A federal judge found HRK Holdings LLC liable for a major pollution event in 2021.
HRK’s Piney Point facility was linked to a massive fish kill after 215 million gallons of toxic wastewater were discharged into Tampa Bay to avert the catastrophic collapse of a waste impoundment at the former phosphate mine.
Following the discharge, Tampa Bay experienced a red tide that killed more than 600 tons of marine life in the bay.
A Sept. 19 ruling, which followed a lawsuit filed by conservation groups, ordered the company to pay $846,900.
Also, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has separately agreed to fund independent monitoring of the Piney Point disaster’s ongoing harm to Tampa Bay’s water quality and to make improvements to the Clean Water Act permit.
Following the discharges, the owners of the site entered bankruptcy and their counsel withdrew from the case. With the defunct corporation unrepresented, U.S. District Judge William Jung issued a default judgment finding that HRK violated the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants into Tampa Bay without a lawfully issued permit.
“The catastrophic impacts of the Piney Point disaster will forever be a part of the history of Tampa Bay.” Justin Tramble, executive director of Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, said in a news release. “All industries should see the value of a healthy Tampa Bay and become stewards rather than abusers. Our hope is that this ruling makes it clear that the Tampa Bay community will hold polluters accountable for irresponsible and blatant abuse that frankly belongs in the past. The future of a thriving and sustainable Tampa Bay depends on it.”
