A worsening series of breaches at an 800-million-gallon operating pool at the Piney Point industrial site caused Manatee County to evacuate residents about a mile from the plant tonight.
- The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Highway Patrol closed roads in the evacuation zone around U.S. 41 in Palmetto, according to the Bradenton Herald, and the Red Cross has been called in to help.
The last: Scott Hopes, interim administrator of Manatee County, addressed reporters at a news conference around 9:20 p.m.
- Hope said the water that flows into Tampa Bay at a rate of 22,000 gallons per minute, or 32 million gallons per day, is acidic and smells of ammonia, but said the pool gave support for wildlife such as snook and ducks.
- “I wouldn’t drink it,” Hopes said when asked if it was contaminated.
- The property has long been considered “one of the biggest environmental threats in Florida history.”
The backdrop: The old phosphate plant, in operation from the 1960s until 2001, contains piles of phosphogypsum, a by-product of fertilizer production, and large ponds of contaminated water. As Selene reported Wednesday:
- A 77-acre process water leak was discovered last week.
- The Florida Department of Environmental Protection said its drainage was the only way to prevent “a containment failure and a catastrophic release.”
The big picture: The voice of site manager Jeff Barath trembled and appeared to fight back tears as he spoke to county commissioners about the situation.
- “There will likely be impacts in Tampa Bay,” he told the commission.
What they say: USF geoscience professor Matthew Pasek initially told Axios that releasing small amounts of phosphate-contaminated water into the bay might not be so bad, but warned that we are now looking at irreversible damage.
- “Most likely the algae bloom followed by the death of fish,” Pasek said. “It will also impact the food chain further down. It is unlikely to cause human damage, but there will be a rather stinking bay for a while.”
- A state environmental spokeswoman wrote about the water: “It’s slightly acidic, but not at a level that’s expected to be worrisome, nor is it expected to be toxic,” according to the Tampa Bay Times.
- The DEP said in a statement that it is “dedicated to the full application of any damage to the resources and exploitation of our state [property owner HRK Holdings] responsible for this event. “
This story first appeared in the Axios Tampa Bay newsletter, designed to help readers be smarter and faster on the most relevant news unfolding in their own garden.