Contaminated water is filling up Piney Point. A spill could affect all of Tampa Bay
Ponds of contaminated water at the Piney Point reservoir near Port Manatee are quickly running out of capacity and could pose a threat to Tampa Bay’s water quality.
Rainfall amounts are having a significant effect on three water compartments at the former phosphate plant, according to Jeff Barath, a site manager with HRK Holdings, LLC, the company that took over Piney Point operations in 2011.
In a Tuesday morning briefing with the Manatee Board of County Commissioners, Barath said it was an urgent issue that required a solution as soon as possible.
“As you can see, during the wet season, capacity is lost very, very, very quickly,” Barath said, explaining the capacity left in each of the contaminated ponds.
“We are quickly running out of process water capacity inside of the Piney Point facility,” he added. “I appreciate everyone coming together and understanding the importance of this so that we can hopefully, collectively come up with an environmentally responsible and economically viable solution.”
Process water is a chemical used in phosphogypsum mining, but it has to be treated before it can be released into local waters. HRK Holdings is using a spray evaporation technique to clear out the ponds, but the process is virtually canceled out by falling rain.
“We are going the wrong way, especially the last two years,” Barath explained.
Barath said Piney Point is holding about 750 million gallons of water and is operating at about 92 percent capacity. The site can only handle about 19 more inches of rainfall. A 2019 study found that Piney Point is as few as two years away from reaching capacity.
“There is no more important issue in my mind than the water quality in Manatee County, and that’s what this is about,” said Commissioner Betsy Benac. “If these were to breach, it would affect a lot of people.”
“It’s going to be our fault if something happens,” Commissioner Carol Whitmore added. “We do need a major plan.”
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection and HRK Holdings are responsible for managing the issue, but Manatee and other local counties could be affected by a breach.
It wouldn’t be the first time Piney Point suffered an accidental spill.
A 2004 hurricane put a hole in one of Piney Point’s dikes, spilling 70 million gallons of contaminated water. Another spill in 2011 put 170 million gallons of water into Bishop Harbor and Tampa Bay.
“I know we don’t want to own this problem, but if we can agree to be a partner in solving this issue, I think we can get there,” Benac said.
While the board agreed that the issue required immediate attention, commissioners differed on how to approach the problem.
A deepwater injection well is one of the ideas that has been tossed around for years. Some commissioners say it’s the best option to get rid of the water, but others expressed concern about any unforeseen long-term effects.
“I know that all the scientists say that deep well injection is great, and maybe they are right, but all you’re doing is hiding bad water,” said Commissioner Priscilla Whisenant Trace. “You’re not cleaning it, you’re not doing anything. We don’t really know what 50, 60 years from now it’ll be doing down there.”
“We have a problem with red tide, but we’re talking about putting contaminated water down a deepwater injection well. We all know that if anything can happen, it could happen,” Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said. “It’s a possibility. We owe it to the residents of our county to look out for them and make wise decisions.”
“If we’re going to find alternatives, let’s ask the questions,” Baugh continued, suggesting that the county and HRK should look at other options
“We don’t have the time to sit here and say there’s some technological solution in the future,” Benac responded. “This is just upsetting to me that we would continue to say it’s only because we want to solve the problem. I’m open to other solutions. Where are they?”
But getting rid of the water isn’t easy and it won’t happen quickly, according to Barath.
“As I stand before you, there is no smoking gun, that I’m aware of, for us to consider,” he said.
But John Coates, a mining and mitigation program manager with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, described two options that could provide some temporary relief.
One option is for Piney Point to discharge 50,000 gallons of process water per day to the county’s Northern Wastewater Facility in Palmetto for treatment. Estimates say that could buy HRK an extra four years to deal with the rest of the process water at Piney Point.
The FDEP is also willing to invest in one of several pilot programs with the goal of getting rid of 75,000 gallons per day, Coates said.
Board members did not vote on a final plan but agreed to work with staff on a possible agreement that would allow HRK and FDEP to slowly discharge water to a county wastewater treatment center.
This story was originally published September 22, 2020 at 4:12 PM with the headline "Contaminated water is filling up Piney Point. A spill could affect all of Tampa Bay."
