State plans Piney Point phosphate plant cleanup
DeSantis returned to the site Tuesday to announce he was redirecting $15.4 million to pretreat water.
The state expects to put more than $115 million toward closing the site of a former phosphate plant where a reservoir leak set off a wastewater crisis in Manatee County.
Gov.
Ron
DeSantis also said Tuesday investigators are working to determine if legal action can be taken against HRK Holdings, the owner of the old Piney Point site.
DeSantis on April 3 declared an emergency in Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties as a leak in a reservoir forced an evacuation of nearby residents amid worries that a wall could collapse, leading to a flood of contaminated water.
With aquaculture booming, it’s time to talk about its future in Maine
Input is needed from all stakeholders in an industry that could deeply affect Maine s coast.
Share
There is something wrong when you can’t even have a conversation in Maine without sending people into an uproar.
That is one of the many reasons Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation (PMFHF) is supporting L.D. 1146. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Robert Alley who comes from a multigenerational fishing family in Jonesport and Beals, is well-crafted. If you are new to the aquaculture conflict, the foundation has been advocating for two years to examine the way the state is conducting oversight on in-water aquaculture leases, which are approved almost every time.
State Putting $115 Million Toward Piney Point Leak wuwf.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wuwf.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
DeSantis steering more money to Piney Point, wants to close site
âWe want this to be the last chapter,â governor says.
Â
Â
Gov. Ron DeSantis addresses the situation at Piney Point at a press conference in Manatee County on April 4. [ LUIS SANTANA | Luis Santana ]
Updated 51 minutes ago
Gov. Ron DeSantis is steering another $15.4 million toward cleaning up polluted water at the old Piney Point phosphate plant in Manatee County, where a leak in recent weeks has prompted the release of more than 200 million gallons of wastewater
into Tampa Bay.
âWe want this to be the last chapter of the Piney Point story,â the governor said at a news conference in Manatee on Tuesday. He said the money will be freed up by redirecting existing appropriations to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. He did not specify what that money was meant for originally. It is supposed to help pay for treating wastewater on the site before any more is pumped to Tampa
By Gordon Byrd
Apr 13, 2021
PALMETTO Governor DeSantis is announcing that he s directing the State Department of Environmental Protection to begin developing a plan to shut down the Piney Point phosphate wastewater site once and for all.
DeSantis is shifting $15 million in DEP s budget to pretreat water at the site in case more needs to ne discharged to reduce pressure. DEP will conduct a study on how to mothball the site. He says rigorous water monitoring will continue.
Senate President Wilton Simpson of Pasco County says the Legislature is expected to provide $100 million.
Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Noah Valenstein said a team of state scientists, along with their county counterparts, groups like Tampa Bay Estuary Program and students from the University of South Florida, have been in the water daily collecting baseline samples that could help build a case against HRK.