Emergency declared over toxic wastewater leak in Florida April 06, 2021
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for the area as officials feared that a wastewater pond could collapse at any time.
TAMPA, Florida Hundreds of residents in Manatee County, Florida, were ordered to evacuate their homes over Easter weekend as officials feared that a wastewater pond could collapse at any time. On Saturday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for the area.
County officials said the pond, located at the former Piney Point phosphate processing plant, had a significant leak, according to CBS affiliate WTSP-TV. The Manatee County Public Safety Department told people near the plant to evacuate due to an imminent uncontrolled release of wastewater.
Piney Point: With more pumps in place, attention shifts to environmental impact
By Dan Matics and FOX 13 News staff
Published
Work continues at Piney Point to deal with a massive wastewater spill.
PALMETTO, Fla. - As of Tuesday morning, new pumps are now in place to help drain contaminated water left over from the former Piney Point phosphate plant to relieve pressure off the containment wall.
Federal engineers are using four major lines and many smaller pumps to drain the reservoir which holds a mix of seawater, rainwater, and wastewater from the old fertilizer plant.
Workers installed new pumps to ramp up efforts to drain millions of gallons of contaminated water to Port Manatee. There are 26 pumps and 10 vacuum trucks in place.
Evacuation orders lifted in Manatee County; lawmakers plan $200M to deal with reservoir
Published: April 6, 2021 1:53 PM EDT
Updated: April 6, 2021 4:41 PM EDT
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But it was not immediately clear how officials plan to tackle the huge engineering challenge.
The state Senate president, Republican Wilton Simpson, said a legislative committee on Wednesday will take up an amendment to use federal money for the project. Its sponsor is Sen. Jim Boyd, a Republican from Bradenton where the Piney Point reservoir is located.
“This has been a catastrophe waiting to happen for too long,” Simpson said in a statement. “We don’t want to be talking about this problem again in five, 10 or 20 years.”
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Hello and welcome to Tuesday.
The daily rundown Between Sunday and Monday, the number of Florida coronavirus cases increased by 3,480 (nearly 0.2 percent), to 2,085,306; active hospitalizations increased by 123 (nearly 4.3 percent), to 2,988; deaths of Florida residents rose by 36 (0.1 percent), to 33,710; 6,357,049 Floridians have received at least one dose of a vaccine.
Come as you are Greetings from Okaloosa County, smack in the heart of Florida’s 1st Congressional District a seat held by Rep. Matt Gaetz.
In bloom On Monday, Gaetz and his allies continued to mount a counteroffensive to the federal investigation into whether the 38-year-old congressman violated federal human trafficking laws and had an improper relationship with a 17-year-old girl.