Wastewater from Piney Point released into Tampa Bay following leak at phosphogypsum stack

Millions of gallons of industrial wastewater from the former Piney Point fertilizer processing plant is being released into Tampa Bay in response to the facility’s second leak in a decade.

The wastewater is about as acidic as black coffee and contains elevated levels of phosphorus and nitrogen, which can feed the algae that causes red tide.

The total amount of wastewater that will be released is not final, but it could be as much as 400 million gallons.

The release is permitted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection under an emergency order issued on Monday to prevent “a catastrophic release of large amounts of seawater, mixed process water, and embankment materials” from one of the phosphogypsum stacks that has started leaking at the Piney Point facility, which is currently owned by HRK Holdings. 

More:Manatee pursues disposing hazardous Piney Point wastewater into Lower Floridan Aquifer

HRK Holdings first noticed a problem on March 25 when it started to receive abnormal readings indicating a leak in one of the site’s lined compartments that contain about 480 million gallons of wastewater, according to DEP documents.

The leak is currently contained within Piney Point property and is seeping to a buried drain system. However, that puts a strain on the drain system that could lead to uncontrolled failure and wastewater discharge offsite, officials said.

DEP permitted the controlled release into the Port of Manatee waters in Manatee Harbor to prevent such a failure.

“The Department is entering this Emergency Final Order to protect human health and safety and to protect the environment from a potential catastrophic failure of the containment system at the Facility. Action is necessary to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage,” the agency said in its order.

Red tide concerns

This is not the first time there has been a leak at Piney Point. There was a similar leak in May 2011 that led to an emergency discharge of about 169.2 million gallons of wastewater into Tampa Bay. The wastewater has also come close to overflowing on multiple occasions.

Environmental advocates are concerned about the effect that releasing nutrient-rich water once again will have on wildlife in Tampa Bay, and if red tide blooms, over the potential for economic impact.

Over the years the wastewater composition has changed. Between 2001 and 2007, stakeholders treated about 2.35 billion gallons of wastewater at the site. The remaining wastewater has also been diluted by rainwater and sea water from the Port of Manatee’s Berth 12 dredging project in 2011, which was an expansion project related to the Panama Canal’s expansion. 

Those projects have made the wastewater significantly less acidic, but it still has high levels of nitrogen and phosphate, which could potentially lead to algae blooms and red tide, said Glenn Compton, chairman of environmental advocacy group Manasota-88.

“It is adding fuel to the fire,” Compton said. “Red tide events are always a possibility, especially in Tampa Bay. The last thing you want to do is add nutrients to the water that would speed up possible blooms and outbreaks of red tide.”

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Red tide has been a regional issue before, and Compton said it adversely affects the local economy because of its effect on tourism and recreational activities.

“People come here to enjoy Tampa Bay and the resources it has, whether it be canoeing, boating, fishing or just enjoying wildlife in general,” Compton said. “So the potential economic impact will be significant should the worst case scenario play out, and by all indications it looks like we are heading towards that worst case scenario.”