MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan took an aerial tour of the emergency situation at the former Piney Point phosphate processing plant and says he did not like what he saw.
“It’s very concerning to me. I know they’re making some progress but to see the water spewing out, it looked pretty contaminated to me," he said during a press conference Monday.
The Republican congressman requested federal assistance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initially in October 2020. In a letter to the agency, he noted that his congressional district faces "a potential environmental nightmare."
"Officials warned that holding ponds of contaminated water are quickly running out of capacity, further threatening the region," the letter stated.
Now, while the county and state agencies fight to prevent a wastewater retention pond's "imminent" collapse at the site, the EPA is here to lend a hand.
“I want the best and the brightest on the ground. This is something that’s unfortunately –could have been dealt with, probably, over the years. But I’m not looking to assess any blame or anything else. I’m here to do everything I can to help the county," Buchanan said.
The congressman's hope is for the county, state, and federal agencies to come together to resolve the issue quickly – and not just to temporarily patch things up.
This should not be a question of dollars and cents, according to Buchanan, who wants a permanent fix found and resources provided to help accomplish it.
As for who is to blame? Buchanan says HRK Holdings, the company that took over Piney Point after its original owners went bankrupt, should be held completely responsible.
The plant was abandoned in 2001 and has seen its share of issues over the years.
In 2004, the state spent $140 million to barge millions of gallons of the wastewater more than 100 miles offshore to dump it but ran out of funding to continue the effort.
Then in 2011, a gypsum stack broke and allowed saltwater from dredging at Port Manatee to mix with the pond waste.
Officials are hopeful that the latest issue at Piney Point can be heavily resolved in 48 hours due to the introduction of more pumps at the location.
As of Monday afternoon, Manatee County Administrator Dr. Scott Hopes says there is just shy of 300 million gallons remaining in the breached retention pond.
What other people are reading right now:
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- Manatee County schools halts bus pick-ups inside Piney Point evacuation zone
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