Memorandum
DATE: October 21, 2003
TO: Interested Media
RE: Letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region IV
Administrator James Palmer regarding the Ocean Dispersal of
Treated Piney Point Water
Please find attached a letter from Allan Bedwell, Florida
Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Secretary for
Regulatory Programs, to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region IV Administrator James Palmer requesting an extension
of the emergency permit for ocean dispersal of treated water
from the abandoned Piney Point phosphate plant.
If you need further information, please call the
Department’s Press Office at (850) 245-2112.
###
October 21, 2003
Mr. James Palmer
Administrator
Region IV
United States Environmental Protection Agency
61 Forsyth Street, S.W.
Atlanta, GA 30303-8960
Re: Emergency Permit No. OD-03. Request for Time Extension
Dear Mr. Palmer:
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection
requests an extension of the Emergency Permit authorizing
ocean dispersal of treated water from the abandoned phosphate
plant at Piney Point. Additional time will allow the
Department to disperse the total volume of treated water
approved by the Environmental Protection Agency earlier this
year.
Florida’s primary concern is averting a catastrophic
accident at Piney Point. The risk to the public and the
environment will remain until the abandoned phosphate plant
is permanently closed. According to an analysis by an
independent engineering firm, an additional 3 to 4 million
gallons of water per day must be removed over the next four
to five months to provide enough storage capacity to begin
closing the site. Attached is a copy of their report.
Since ocean dispersal commenced, the barge, New York,
has removed over 120 million gallons of treated water from
the site. Although more than 600 million gallons of water was
safely removed over the last year, unprecedented rainfall
generated 300 million gallons of additional wastewater --
well above the amount anticipated. The above predicted
rainfall set our efforts back significantly, resulting in a
net gain in site storage equal only to about 85 million
gallons.
Over the last 2 years, trucks have removed more than 120
million gallons of process water. Nearby communities have
accepted a total of 46.5 million gallons of the treated water
(City of Tampa, 22 million gallons; Manatee County, 23
million gallons; Hillsborough County, 1.5 million gallons).
Companies have also accepted more than 77 million gallons of
the process water (CF industries, 43.5 million gallons;
Cargill, 32.7 million gallons; FPL, 0.9 gallons). The use of
reverse osmosis technology, a first for this type of
wastewater, has removed over 160 million gallons. Because of
this success, the Department is increasing its capacity.
An independent scientific analysis, as well as the
Department’s monitoring, confirms that the highly treated
water is not causing adverse impacts to marine water quality
or marine life. The Department, therefore, views continued
ocean dispersal as a feasible component of the multi-faceted
operation to safely and quickly remove water from the site.
Using the barge New York, the Department expects to
disperse an estimated 200 million gallons of water by the
current permit expiration, November 30, 2003. Because recent
plant improvements have increased our capacity to treat
water, the Department is securing a second vessel, which will
increase the volume by an estimated 50 million gallons.
Extending the permit will allow the Department to remove
an additional 70 to 75 million gallons of water per month
from the site, reducing the volume of water that is
discharged into Bishop Harbor and allowing closure activities
to resume.
To meet the requirements for closure without an extension
for ocean dispersion, the Department may need to discharge as
much as 3 million gallons per day of highly treated water
into Bishop Harbor during December and January. While
advanced treatment technology called “break-point
chlorination” and improvements to the existing ammonia
removal ponds should reduce the nutrient content of
discharges to levels below the recommended loading capacity,
the Department prefers to continue ocean dispersion to
alleviate the volume of discharges into Tampa Bay.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Allan Bedwell
Deputy Secretary
Regulatory Programs and Energy
-30-
Press Office
