Learning of process water breach at Piney Point, County Commissioners declare local state of emergency

Learning of process water breach at Piney Point, County Commissioners declare local state of emergency
Posted on 04/01/2021

MANATEE COUNTY, FL (April 1, 2021) – Manatee County Commissioners today declared a local state of emergency after receiving an update from HRK regarding the breach at the Piney Point phosphogypsum stack. An uncontrolled breach is not imminent but, if the conditions of the stack worsen, nearby property owners could be impacted by the process water.

The stacks are owned by HRK Holdings, LLC and the environmental oversight falls to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Manatee County Commissioners have pushed for the interested parties to find an environmentally responsible solution, but have no authority over the site. But recognizing a potential threat to local residents and business owners, Commissioners unanimously declared the local state of emergency at the tail end of a regularly scheduled land use meeting today.

The emergency declaration adopted by the Board states:

  • Engineers cannot predict with absolute certainty the location or severity of contaminated water releasing resulting in hazardous impacts; and
  • Any contaminated water release in unplanned large amounts can result in injuries, damage to public and private property, and may result in first responders and government agencies intervening to protect lives, property, and the environment and to reduce impacts to utilities, public buildings, communication systems, transportation systems, and infrastructure.