phosphate

After decades of pollution suffocated Tampa Bay and killed half its seagrass and much of its marine life, unprecedented political cooperation and hundreds of science-guided projects brought the estuary back to life. Tampa Bay became a symbol for the success of the Clean Water Act of 1972, but seagrasses and fish have begun to die again.

The plan calls for the former phosphate plant to be permanently shut down by December 2024.

The plan would permanently close four gypsum stacks formerly used to store toxic wastewater from the production of fertilizer.

Defendants asked U.S. District Judge William Jung to dismiss the lawsuit, but several environmental agencies say the state and other defendants should be held liable.

He will hear arguments over whether a lawsuit should be tossed that alleges “malfeasance” after about 215 million gallons of wastewater were discharged from the site into Tampa Bay last year.

They say the leaks are producing about three gallons of water a minute, but are contained.

The go-ahead has been given to injecting polluted water from the troubled Piney Point phosphate plant in Manatee County deep under the drinking water aquifer.

The spill from the former phosphate plant in Manatee County earlier this year was a cautionary event. But the country's largest producer of phosphate currently has plans for a new mine in southern Florida.

The spill from the former phosphate plant in Manatee County earlier this year was a cautionary event. But the country's largest producer of phosphate currently has plans for a new mine in southern Florida.

Attorneys for DeSantis and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection say the lawsuit is moot since the state is already working to resolve the problems at the former phosphate plant.

Environmental officials say that is the best solution to getting rid of the water as critics say they are downplaying the threat of underground contamination.

The permit will allow up to 4 million gallons a day of wastewater from the Piney Point facility to be injected nearly 2,000 feet below the surface.