FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 18, 2004
CONTACT: Russell Schweiss, (850) 245-2112

Piney Point Prepared to Weather Big Storms

--Improved technologies and forward planning safeguards Tampa Bay--

PALMETTO – Engineers at the defunct Piney Point phosphate plant were well prepared for hurricane season. Over the past two years, teams of site managers and scientists from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) worked around the clock to treat and remove more than 1.3 billion gallons of water, preparing the site to withstand potential heavy rains brought on by tropical weather.

“Because of the Department’s aggressive approach to Piney Point, Tampa Bay is better protected from this environmental hazard,” said DEP Deputy Secretary for Regulatory Programs and Energy Allan Bedwell. “Foresight, hard work and cutting-edge engineering puts us closer than ever to permanently closing the site and ensuring a safe future for the community and environment.”

DEP is making rapid progress closing the abandoned phosphate facility, permanently lining three of the four storage ponds atop the 70-foot phosphogypsum stacks with a protective sealer. To accelerate clean up, two of the lined ponds are storing rainwater to limit wastewater accumulation during wet weather. New evaporation technology, coupled with the heat-trapping black liner, will evaporate 200,000 gallons of process water a day from the third pond.

Treated water is also currently being discharged into Bishop Harbor. Using treatment technologies known as double-lime aeration and reverse osmosis, DEP reduced nutrient loading into the harbor by more than 90 percent.

Record rains just twenty-one months ago added more than 200 million gallons of water to already full storage ponds, leaving Piney Point with the capacity to hold just two inches of rain and Tampa Bay under threat from a spill of acidic wastewater. Today, the site can store more than 790 million gallons of water under normal conditions – the equivalent of 73 inches of rain – and 78 inches of rainfall in severe conditions.

With final closure targeted for 2006, engineers aim to close the fourth gypsum stack storage pond by summer of next year. When fully closed, the site will be able to capture and store 1.25 billion gallons of freshwater. Environmental monitoring decades after closure will ensure continued protection for Tampa Bay and the surrounding area. For more information, visit http://www.floridadep.org/secretary/news/2003/pp/default.htm.

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004-322

Resources for: Citizens Educators Businesses Government Information Calendar Contacts News Newsletters Organizational Chart Publications & Reports Unless indicated, documents on this Web site are Adobe Acrobat files, and require the free reader software.	Press Office FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 18, 2004 CONTACT: Russell Schweiss, (850) 245-2112 Piney Point Prepared to Weather Big Storms --Improved technologies and forward planning safeguards Tampa Bay-- PALMETTO – Engineers at the defunct Piney Point phosphate plant were well prepared for hurricane season. Over the past two years, teams of site managers and scientists from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) worked around the clock to treat and remove more than 1.3 billion gallons of water, preparing the site to withstand potential heavy rains brought on by tropical weather. “Because of the Department’s aggressive approach to Piney Point, Tampa Bay is better protected from this environmental hazard,” said DEP Deputy Secretary for Regulatory Programs and Energy Allan Bedwell. “Foresight, hard work and cutting-edge engineering puts us closer than ever to permanently closing the site and ensuring a safe future for the community and environment.” DEP is making rapid progress closing the abandoned phosphate facility, permanently lining three of the four storage ponds atop the 70-foot phosphogypsum stacks with a protective sealer. To accelerate clean up, two of the lined ponds are storing rainwater to limit wastewater accumulation during wet weather. New evaporation technology, coupled with the heat-trapping black liner, will evaporate 200,000 gallons of process water a day from the third pond. Treated water is also currently being discharged into Bishop Harbor. Using treatment technologies known as double-lime aeration and reverse osmosis, DEP reduced nutrient loading into the harbor by more than 90 percent. Record rains just twenty-one months ago added more than 200 million gallons of water to already full storage ponds, leaving Piney Point with the capacity to hold just two inches of rain and Tampa Bay under threat from a spill of acidic wastewater. Today, the site can store more than 790 million gallons of water under normal conditions – the equivalent of 73 inches of rain – and 78 inches of rainfall in severe conditions. With final closure targeted for 2006, engineers aim to close the fourth gypsum stack storage pond by summer of next year. When fully closed, the site will be able to capture and store 1.25 billion gallons of freshwater. Environmental monitoring decades after closure will ensure continued protection for Tampa Bay and the surrounding area. For more information, visit http://www.floridadep.org/secretary/news/2003/pp/default.htm. -30- 004-322 Last updated: December 20, 2004
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