FDEP Sues Piney Point Owners For Contaminated Wastewater Breach

PALMETTO, FL — The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has filed a complaint against HRK Holdings, the owner of the Piney Point site, a former Palmetto phosphate fertilizer processing plant that experienced a significant wastewater reservoir breach in March and April, in the 12th Judicial Court in Manatee County Thursday.

More than 200 million gallons of contaminated water was released directly into Tampa Bay from the site during this breach.

The FDEP is asking HRK “for injunctive relief, cost recovery, attorney’s fees, damages, civil penalties in excess of $30,000,” according to the agency’s complaint against the company.

In a statement on the FDEP’s Piney Point website, interim secretary Shawn Hamilton called the lawsuit “a pivotal step to ensure this is the final chapter for the Piney Point site and fulfill the agency’s charge and dedication to holding HRK accountable.”

The agency is asking for “the maximum allowable penalties and recovery of costs and damages under existing laws and regulations,” he said.

HRK Holdings, which has owned the property since 2006, has failed to comply with various state laws, regulations and agreements, FDEP said in an update on the Piney Point website. The agency said HRK’s failure to comply with the following:

• requirements of Florida Statute Chapter 403, which pertains to the safe operation of phosphogypsum stack systems.
• requirements of Title 62 of the Florida Administrative Code, which pertains to surface and groundwater standards.
• provisions and requirements of the existing consent order and administrative agreement the company entered into with FDEP requiring the removal of water from the site by 2019.
• financial assurance requirements.

Through the complaint, FDEP also asks for a court-appointed receiver to serve as an independent third party overseeing the management and closure of Piney Point, as well as the financial management of these activities, the agency said.

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“DEP’s priority continues to be the protection of human health and safety and the minimization of any potential impacts to the environment. We are committed to maintaining stringent regulatory oversight of activities at the site as we move forward with this enforcement action,” Hamilton said. “The 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.”

At the end of April, Neighbors of Piney Point filed a class-action lawsuit against HRK Holdings over "toxic contents" at the site and called the phosphate processing plant "a nuisance" after the contaminated wastewater breach.

Various conservation groups also filed a lawsuit in June against Gov. Ron DeSantis, the acting secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Manatee County Port Authority and HRK Holdings "for the release of hundreds of tons of hazardous pollutants into Tampa Bay and groundwater," according to a news release from the Center for Biological Diversity.