FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August
28, 2001
DEP Takes Swift Action To Stabilized Abandoned
Phosphate Plant
--Potential environmental spill at a bankrupt phosphate
manufacturer averted--
MULBERRY --
Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Secretary Allan
Bedwell today announced the start up of a treated process water
pipeline system between the Mulberry Phosphate Facility and
Cargill Fertilizer, Inc.’s nearby SR-North containment pond in
Mulberry, Florida.
The new
pipeline system, a result of cooperation among DEP, Cargill, IMC
Phosphate, the Florida Phosphate Council, IT Corporation, Ardaman
& Associates, CSX, and CF Industries was constructed in a
record 35 days and is designed to transport partially treated
process water from the Mulberry facility to a Cargill Fertilizer
retention pond three miles east of Mulberry. This process water,
had it been allowed to remain at the now closed Mulberry facility,
would have presented a serious environmental hazard. An
uncontrolled release of this highly acidic water into surrounding
streams and ditches that ultimately flow into Tampa Bay and the
Alafia River would have harmed aquatic ecosystems.
DEP and
the phosphate industry came together in a combined effort to
protect Florida’s environment. Cargill Fertilizer agreed to take
300 million gallons of partially treated process water from
Mulberry if it could be transported by pipeline to a retention
pond. In record time, the pipeline was designed and bid upon,
easements were negotiated and finalized, the pipeline was
constructed and is now operational. Normally, such an effort would
take many months. The pipeline crosses the property of CF
Industries, Inc. and Cargill under a county road and the CSX
railroad tracks, and ultimately will discharge the over 300
million gallons of the 2.5 billion gallons into a permitted
surface pond owned by Cargill over the next 120 days. This
multimillion-gallon draw down will protect the surrounding area
from a potential overflow of process water during the next rainy
season. If these 300 million gallons are not siphoned off, the
rain could cause the holding tanks to overflow, thus affecting the
ground water, nearby rivers, and even Tampa Bay.
“We
were not going to stand by and allow the difficulties facing
Mulberry Corporation to create difficulties for the residents of
the affected areas,” said Bedwell. “We felt that it was vital
to work with the phosphate industry and all those concerned to
take immediate action to protect the environment.”
The
Department’s action plan, with input from Ardaman &
Associates, Inc., a highly qualified engineering firm, quickly
determined what was required to secure the site environmentally,
and identified the actions needed to maximize environmental
security.
IT
Corporation, a Pittsburgh-based, wholly owned subsidiary of The IT
Group, has been on site performing emergency response efforts
under the direction of the DEP and the court appointed receiver,
Louis Timchak. The IT Corporation, selected as an emergency
response contractor by the DEP through its competitive bidding
process, initiated its work in early February.
IT
Corporation team’s primary responsibilities include operating
and maintaining the facilities, increasing on-site process water
storage capacity and developing and implementing plans to move
this water off site by truck and by pipeline. Working closely with
Ardaman & Associates, Inc., DEP, the phosphate industry --
through the Florida Phosphate Council -- and IT Corporation
increased the on-site storage capacity and, to date, has
transported over 27 million gallons off site to IMC Phosphates
Company facilities by truck in a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week
push.
It is
important to note that the state is not funding the work at this
plant at the expense of its other environmental interests. A
budget amendment in February allowed DEP to use up to $4 million
from the Nonmandatory Land Reclamation Trust Fund (NLRTF) to
maintain the environmental integrity of the Mulberry Phosphates
and Piney Point phosphogypsum stack systems at sites. The NLRTF is
funded by contributions from the severance tax paid to the state
by the phosphate mining companies.
During
the 2001 legislative session, Governor Bush, in partnership with
the phosphate industry and the legislature: (a) created a reserve
of $50 million within the NLRTF for use for the closure of
abandoned mines or phosphogypsum stack systems and also for the
abatement of imminent hazards from phosphogypsum stack systems;
(b) assessed a fee of $75,000 per phosphogypsum stack per year for
the next five years - the fee is to be deposited in the NLRTF; and
(c) appropriated $16 million from the NLRTF, for the fiscal year
2001-2002, to carry out environmental work at the Mulberry
Phosphates and Piney Point sites.
By the
end of August 2001, the state will have spent approximately $14
million on the two sites. The expenditures are primarily related
to personnel, power, dam and dike construction, and the treatment
and transport of process water to other facilities by pipeline and
by trucks.
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