The EPA Calls an Old Creosote Works in Pensacola an Uncontrolled Threat to Human Health. Why Is There No Money to Clean it Up?
Heavy rains have dispersed highly toxic dioxins throughout the Sanders Beach neighborhood for years. Now, residents hope the Biden administration will help put an end to their misery.
April 25, 2021
Neighbors Kelly Hagen (left) and Dixie Wilkinson stand in their respective yards on April 22, 2021 in Pensacola, Florida. Their homes are located next to the now closed American Creosote Works, now an EPA Superfund site which is causing environmental problems for the area and health problems for the residents who live near it. Credit: Dan Anderson
FLORIDA governor Ron DeSantis has ordered residents to evacuate as a reservoir threatens to burst sending a
catastrophic 20ft wall of polluted wastewater crashing through homes.
Officials in Tampa Bay warned an imminent breach at an old phosphate plant could gush out 340million gallons of water in minutes.
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Officials have warned Tampa Bay could be flooded by 20ft wall of polluted water from a collapsing reservoirCredit: WFLA
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There are fears the leaking gypsum stack could collapse at any momentCredit: Facebook
DeSantis declared a state of emergency in Manatee County after a leak at the wastewater pond threatened to flood homes and roads with billions of liters of contaminated water.
Wastewater discharge in Tampa Bay could fuel algal blooms
Associated Press
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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Environmentalists are worried that a recent discharge of wastewater into Tampa Bay could exacerbate a new outbreak of the dreaded red tide algal blooms.
An estimated 215 million gallons of wastewater from the old Piney Point fertilizer plant grounds was discharged earlier this month into Tampa Bay. About 11 miles away, red tide was found in water samples off Manatee County.
“Piney Point loaded the gun, and then that first red tide positive count, they slammed the hammer back on the gun,” said Brian Rosegger, co-founder of nearby Lost Coast Oyster Company.
Red Tide is cause of concern near Piney Point discharge in Tampa Bay
âWeâre still at the very beginning of the Piney Point spill in Tampa Bay,â an environmental advocate says.
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A fisherman traverses a shipping channel on Friday off the coastal mangrove estuaries of Bishop Harbor and the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve near Port Manatee. [ DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Tampa Bay Times ]
Updated 4 hours ago
TAMPA BAY â About 11 miles separate the area around Port Manatee, where an estimated 215 million gallons of wastewater were recently released into Tampa Bay, and the spot off Manatee County where water samples this week turned up a dreaded result:
3 hours ago by Jessica Meszaros (WUSF)
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
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The red tide organism, Karenia brevis, is persisting along Southwest Florida’s coast. The toxic algae has made its way up to Manatee County from Collier County.
Red tide blooms have been reported in Sarasota and Charlotte counties this past week. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a Friday afternoon update that multiple fish kills in both counties are likely related to the toxic algae.