Piney Point Update - April 30, 2021
Liner repair efforts at NGS-South.
Today, a layer of geo-composite material was placed over the steel plate in the NGS-South compartment. In addition to the stone aggregate placed under the plate, this additional layer of repair will further stabilize the liner seam-separation. The flow continues to be minimized as a result of these repairs and remains contained onsite.
Key status updates and response activities:
- Discharges to Port Manatee ceased April 9, 2021, and have not resumed at this time. It remains DEP's priority, if possible, to ensure any future necessary discharges are pre-treated to minimize ecological impacts.
- DEP has been methodically relocating water among the lined storage basins onsite to safely manage water, respond to rainfall events and initiate water treatment. Water levels can be expected to fluctuate daily due to these water management activities, as well as evaporation.
- Approximately 200 million gallons remain in the NGS-South compartment.
- DEP continues to monitor and sample surrounding waterways following previous discharges. DEP's interactive water quality dashboard details sampling locations and corresponding results to evaluate any environmental impact. Sampling results to date currently range between non-detect to normal/background levels. Results will continue to be posted as soon as they are available.
- DEP is also working collaboratively with the Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP) and local governments to cover more area and collect more data. For a comprehensive view of all sampling in Tampa Bay related to Piney Point, visit TBEP's interactive water quality dashboard.
- DEP continues working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the Florida Department of Health to monitor algal blooms and water quality in the area. Currently, FWC sampling results in the localized area of discharges in Manatee County remain within the range of non-detect to low concentrations of K. brevis (a species of red tide).There are no reported fish kills in this area. FWC is the lead agency on red tide and will continue to update conditions on their website. For more information on red tide, please visit ProtectingFloridaTogether.gov.
Residents can find the latest information on the status of the site and response activities at ProtectingFloridaTogether.gov/PineyPointUpdate.
|
