State says Hurricane Elsa’s rains likely won’t cause another spill at Piney Point
With Hurricane Elsa headed toward Manatee County, state officials say they’re confident that the storm won’t create a new leak at Piney Point.
The industrial site was home to an environmental nightmare earlier this year when site operators identified a leak in a pond holding millions of gallons of contaminated water. After releasing 215 million gallons of water into Tampa Bay, crews were able to patch the leak.
But as the storm approaches, there are questions about the safety of that patch, which once dislodged itself under normal conditions. The patch is a 10-foot steel plate that has been secured with more than 16,000 cubic yards of sand.
In an update provided by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, officials said the temporary repair “continues to function as designed” and that Piney Point can accommodate the 6 inches of expected rain.
Staff onsite have drained some of the ponds to allow room for Elsa’s rains and brought in additional generators and pumps in case the power goes out.
“Water management will continue throughout the storm to ensure pond volumes stay within safe levels,” the agency wrote in a release.
Manatee County officials are also confident that the situation at Piney Point is in good hands. Speaking during a Tuesday afternoon press conference, County Administrator Scott Hopes described the site as “stable.”
“This is an early storm for the season, but currently Piney Point is stable and it has the capacity to handle the rain. They are only discharging stormwater runoff,” Hopes said.
Hopes said county staff visited the site Tuesday to ensure that the stormwater being released from the site is actually safe. He explained that the pumps installed at Piney Point to treat the contaminated water have given site operators the flexibility to transfer water from pond to pond in order to lessen impacts from the storm.
On Friday, FDEP said it had taken steps to ensure that heavy equipment was secured against the threat of heavy winds and rain. State officials said generators had also been incorporated in case of a power outage.
