Piney Point Update – Aug. 21, 2021
The department continues to oversee HRK's efforts to manage the water onsite. The priority remains to pursue all available water management tools to ensure safe storage capacities for the remainder of the rainy season.
Key status updates and response activities:
- The site received 0.4 inches of rain overnight. Piney Point has received approximately 24.4 inches of rain since the beginning of June, and is expected to receive at least another 10 inches by the end of September. The current storage capacity for additional rainfall at the site is approximately 11 inches. This capacity is expected to change with rainfall amounts, as well as adjusted water management activities at the site.
- As part of the site's water management efforts, trucking of water to nearby water treatment facilities has resumed. Since yesterday, 13 trucks have hauled approximately 83,000 gallons of process water offsite to the Manatee County Southeast Water Reclamation Facility.
- Approximately 262 million gallons are currently held within the NGS-South compartment. Pond level readings are expected to fluctuate due to a host of factors, including rainfall, water management activities and wind/associated waves in the pond.
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Innovative technology companies have been onsite treating water since April 2021, and this is ongoing. As a result of these innovative water treatment practices, nutrients, including Total Phosphorus (TP) and Total Nitrogen (TN), have been significantly reduced. To date, approximately 200 tons of TN and 150 tons of TP have been removed from ponded wastewater.
- On Aug. 14, 2021, DEP filed a Motion for Emergency Hearing regarding its request for of a court-appointed receiver to serve as an independent third party to oversee management and closure of the Piney Point site. This request was included in DEP’s enforcement action against HRK and in a motion in an ongoing foreclosure case concerning the site, both of which were filed on Aug. 5, 2021. Learn more by reviewing DEP’s Motion for Emergency Hearing, enforcement complaint and a frequently asked questions document.
- 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. 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. 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.
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