is now experiencing harmful algae blooms and fish kills. Other threats include failure of the gyp stacks and the wastewater pond liners, impacts on groundwater quality and effects from the planned deep-well injection of the wastewater.

“Recent events at the abandoned Piney Point phosphate plant clearly demonstrate that not enough is being done to safeguard the public or the environment from the devastating impacts that the phosphate industry is having on Florida,” said Glenn Compton, chairman of ManaSota-88 Inc., in a press release. “Piney Point represents the true legacy the phosphate industry will leave behind. There is no economically feasible or environmentally sound way to close an abandoned gyp stack. This legacy includes the perpetual spending of taxpayer monies and risks to the public’s health and the environment.”

DEP turned Piney Point into a disposal site for dredge material after the owner went bankrupt and abandoned the property, according to the suit, which claims that while the department owned and operated Piney Point from 2001-04, it oversaw the installation of inadequate liners and approved the use of the site for dredged material storage despite knowing the gyp stacks were at risk of failure due to foundation settling and other problems.

Florida regulators ignored the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ advice to reject the dredge storage proposal, the suit claims.

“Lawsuits like this shouldn’t be necessary, especially in Florida where so much of the state’s economy and residents’ quality of life are dependent on healthy water quality,” said Annie Beaman, co-executive director of Our Children’s Earth Foundation, in a press release. “State and local regulators have failed the public for decades and continue to mismanage the waste generated by the phosphate industry. We resort to federal court oversight when decisions by the political branches of government endanger the public. Enforcing basic environmental standards with citizen suits is the best option we have to ensure a healthier future for Tampa Bay, its communities and its wildlife.”

The wastewater dumped into Tampa Bay continues to spread throughout the estuary and into Sarasota Bay, transporting tons of nitrogen and phosphorus that fuels the growth of toxic algae blooms that kill seagrasses and other marine life, according to the conservation groups. Fish kills caused by red tide have been reported in recent weeks in Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

Phosphogypsum contained in stacks is radioactive and can contain uranium, thorium and radium, which decay into carcinogenic radon, according to the conservation groups, which claim that 1 billion tons of radioactive phosphogypsum is stored in 25 stacks, including at Piney Point.

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Mats of algae clog marina, affect business

 

Blue-green algae bloom clogging bays, ICW

 

Piney Point pollution spreading, affecting dolphins

 

Piney Point wastewater spreading

Reel Time: The smoking gun

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

Local anglers feared from the beginning that the release of over 215 million gallons of wastewater from the Piney Point debacle could have catastrophic effects on Tampa and Sarasota bays. The fact that each gallon of water held 10 times the nitrogen of raw sewage and that the total release was the equivalent of dumping 200 tons of nitrogen (80,000 bags of fertilizer) in the bay was ominous.

Compounding the worrying scenario was the fact that for the second time in as many years, huge swaths of grass meadows from Robinson Preserve to Anna Maria Sound and Sarasota Bay were covered in an algae called lyngbya, a toxic cyanobacteria. That bloom wasn’t caused by the release at Piney Point, but the potential that the release could exacerbate the existing bloom loomed large and would eventually prove likely, as the extent of the bloom was much larger than the year before.

Then on May 24, marine researchers from the University of South Florida, in what now appears to be an ill-timed news release, stated:

  • Early results indicate that the effects of the wastewater discharge were localized in nature, not widespread.
  • Concentrations of nutrients have declined over time and are now more typical of those in the historical record for this part of Tampa Bay. Model results show that the concentrations of nutrients within the discharged water have been diluted at least 1000-fold since the initial release.
  • A diatom bloom of about 25 square kilometers in size around Port Manatee that formed in response to the discharge has dissipated over time. Diatoms are single-celled microalgae called phytoplankton. Chlorophyll concentrations (a proxy for phytoplankton biomass) are within the range generally observed in Tampa Bay during April and May.

Just this past week a severe red tide outbreak in upper Tampa Bay has called all those predictions into question. In the same news release, to their credit, they did state, “The nutrient chemistry of Tampa Bay is complex. Questions remain about nutrient cycling in response to a rapid influx of wastewater.”  Now the current bloom is proving what amounts to, in minds of longtime users of the bay like Captain Scott Moore, a “smoking gun.” Moore, who has fished from Sarasota Bay to Port Manatee and beyond since 1970, states categorically, “In all the years I’ve been fishing I’ve never seen a red tide event in that part of the bay that didn’t affect Anna Maria Sound and Sarasota Bay first. Traditionally I fished north of the Skyway because those were rarely affected by all but the most severe blooms.”

This snook was just one of a multitude of fish including tripletail, cobia, redfish, mullet and a plethora of baitfish and other species that succumbed to Tampa’s red tide outbreak. – Captain Dustin Pack | Submitted

My experience over the last three-plus decades bears that out. Jacki Lopez, Florida Director of The Center for Biological Diversity agrees. Lopez reviewed the records of red tide occurrences over the last 20 years and says, “The red tide data collected over the years by FWC appears to indicate that it is rare to have red tide in Tampa Bay, and rarer yet to have red tide persisting in Tampa Bay without a massive red tide bloom throughout the region. The timing of the Piney Point discharge and the presence of red tide in Tampa Bay, especially so close to Piney Point seems to suggest that the discharge influenced this ongoing red tide event.”

The uncertainty and confusion demonstrate our lack of understanding and failure to act. While red tide events are tracked by satellite, other blooms like lyngbya don’t show up in satellite imagery, which is how scientists model for the predictions they make. This means many harmful algae blooms are not picked up by monitoring programs.

The need for a swift and quantum shift in tracking and addressing these nutrients has never been greater. Are we willing to risk reaching a point of no return or will we address these dire warnings before it’s too late?