When it rains, it could pour at Piney Point.
The defunct fertilizer plant received nearly 4 inches of rain Aug. 3 and rainfall continued Aug. 4, heightening concerns about the potential for polluted wastewater to reach Tampa Bay.
Such pollution did not occur with the early August rainstorms, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which has been monitoring the status of Piney Point since the spring, when it authorized the release of millions of gallons of nutrient-rich wastewater into Tampa Bay to avert a larger catastrophe.
“Rainwater runoff is being conveyed through … permitted outfall to the drainage ditch along Buckeye Road,” the DEP said in an Aug. 4 press statement. “This is rainwater, not wastewater from the compartment areas on-site.”
The DEP said its water samples confirmed the runoff at the site managed by HRK Holdings LLC is rainwater.
DEP also stated, “To be clear, HRK’s prior emergency discharges ceased on April 9 and have not resumed.”
In late March, the DEP allowed the release of 215 million gallons of pollutants from Piney Point into Tampa Bay and Manatee County groundwater, a decision that scientists and environmentalists say fueled the summer’s harmful algal blooms.
The discharges were intended to avoid the collapse of a gyp stack, a mountain of toxic waste left over from fertilizer production that’s topped with millions of gallons of processed wastewater, stormwater and dredged spoil.
With the state-sanctioned discharges ended, the focus is on monitoring water quality in the region and the stability of the on-site containment system, as well as preparing to permanently close Piney Point at a cost of about $100 million.
During a Manatee County Council of Governments meeting Aug. 3 in Palmetto, county administrator Scott Hopes briefed local officials on the situation at Piney Point.
“I will tell you that it’s still a struggle. The stack is not in the best shape in the world,” Hopes said, referring to the south gyp stack at the site.
Closing Piney Point, he said, will involve drilling a deep injection well probably on county-owned 40 acres near the plant, dewatering the gyp stacks, placing new liners and caps on them, then burying Piney Point under topsoil and sod.
“My expectation is to have the highest soccer fields and BMX park in Manatee County,” Hopes told local officials.
ManaSota-88, a public health and environmental organization responded Aug. 5: “Mr. Hopes’ recent statement clearly reflects the defiance and ignorance public officials have had, and still have, regarding the health hazards associated with a gyp stack.”
Earlier this summer, ManaSota-88 and other organizations filed a federal lawsuit against the state, HRK and the Manatee County Port Authority over the crisis at Piney Point.
The lawsuit alleges that Piney Point is an ongoing threat to public health and the environment due to:
- The threat of catastrophic failure of its impoundments and/or stack system;
- The site’s failing liners;
- Violations of groundwater-quality standards and evidence that dangerous levels of pollution have migrated into the aquifer;
- The choice of a high-risk wastewater disposal method called deep-well injection to store hazardous waste;
- The discharge of 215 million gallons of toxic wastewater into Tampa Bay, which is now experiencing harmful algae blooms and fish kills.
Meanwhile, the DEP is pursuing an enforcement action against HRK in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court, as announced Aug. 5 by interim Secretary Shawn Hamilton: “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.”
Hamilton, in a news release, said DEP’s “ultimate goal remains closure of the site once and for all. We are confident the court-appointed receivership requested through this complaint will pave the way to expediting this process.”