MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Plans to build a deep injection well to clean up Piney Point are moving forward, but there are concerns about what that will do to the environment.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection had two contracts worth more than $11.7 million to clean the water in the retention ponds after an emergency release of more than 200 million gallons earlier this year. One contract was with a company called Nclear for $4,253,400, and the other was with Phosphorus Free Water Solutions for $7,500,000. We've asked DEP if those contracts are complete and are waiting to hear back.
According to a recent DEP report, 9,585,645 gallons of water have been piped and transferred to the county's North Regional Water Reclamation Facility. There are still 260 million gallons of nutrient-rich wastewater that are left at the site. Water quality activists say they're concerned about using wells to remove it.
“There hasn't been enough analysis of the affluent on that site. We're talking about an incredible amount of wastewater,” Justin Bloom with Suncoast Waterkeeper said. “We're really concerned that there may in fact be hazardous waste.”
Manatee County Administrator Dr. Scott Hopes says it is considered safe.
“The affluent here at Piney point that we're going to dewater doesn't even rise to the level of hazardous waste by the federal government”, he said.
Suncoast Waterkeepers have filed a federal lawsuit. There are more than 300 deep injection wells here in Florida, more than 50 of them are here in the Bay area.