Florida to close wastewater reservoir with leak history that nearly collapsed this month
Curt Anderson/AP
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Florida is moving to permanently close the leaky Piney Point wastewater reservoir that poured millions of gallons of water into Tampa Bay while threatening to burst open and flood nearby homes and businesses, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday.
The Republican governor said at a news conference at the site that the chronic challenges of containing polluted water at the long-closed phosphate plant must end.
“We want this to be the last chapter of the Piney Point story,” DeSantis said.
The reservoir is located just south of Tampa in Manatee County, near waterways that flow into Tampa Bay.
The governor said he has directed the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a closure plan, and that $15.4 million in existing agency funds would be used to treat the wastewater to reduce the nutrients that can cause algae blooms and fish kills.
When a leak developed at the site, in a reservoir that once held 480 million gallons, experts fearing a collapse triggered the evacuation of more than 300 homes, businesses and farms in the area.
The worst was avoided as engineers rushed in vacuum trucks and other equipment to furiously pump out wastewater, relieving the pressure. Crews also installed a steel plate at the leak site to prevent additional flooding from a seam in the reservoir’s plastic liner.
The reservoir contains what are called phosphogypsum stacks, a leftover from the phosphate mined for fertilizer. Officials say the water contains nitrogen, phosphorus, ammonia, and small amounts of radium and uranium, but is not radioactive.
There are about two dozen other similar phosphate waster reservoirs in Florida, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They hold about 1 billion tons of phosphogypsum stacks similar to those at Piney Point. The EPA also says about 90% of the nation’s phosphate is mined in Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Noah Valenstein, the Florida DEP secretary, said the state also plans to sue HRK Holdings, which bought the property in 2006 and promised a cleanup. Instead, the company filed for bankruptcy following a 2011 spill of 170 million gallons.
“Stay tuned for litigation,” Valenstein said. “This is it. The site has to be closed.”
Wilton Simpson, the Republican president of the Florida Senate, said lawmakers would work to fully fund the cleanup and closure of Piney Point. The Legislature is currently in session.
“By the end of session, we’ll have a closure plan,” Simpson said.
This aerial photo taken from an airplane shows a reservoir near the old Piney Point phosphate mine, Saturday, April 3, 2021 in Bradenton, Fla. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday after a significant leak at a large pond of wastewater threatened to flood roads and burst a system that stores polluted waters. The pond where the leak was discovered is at the old Piney Point phosphate mine, sitting in a stack of phosphogypsum, a waste product from manufacturing fertilizer that is radioactive. (Tiffany Tompkins/The Bradenton Herald via AP)
This photo taken by a drone shows the old Piney Point phosphate mine, Saturday, April 3, 2021 in Bradenton, Fla. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday after a significant leak at a large pond of wastewater threatened to flood roads and burst a system that stores polluted waters. The pond where the leak was discovered is at the old Piney Point phosphate mine, sitting in a stack of phosphogypsum, a waste product from manufacturing fertilizer that is radioactive. (Tiffany Tompkins/The Bradenton Herald via AP)
Effluent flows from a pipe into a drainage ditch at Port Manatee South Gate on Tuesday, April 6, 2021, in Palmetto, Fla., where authorities responding to a leaking wastewater pond at the old Piney Point phosphate plant reopened a nearby stretch of U.S. 41 that had been closed for days between Manatee and Hillsborough counties. A mandatory evacuation order near the leaking Florida wastewater reservoir that affected more than 300 homes and additional businesses was lifted Tuesday as officials said the situation was under control.(Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
A great blue heron rests off a coastal mangrove estuary at Port Manatee, on Tuesday, 6, 2021, in Palmetto, Manatee County, Fla., where authorities responding to a leaking wastewater pond at the old Piney Point phosphate plant reopened a nearby stretch of U.S. 41 that had been closed for days between Manatee and Hillsborough counties. The move signaled improving conditions at the site. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
A sign regulates passage into an inlet at a coastal mangrove estuary off Port Manatee, on Tuesday, 6, 2021, in Palmetto, Manatee County, Fla., where authorities responding to a leaking wastewater pond at the old Piney Point phosphate plant reopened a nearby stretch of U.S. 41 that had been closed for days between Manatee and Hillsborough counties. The move signaled improving conditions at the site. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
An unidentified foam collects on reeds where effluent flows from a pipe into a drainage ditch at Port Manatee South Gate on Tuesday, April 6, 2021, in Palmetto, Fla., where authorities responding to a leaking wastewater pond at the old Piney Point phosphate plant reopened a nearby stretch of U.S. 41 that had been closed for days between Manatee and Hillsborough counties. A mandatory evacuation order near the leaking Florida wastewater reservoir that affected more than 300 homes and additional businesses was lifted Tuesday as officials said the situation was under control. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Seasonal algae floats in the water off Port Manatee, on Tuesday, 6, 2021, in Palmetto, Manatee County, Fla., where authorities responding to a leaking wastewater pond at the old Piney Point phosphate plant reopened a nearby stretch of U.S. 41 that had been closed for days between Manatee and Hillsborough counties. A mandatory evacuation order near the leaking Florida wastewater reservoir that affected more than 300 homes and additional businesses has been lifted. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference at the Piney Point reservoir, Tuesday, April 13, 2021, in Palmetto, Fla. The governor said that Florida will permanently close the leaky Piney Point reservoir that poured millions of gallons of wastewater into Tampa Bay while threatening to burst open and flood nearby homes and businesses. (Ryan Callihan/The Bradenton Herald via AP)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, listens as Noah Valenstein, secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, right, speaks during a news conference at the Piney Point reservoir, Tuesday, April 13, 2021, in Palmetto, Fla. The governor said that Florida will permanently close the leaky Piney Point reservoir that poured millions of gallons of wastewater into Tampa Bay while threatening to burst open and flood nearby homes and businesses. (Ryan Callihan/The Bradenton Herald via AP)
