7 Questions About The Florida Reservoir Wastewater Spill

PALMETTO, FL — Manatee County employees, along with local, regional and state partners, are working around the clock at Piney Point, the site of a former phosphate fertilizer processing plant in Palmetto, to remove water from a reservoir in an attempt to control a leak and prevent a flood of contaminated wastewater in the area.

Here’s everything you need to know about the crisis at Piney Point.

What is Piney Point?

Piney Point began operating as a phosphate processing plant in the 1960s. When Mulberry Corporation, the most recent company to use the property as a functioning phosphate plant, ceased operations in 2001, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection took over the land.

HRK Holdings, LLC purchased the land in 2006 for $4.3 million. The company was required to maintain the phosphogypsum stacks and contaminated wastewater left behind from the processing plant.

Piney Point makes up just a portion of HRK Holdings’ Eastport property, which consists of 676 acres in the northwest portion of Manatee County Florida adjacent to Port Manatee. U.S. Highway 41 borders the property to the east and the west. It also has railroad access.

Just under 300 acres at the site are currently developable, according to the company’s website. The site is zoned heavy industrial.

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About 365 acres at the site are developed with facilities or are used as reservoirs, including the 77-acre Piney Point property. Current tenants at Eastport include Gulf Coast Bulk Equipment, International Salt Morton Salt Company, Manatee County Port Authority and Mayor Fertilizer, Inc.

On its website, HRK Holdings boasts that the property is a Greenfield site “free from environmental issues.”

What is going on at Piney Point?

After a tear in the liner was detected at the largest reservoir at Piney Point March 25, the state authorized the emergency removal of 400 million gallons from the pond by HRK Holdings to ease pressure on the site.

Manatee County declared a local state of emergency at the site Thursday. Additional leaks were discovered the next day, causing increased concern of a complete breach at the reservoir and the collapse of the phosphogypsum stacks at the site.

An evacuation order was issued for those living and working nearby, as a complete collapse could send a "20-foot wall of water" into the surrounding area, Scott Hopes, acting county administrator said.

Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for the area Saturday and mobilized state resources to help at the site, including about 20 additional pumps to help siphon the water from the reservoirs.

Since then, the county and its partners have been working nonstop to remove water from the reservoir in a controlled matter before a full breach occurs.

What areas have been evacuated?

As of Sunday night, at least 30 people and pets have been evacuated from the area around Piney Point, officials said. With assistance from the county's 311 emergency call center and the American Red Cross, they're sheltering in local hotels.

The initial mandatory evacuation order from Manatee County came Friday evening and included as many as 20 homes. The evacuation order was expanded Saturday evening due to further collapse of one of the phosphogypsum stacks on site and affected more than 300 homes.

The evacuation zone extends south to Moccasin Wallow Road, which is also closed west of 38th Avenue.

The closure of U.S. 41 will be expanded south from Buckeye Road to Moccasin Wallow Road. Moccasin Wallow Road will be closed west of 38th Avenue East.

Residents can plug their address into this tool provided by the county to see if they fall within the Piney Point evacuation zone. For questions about the evacuation, call 311.

What roads are closed near Piney Point?

Currently, US Highway 41 is closed at 113th Street East in Manatee County and at College Avenue in Hillsborough County. Motorists needing to travel south should take the detour to College Avenue, then travel east and access I-75. Motorists needing to travel north should travel east on Moccasin Wallow Road and access I-75.

What are phosphogypsum stacks?

A big concern for the area is the potential failure of the radioactive phosphogypsum stack at the site, the Center for Biological Diversity said in a news release Saturday. Phosphogypsum is the radioactive waste leftover from the process of turning phosphate ore into materials used in fertilizer, CBS said.

Is the water currently being removed from the reservoir safe?

While DeSantis stressed the water being siphoned from the retention pond isn’t radioactive, it isn't "water we want leaving the site," he said.

The processed water has a pH level of 5.7, which is "within a safe margin," Hopes said Friday night. "Obviously, you would not prefer to go swimming in it. There's a little bit of ammonia in it, but we're not talking about anything with radiation or high levels of heavy metals or anything like that."

The silt mixed in with the water contains a metal composition that is already found on the bottom of the bay, he said.

"What is being displaced currently is not as bad as what we are trying to maintain (in the other two ponds so it) does not leave Piney Point in an uncontrolled way. The other two areas do have, I would say, waste that would be less conducive to life on land and life in the sea," Hopes added Saturday.

To safely discharge the water from the other two retention ponds at Piney Point, the pH level would need to be improved by treating it for ammonia content and other materials, he said.

The larger retention pond contains mostly saltwater and has been sustaining wildlife, including ducks and snook, Hopes said. "That's not the case for the other two pools."

Has the discharge affected the local drinking water?

"We're hearing a lot of rumors and misinformation on these topics. Manatee County utility customers can rest assured that their drinking water is completely safe to drink. The water distribution system is a closed system without any way for flood water to enter. There is also no threat to our primary source of drinking water, Lake Manatee,” Vanessa Baugh, chair of the Manatee County Board of Commissioners, said during a news conference Sunday afternoon.

There is also no effect to the well water used by some north county residents, she added. Even if there if there is a substantial uncontrolled breach, the dirt and earth would likely filter it before it reaches the wells, and the state's Department of Health would also review the well water, she said.

Related Stories:

• Potential Second Leak Found At Piney Point Site: Manatee County
• Inmates At Manatee County Jail Evacuated Sunday Evening
• Water 'Completely Safe To Drink' During Piney Point Crisis: Baugh