BRADENTON – Nclear, an Atlanta-based company that uses nano-crystal technology for phosphate removal, gave a presentation at Thursday's Manatee Port Authority meeting, telling county commissioners that a pilot test program at Piney Point's process water ponds has been successful. The company says it believes it can treat the toxic water to get it to levels that would be safe for discharge into Tampa Bay.

Nclear CEO Michael Mies told commissioners that the cost would be around $12 million and the process would take about eight years. County Commissioners, who also make up the county's port authority, were only being given an update presentation. The decision ultimately rests with the property owner, HRK Holdings, which is responsible for the cleanup and costs, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which has oversight.

Representatives from both FDEP and HRK did, however, tout Nclear as a possible solution to what's been called a "ticking time bomb" at the abandoned phosphate plant, adjacent to the port in northwest Manatee County, when updating the board in January.

Around 630 million gallons of toxic process water resides in the ponds, which is no longer being discharged into larger water bodies because of the high chloride levels. The only current method being employed is spray evaporation, in which water is discharged to the air in a fine mist that essentially speeds up the normal evaporation process. However, this is not being done as fast as increased rainfall has added to the ponds, leading to a steady increase in total volume at around 11 million gallons each year.

FDEP says that the site can hold about 150 million gallons more, which equates to about 46 inches of rainfall. At the rate of increase, that provides only a little more than a decade’s worth of cushion, which could be reduced sharply by a major hurricane that dumped a large volume of water in a short period of time.

Piney Points Timebomb Continues to Tick