Piney Point Lawsuit Filed Against DeSantis, State Of FL

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — Months after the toxic wastewater leak at the Piney Point reservoir, conservation groups filed a lawsuit Thursday against Gov. Ron DeSantis, the acting secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Manatee County Port Authority and the property’s owner, HRK Holdings, LLC, “for the release of hundreds of tons of hazardous pollutants into Tampa Bay and groundwater,” according to a news release from the Center for Biological Diversity.

In April, the site of a former phosphate processing plant saw a significant wastewater reservoir breach. More than 200 million gallons of untreated wastewater was discharged directly into Tampa Bay to prevent a wall of contaminated water from flooding homes and businesses in the area.

The site is surrounded by phosphogypsum stacks, the radioactive waste leftover from the process of turning phosphate ore into materials used in fertilizer.

In addition to the Center for Biological Diversity, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, Suncoast Waterkeeper, Manasota-88 and Our Children’s Earth Foundation are listed as plaintiffs on the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Florida. They’re represented by the Law Offices of Charles M. Tebbutt, P.C.

The defendants have known for decades that Piney Point “threatens imminent and substantial endangerment to Floridians’ lives, health and environment,” according to the lawsuit.

Like what you're reading? Invite a friend to subscribe to free Bradenton newsletters and real-time email alerts.

Since the wastewater was discharged into the bay, “that nutrient-laden pollution has triggered the beginnings of a harmful algae bloom with associated fish kills, putting Tampa Bay, neighboring waterways and all Floridians that make use of these impacted waterways in jeopardy.”

“Piney Point was and still is a ticking timebomb,” Justin Bloom, Suncoast Waterkeeper founder and board member, said. “Rather than closing it when they had the chance, FDEP allowed the site to become even more dangerous, knowing full well the risk of collapse and catastrophic contamination. Now Manatee County is seeking to inject the hundreds of millions of gallons of remaining hazardous wastewater into our groundwater. We’re not confident in our regulators’ ability to manage this mess and this legal action is necessary to protect our communities and waterways from further harm.”

Manatee County commissioners approved a $9 million deep injection well to remove the remaining contaminated wastewater at Piney Point, which the Center for Biological Diversity calls “an unproven and high-risk wastewater disposal method.”

This is the second lawsuit filed in relation to the Piney Point crisis. Neighbors of the site filed a class-action lawsuit against the HRK Holdings, LLC at the end of April.

See Related Stories:

• Crisis 'Under Control' At Piney Point Reservoir: Official
• Florida To Permanently Close Piney Point Wastewater Reservoir
• $200 Million Could Be Added To FL Budget For Piney Point Clean-Up
• $9M Deep Injection Well OK'd For Piney Point Wastewater Removal
• Class-Action Lawsuit Filed Against Piney Point Owner HRK Holdings