Anna Maria city commissioners unanimously approved an emergency ordinance April 8 in response to wastewater leaks flowing into Tampa Bay from a defunct phosphate plant.
The ordinance authorizes “emergency management procedures to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Anna Maria and members of the general public;” and the adoption of resolutions to deal with an imminent environmental emergency.
“If we get a fish kill” in Tampa Bay, Mayor Dan Murphy said it will be easier to get financial and other assistance under an emergency order.
Commissioner Mark Short motioned to approve the ordinance and it was immediately enacted.
The flow of contaminated wastewater at the Piney Point plant was alerted March 25 by on-site management staff for HRK Holdings LLC, which is responsible for maintaining the phosphogypsum stacks at the Eastport Terminal facility.
By March 30, the leak intensified to a point that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection authorized a controlled release of wastewater into Tampa Bay.
The controlled release and other undetermined amounts of wastewater flowed from the site to a creek that feeds into Tampa Bay, which borders the north end of the city where it merges with Anna Maria Sound and the Gulf of Mexico.
