MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Engineering crews and state and environmental officials continue to work on the developing breach and potential collapse of a gypsum stack at the Piney Point phosphate site in Manatee County.
What started as a leak that prompted 10-15 homes to be evacuated escalated on Saturday as Florida ordered more than 300 homes to be evacuated and closed off multiple roadways Saturday near the large reservoir north of Bradenton. Officials have said a collapse may be "imminent."
Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered a State of Emergency for Manatee County that later expanded to Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.
What You Need To Know
The governor is traveling to Manatee County Sunday to speak with local officials about the potential collapse. He will give an update at 11 a.m. from the Manatee County Emergency Center.
He urged residents to follow evacuation orders in the areas affected by the ongoing leak.
The closure of U.S. 41 will be expanded south from Buckeye Road to Moccasin Wallow Road. Moccasin Wallow Road will be closed west of 38th Avenue East.
Crews continue to address the leak, potential collapse of a gypsum stack at the Piney Point phosphate facility. (Sky 9)
Officials brought in rocks and materials to plug the hole in the pond late Friday into Saturday, but the attempt was unsuccessful.
There are more than 800 million gallons of toxic waste water on the Piney Point site. The concern remains that a breach will spill millions of the toxic water into the surrounding area.
The water is a byproduct of production of fertilizer from phosphate rock. It is acidic and slightly radioactive and the stacks have long been a source of controversy among environmentalists.
“This is nothing that should come as any surprise to officials that have been monitoring this phosphogypsum stack,” said Jaclyn Lopez, Florida Director of the Center for Biological Diversity. “It has had a series and history of repeated leaks and breaches and discharges into Tampa Bay and this latest is the most alarming because it’s caused this public notice that’s forced the evacuation and the governor to declare a state of emergency.”
Workers have been pumping out thousands of gallons per minute at the site to bring the volume down in the event the pond bursts. Pumping the entire pond would take 10 to 12 days. Others have been working to chart the path to control how the water flows from the pond into the Tampa Bay.
In addition to the local and state officials, the EPA will have representatives on site as well Sunday.
The Link LonkApril 04, 2021 at 05:44PM
https://ift.tt/2R6Ak9e
Crews Continue Work on Piney Point Leak, Potential Collapse - Bay News 9
https://ift.tt/2VuKK1x
Work
No comments:
Post a Comment