{"id":59027,"date":"2021-04-03T21:25:23","date_gmt":"2021-04-04T01:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=59027"},"modified":"2021-04-04T09:36:59","modified_gmt":"2021-04-04T13:36:59","slug":"was-this-radioactive-phosphate-plant-pond-leak-deliberately-set-up-for-imminent-collapse-on-governor-desantiss-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=59027","title":{"rendered":"<b><i>Was this radioactive phosphate plant pond leak deliberately set up for imminent collapse on Governor DeSantis&#8217;s watch?!<\/b><\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"header\">\n<h1 class=\"h1\">Piney Point collapse \u2018imminent\u2019 as DeSantis issues state of emergency for Manatee County<\/h1>\n<div class=\"bio\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"byline\">BY MARK YOUNG AND RYAN CALLIHAN<br \/>\nBradenton Herald<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<p><span class=\"dateline\">PALMETTO<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-infographic\">\n<div class=\"story-body\">\n<p><i>Editor&#8217;s note: The Bradenton Herald has lifted the paywall on for this developing story, providing critical information to readers during this public safety emergency. To support vital local journalism such as this, please\u00a0consider a digital subscription.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Less than a day after Manatee County issued an emergency evacuation order for nearby residents of the troubled Piney Point industrial site, public safety officials have announced new and immediate evacuations around the phosphate mine, declaring the collapse of the gypsum stack is \u201cimminent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Several hours later, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a State of Emergency for the county.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDue to a possible breach of mixed saltwater from the south reservoir at the Piney Point facility, I have declared a State of Emergency for Manatee County to ensure resources are allocated for necessary response &amp; recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-infographic\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1378402413657399305&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bradenton.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Farticle250410696.html&amp;siteScreenName=BradentonHerald&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=e1ffbdb%3A1614796141937&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1378402413657399305\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"zone grid combo\">\n<div id=\"zone-el-102\" class=\"zone-el\">\n<div id=\"story-cta-widget\" class=\"inline-cta package ad-widget\">\n<h5 class=\"h1\">Get unlimited digital access<\/h5>\n<p class=\"summary\">Subscribe now for only $1<\/p>\n<p class=\"summary\">The public safety alert told residents: \u201cEvacuate the area NOW. Collapse of Piney Point Stack is imminent. Immediate evacuation of Chapman Road to Airport Road and US 41 to O\u2019Neill Road. Leave area IMMEDIATELY.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The evacuation zone is being expanded to include more than 300 households, according to the Manatee County Public Works Department. And the closure of U.S. 41 has been expanded south from Buckeye Road to Moccasin Wallow Road, which will be closed west of 38th Avenue East.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Rick Scott announced that he is monitoring the situation, \u201cand will work to secure any federal assistance deemed necessary by the state and local officials. All Manatee County residents should remain alert and follow state and local guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-infographic\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1378417167528509442&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bradenton.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Farticle250410696.html&amp;siteScreenName=BradentonHerald&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=e1ffbdb%3A1614796141937&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1378417167528509442\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Saturday\u2019s alert comes on the heels of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bradenton.com\/news\/politics-government\/article250400491.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow noopener\">an evacuation order issued on Friday<\/a> after a breach was observed in the wall of a leaking pond containing more than 400 million gallons of water containing phosphorous and nitrogen from the old phosphate mining property.<\/p>\n<p>The Florida Department of Environmental Protection dispatched crews to assist with an attempt to block the leak, but Manatee County Public Safety Director Jacob Saur said Saturday it doesn\u2019t appear to be holding. Late Friday, a last-minute emergency order was issued by DEP to begin an attempt to ease pressure by releasing 22,000 gallons of the polluted water a minute into Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n<p>It is alarming to environmentalists who are concerned the nutrient-rich water will create a situation ripe for red tide development.<\/p>\n<p>In a video update posted to Facebook Saturday afternoon, at-large Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse said engineers predicted earlier that morning that the gypsum stacks are unstable and could collapse \u201cat any minute.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was actually out on the stack and that\u2019s when we determined that it was no longer safe to be anywhere near Piney Point, so we all kind of raced off the stacks as fast as we could,\u201d Kruse explained.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-infographic\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-2\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1378381219721777156&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bradenton.