Piney Point owner points finger at contractors and state agency over massive leak of pollution
Piney Point owner HRK Holdings blamed FDEP and contractors for the liner leak and spill of polluted water. The Bradenton Herald and Miami Herald found a previously unreported 2014 spill.
In their first official statement since the site threatened environmental catastrophe, the owners behind Piney Point said they aren’t to blame for a leak that led to 200 million gallons of contaminated water flowing into
Tampa Bay.
Tom Richards, a spokesman for HRK Holdings, which purchased the property from the state in 2006, said the Florida Department of Environmental Protection was to blame for not taking action in the years leading up to the leak.
In a statement provided to the media, Richards said HRK has repeatedly sounded the alarm and tried to let FDEP officials know about the severity of the problem, noting that the ponds were set to reach maximum capacity sooner than thought.
Their cries for help went unanswered, HRK said.
“Unfortunately, while continuing to delay the approval, funding and implementation of any meaningful resolution to address these ongoing risks and problems, the authorities chose to turn away from all requests for help,” the statement said.
On March 25, the site managers who operate the former phosphate processing plant said they discovered a leak in one of the massive ponds of process water, which was used to help operate the machinery. That leak ran the risk of sending 480 million gallons of water surging into the surrounding area.
HRK also placed blame on the array of contractors and consultants who designed, installed and inspected the plastic liner separating the contaminated water from the gypsum stacks — the basis of a lawsuit that was filed in 2013 and has yet to go to trial. Each spill at Piney Point since 2011 was the result of rips in the liner.
Lawyers representing HRK Holdings and the main consultant for Piney Point, Ardaman & Associates, in the litigation did not respond to requests for comments.
HRK DENIES BLAME IN PINEY POINT LEAK
“To insinuate that HRK has done anything other than what was required of and allowed by the State of Florida under authority of the numerous agreements and projects undertaken by the company is preposterous,” Richards wrote.
HRK’s forceful statement came after several state leaders, including Gov. Ron DeSantis and FDEP Secretary Noah Valenstein, have vowed to hold the company accountable for the environmental crisis, including lawsuits and huge fines.
“We are preparing as rigorous a legal team as you see on the ground with scientists and engineers to absolutely make certain that we are moving forward and putting every effort to hold folks accountable, regardless or not of particular corporations and circumstances,” Valenstein said during a Piney Point news briefing on Tuesday.
But HRK said it is prepared to fight those accusations, arguing that the state
hasn’t been responsive to the repeated requests for assistance and funding to solve the problems at Piney Point.
After Mulberry Corp. filed for bankruptcy and abruptly abandoned the phosphate plant, FDEP was forced to take it over, leaving state officials in charge of a plan to close the hazardous site. When Mulberry packed up shop, it left huge hills of gypsum — a slightly radioactive byproduct of processing phosphate — and process water.
Because it helps run the machinery, process water absorbs many of the nutrients involved, including nitrogen, phosphorous and ammonia. Because the water is nutrient-rich, it must be treated and cleaned before it can be released into waterways.
But in the 15 years since HRK took the property off
of FDEP’s hands for $4.3 million, there hasn’t been a meaningful plan to get rid of that process water or close the gypsum stacks. In September, HRK began to publicly shed light on the crisis.
In a presentation to the Manatee Board of County Commissioners, HRK’s site manager, Jeff Barath, warned county officials that it would only be a matter of time before the ponds reached their maximum capacity. At that time, there were about 750 million gallons of water on the site. By January, that number had grown to 800 million gallons.
Barath explained the giant ponds are susceptible to heavy rainfall. Every inch of rain that falls on the site adds another 1.36 million gallons of process water that needs to be treated and cleaned.
“To be clear, it has been
HRK, through its site manager’s actions and management of site operations, who has continuously and diligently relayed concern to all who would listen of the impending problems and risks during annual tropical storm seasons and as is currently being experienced at Piney Point,” HRK’s statement said.
HRK QUIET ON 2014 SPILL
In the statement, HRK also said it “routinely inspects, notifies FDEP, and corrects synthetic liner flaws identified above the water line of the water storage compartments.”
It did not say if it also notifies Manatee County of tears or associated spills. The Miami Herald and Bradenton Herald found that in February 2014 there was a previously unreported liner leak that Manatee County was not informed of.
In a 2015 amended complaint filed in the ongoing litigation between HRK and the contractors who designed, installed and inspected the liner, HRK said there was another tear in the liner — this time in the northwest corner of the northern new gypsum stack pond — that led to a spill of contaminated process water.
The extent of the spill was not explained in the document, and FDEP did not immediately respond to requests for comments on details about the spill.
“The hazardous substances and/or pollution is in quantities which are or may be potentially harmful or injurious to human health or welfare, animal or plant life, or property or which may unreasonably interfere with the enjoyment of life or property, including outdoor recreation,” HRK lawyers wrote in the document.
Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore, who also served on the commission in 2014, said she had no recollection of the spill.
“We never heard about it. If we did, we would’ve made a big deal about it,” she said.
PINEY POINT CLOSURE MOVES FORWARD
Despite the finger-pointing, state officials say they’re committed to moving forward with a plan to fully close the Piney Point site, beginning with a $100 million budget appropriation in the Florida Legislature. The full closure is expected to cost around $200 million.
The state is also moving forward with a $15.4 million contract to have two innovative technology companies clean the rest of the water left in the pond that began leaking at the end of March. The companies — Nclear and Phosphorus Free Water Solution — use techniques that are able to remove and recycle the nutrients from the water.
In the meantime, county officials are also playing a role to help close the gypsum stacks. The board voted unanimously on
April 6 to approve a resolution directing a firm to begin designing an underground injection well, which is also known as a deep well.
A deep well would allow the county to pump the process water about 3,500 feet below ground after it has been treated and cleaned. The county will own and operate the well, allowing local officials to determine the quality of the water before it is put into the well.
By the end of the year, FDEP said it hopes to have a plan to close the gypsum stacks. In 2022, the Legislature expects to make another budget appropriation to fully fund that plan.