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Piney Point Phosphate Hazard

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The phosphogypsum stacks at Piney Point continue to be a serious threat to human health and the environment.
The Manatee County Commission correctly included cleanup of Piney Point as one of the county’s top three priorities for the 2019 legislative session.
Piney Point is a hazard to the surface and groundwater of Tampa Bay, Terra Ceia Bay, and Bishops Harbor. Bishop Harbor is located immediately downstream of Piney Point and is an Outstanding Florida Water (OFW).
Millions of dollars of taxpayers money will be necessary to remove sulfuric acid-tainted water in the holding ponds and haul away the radioactive gypsum stacks. The phosphate industry should be held accountable and pay for the cleanup of Piney Point.
The site has historically been plagued will numerous toxic spills, two major releases of toxic gases, and repeated health and safety violations.
In 2011, HRK Holdings LLC, owners of Piney Point, and Port Manatee successfully convinced the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to allow the radioactive phosphogypsum stacks to be used for dredge material deposition.
A tear in the stack liners under the dredged material allowed the discharge of millions of gallons of contaminated water into Bishop Harbor. Disposing of the dredged materials from Port Manatee Berth 12 created a significant threat to the surrounding environmental resources of Bishop Harbor.
As reported by the FDEP, the millions of gallons of water leaking daily from the former phosphate plant contain elevated levels of Cadmium and high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus.
Cadmium is toxic to the marine environment and can have lethal and sublethal effects on the growth and reproduction of invertebrates such as the blue crab and shrimp. Cadmium does not break down in the environment, so any Cadmium that was leaked from Piney Point will be an environmental hazard for Bishop Harbor for many years to come.
Yet the current situation could have been completely avoided.
The sale of the Piney Point plant to HRK Holdings LLC was the height of irresponsibility by the FDEP, whose mission it is to safeguard the public's health and the environment. As a result, the taxpayers of Florida face a future of risk from unknown land use activities that could turn the former phosphate plant into a hazardous waste nightmare again.
FDEP agreed to the sale of the property without knowing what future activities would be proposed at Piney Point or whether future land uses would involve the radioactive phosphogypsum waste stacks.
The sale of Piney Point was a misguided attempt by FDEP to advocate its public responsibilities to a limited liability corporation. It has set precedence for the management of any future bankrupted or abandoned phosphogypsum stacks in Florida. Future commerce at Piney Point will likely unnecessarily expose the environment and the general public to otherwise avoidable chemical contaminants and radiation exposure.
FDEP has yet to complete a comprehensive, statewide assessment plan on Florida's existing two dozen or more phosphogypsum stacks. These stacks remain as a toxic legacy of the phosphate industry. Each phosphogypsum stack carries with it the risk of creating another Piney Point environmental and financial fiasco.
Port Manatee and HRK Holdings, LLC should use every available means to protect and reduce the impact their operations are having on the environment.
The contaminated water stored at Piney Point certainly raises the question: Can a limited liability corporation such as HRK Holdings adequately manage and operate Piney Point in an environmentally sound manner? Right now, the answer appears to be no.

Glenn Compton is the Chairman of ManaSota 88, a non-profit organization that has spent over 30 years fighting to protect the environment of Manatee and Sarasota counties.

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