Florida lawsuit escalates tension at Piney Point. What’s next for the troubled site?
The state agency said it took a “pivotal step” when it launched the lawsuit against property owner
Florida’s legal action marks a significant escalation in the state’s battle against HRK. Gov.
“We look forward to making our case in court,” former FDEP Secretary
HRK has not responded to a request for comment on the suit.
In an interview, County Administrator
“These are legal procedures that need to move forward in order to put the HRK property in a posture where FDEP and [
The state’s lawsuit, which was filed in
Meanwhile, owner HRK is still responsible for maintaining the site. In recent weeks, the state’s environmental agency has pressured the company to put together a water management plan that will prevent another crisis.
FDEP and HRK have developed a complicated relationship over the years. The site owner was heralded as a savior when the company offered to take the
The mess
The plant took in truckloads of phosphate rock and put it through several machines to extract phosphorus, a key ingredient in fertilizer products. Gypsum, a slightly radioactive material, is a byproduct of that process.
Because it is slightly radioactive, the
On top of those gypsum stacks are enormous ponds of water that are also leftover from the factory’s operation. Process water is used to help operate the machinery, but it absorbs nutrients and chemicals that need to be removed before it is released into local waterways.
The leak
The largest pond on the
FDEP approved the emergency release of 215 million gallons of water from that pond to prevent a major flood, but the agency vowed to hold HRK accountable for letting the situation reach a breaking point. This past week’s legal action further muddled a partnership that goes back 15 years.
The takeover
In 2006, HRK entered the scene and bought the
At the time, state officials agreed to task HRK with the long-term maintenance and eventual closure of the gypsum stacks. According to the new lawsuit, HRK did not hold up its side of the bargain.
“HRK is incapable of operating the Facility in compliance with Florida’s environmental laws and the standards, permits, orders, agreements related to the management of the Property and Facility,” FDEP’s lawsuit says. “If HRK is allowed to continue operating the Facility and Property, irreparable harm is likely to occur.”
But
“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 reaction
“Generally, we’ve been waiting for DEP to enforce any rules against polluters and we’ve been disappointed with their failure to act,” Bloom said. “With this lawsuit, DEP is doing some environment enforcement, but I think they need to be introspective and look at their own culpability about what happened at
In June, Suncoast Waterkeeper teamed up with other environmental protection groups to launch a federal lawsuit against HRK and FDEP for allowing the release of the contaminated water into
“We don’t think HRK is competent but we don’t think DEP is either. DEP was responsible for the property for a significant period of time,” said Lopez, who also pointed to HRK’s correspondence as evidence of the agency’s guilt.
“There are communications between HRK and DEP where they’re saying “Help! We can’t get rid of the water quickly enough and we’re going to reach capacity!” They needed help and they needed help right away,” she added. “This should not be news to DEP. They had all this information. Why they did nothing, I have no idea. I can’t even speculate.”
The alarms
HRK first raised an alarm to the
Piney Point’s massive ponds accumulate rainwater rapidly. Every inch of rain that falls into the largest pond adds another 3.7 million gallons. Barath’s presentation prompted commissioners to support spending county money toward a solution, but they couldn’t take action fast enough to prevent a crisis.
With the filing of Thursday’s lawsuit by the state, Hopes said he expects Piney Point’s cleanup activities to ramp up significantly.
“We will continue to have a significant role in what the closure of
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