MANATEE COUNTY – 4.5 million gallons of rainwater will be released from Piney Point, and environmentalists are concerned.
According to the Herald Tribune, the rainwater accumulated on the work site during the rainy season and will be disposed into Tampa Bay.
Environmental advocates have called for the full closure of the site for years before the site’s first disaster in 2011 and the most recent in 2021.
Tampa-based attorney Herb Donica says she understands the concern but that the stormwater isn’t contaminated. The state says the water is lined, and an additional liner will be installed.
Environmental advocates say the water is merely less contaminated than previously released water, and that there’s at least one tear in the pond liner that’s supposed to prevent the leaking of hazardous waste. Donica says the liner was repaired earlier this month.