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Farticle250410696.html&amp;siteScreenName=BradentonHerald&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=e1ffbdb%3A1614796141937&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1378381219721777156\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"zone-el-106\" class=\"zone zone-el\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/7675\/BRD.site_bradenton\/News\/Local_2__container__\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/7675\/BRD.site_bradenton\/News\/Local_2\" title=\"3rd party ad content\" src=\"https:\/\/8a1048e9a5e1c731e369db9940077451.safeframe.googlesyndication.com\/safeframe\/1-0-38\/html\/container.html\" name=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-forms allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" data-is-safeframe=\"true\" data-google-container-id=\"3\" data-load-complete=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>There are two other gypsum stacks onsite, but authorities don\u2019t believe they will be impacted should the third ultimately collapse. With another 400 million gallons of polluted water still in the pond, a collapse could cause sudden flooding to the surrounding areas, which is the cause of the evacuation orders.<\/p>\n<p>A gypsum stack is essentially a large pile of mining waste that have large lagoons on top containing millions of gallons of wastewater contaminated with heavy metals.<\/p>\n<p>The Manatee County jail is in the vicinity but there are no plans to evacuate at this time, according to Randy Warren, Manatee County Sheriff\u2019s Office spokesman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInmates will be moved to the upper level if necessary,\u201d Warren said. \u201cSandbags were put in place around all entrances [Friday].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On Saturday, the Florida Highway Patrol also announced the road closures from U.S. 41 to 113th Street East in Manatee County, as well as College Avenue in Hillsborough County.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMotorists traveling south will need to detour onto College Avenue, travel east and access I-75,\u201d FHP said. \u201cMotorists desiring to travel north should travel east on Moccasin Wallow Road and access I-75.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A statement from Manatee County Board of Commissioners Chair Vanessa Baugh stated, \u201cOur first concern is to protect the people who live and do business in the area. People within a half-mile radius received an emergency notification to evacuate at 11:01 a.m. The public must heed that notice to avoid harm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><i>This is a developing story and will be updated.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>Bradenton Herald reporter Jessica DeLeon contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<div class=\"figure\">\n<figure class=\"gallery card slider galleryVueInstance\">\n<div class=\"preroll-container gallery-panel\">\n<div class=\"slidesWrapper\">\n<div class=\"slide\">\n<div class=\"image__spinner\">\n<div class=\"ripple\">\n<div class=\"ripple__circle\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"ripple__circle ripple__inner-circle\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image__item\" title=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bradenton.com\/latest-news\/fis40c\/picture250411506\/alternates\/FREE_768\/1%20piney%20point%20road%20block%20tt.jpg\" alt=\"true\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.bradenton.com\/latest-news\/fis40c\/picture250411506\/alternates\/FREE_768\/1%20piney%20point%20road%20block%20tt.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"slide loaded\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image__item\" title=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bradenton.com\/latest-news\/cb6qwv\/picture250404136\/alternates\/FREE_768\/2%20piney%20point%20tt.jpg\" alt=\"true\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.bradenton.com\/latest-news\/cb6qwv\/picture250404136\/alternates\/FREE_768\/2%20piney%20point%20tt.jpg\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"slide\">\n<div class=\"image__spinner\">\n<div class=\"ripple\">\n<div class=\"ripple__circle\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"ripple__circle ripple__inner-circle\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image__item\" title=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bradenton.com\/latest-news\/fis40c\/picture250411506\/alternates\/FREE_768\/1%20piney%20point%20road%20block%20tt.jpg\" alt=\"true\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.bradenton.com\/latest-news\/fis40c\/picture250411506\/alternates\/FREE_768\/1%20piney%20point%20road%20block%20tt.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-marker\"><span class=\"gallery-count\">1 of 2<\/span><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"package sans caption-container\">\n<div class=\"package sans caption-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>04\/02\/21&#8211;As the sun set over Palmetto, an emergency evacuation order was sent out to an area around Piney Point, the former phosphate mine. A gypsum stack filled with contaminated water is in imminent danger of failing.\u00a0<span class=\"byline\">TIFFANY TOMPKINS<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">TTOMPKINS@BRADENTON.COM<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"story-module\">\n<article>\n<div class=\"author-card package\"><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bradenton.com\/news\/local\/article250410696.html\">https:\/\/www.bradenton.com\/news\/local\/article250410696.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Piney Point collapse \u2018imminent\u2019 as DeSantis issues state of emergency for Manatee County BY MARK YOUNG AND RYAN CALLIHAN Bradenton Herald PALMETTO Editor&#8217;s note: The Bradenton Herald has lifted the paywall on for this developing story, providing critical information to &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=59027\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=59027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59027\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=59027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=59027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=59027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}