The 77-acre reservoir, just south of Tampa, in Manatee County, contains what are called phosphogypsum stacks, a leftover from the phosphate mined for fertilizer at the now-closed plant.
The reservoir began leaking in late March, and on April 3, Governor DeSantis issued a “State of Emergency,” citing the potential for a “real catastrophic flood situation.”
The governor’s order triggered the evacuation of more than 300 homes, businesses, and farms in the area as it was feared that if the reservoir collapsed, a 20-foot wall of wastewater containing toxins and pollutants could flood the area.
Luckily, crews were able to avoid a catastrophe by rushing in vacuum trucks and other equipment to furiously pump out the wastewater, relieving the pressure. Crews also installed a steel plate at the leak site to prevent additional flooding from a seam in the reservoir’s plastic liner, according to the Associated Press.
Phosphate wastewater reservoirs in Florida
There are close to two dozen phosphate wastewater reservoirs in Florida, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They hold about 1 billion tons of phosphogypsum stacks similar to those at Piney Point. The EPA also says about 90 percent of the nation’s phosphate is mined in Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says the other reservoirs in the state don’t have the same problems found at Piney Point, and there are no plans to close them. However, in 2016, the Mosaic Company plant, a producer of phosphate and potash for fertilizer in Mulberry, Florida, developed a sinkhole beneath a reservoir holding phosphogypsum stacks.
On September 19, 2016, Digital Journal reported on the massive sinkhole beneath a phosphate strip mine in Central Florida that allowed contaminated wastewater to flow into the Floridian aquifer for three weeks before the public was ever notified.
Noah Valenstein, the Florida DEP secretary, said the state also plans to sue HRK Holdings, which bought the Piney Point property in 2006 and promised a cleanup. Instead, the company filed for bankruptcy following a 2011 spill of 170 million gallons. “Stay tuned for litigation,” he said.