TAMPA - Saying the condition of phosphate dikes at several factories poses "an imminent threat of a catastrophic release" of polluted water, state environmental officials Friday ordered several fertilizer companies to stabilize them or reduce on-site water levels.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued the order to prevent uncontrollable spills of contaminated water, DEP spokesman Russell Schweiss said.
The order says the condition of the dikes at several facilities is so precarious it "could result in personal injury or severe property and environmental damage." Five of the state's 25 facilities are of concern, Schweiss said. He said he doesn't know where they are. Most likely they're in Polk County, he said.
"Our phosphogypsum folks have been going out and visiting all of the facilities around Tampa Bay because of the amount of rainfall that they've seen," Schweiss said.
The inspections began in August.
Rain dropped by Hurricane Charley and Frances pushed the facilities to their water-storage limits, the order says.
If the dikes and ponds can't be reinforced, the DEP has given the companies permission to discharge water that is more polluted than is usually allowed for as long as 60 days.
But "it would be in their best interest to get rid of as much as they can before Ivan gets here," Schweiss said.
The DEP wants to avoid a repeat of the accident that occurred Sunday at Cargill Crop Nutrition in Riverview, Schweiss said.
Waves stirred up by Frances caused a break in a dangerously full dike at the top of a 180-foot phosphogypsum pile holding polluted water used to make fertilizer from phosphate. The water streamed down the pile into a stormwater ditch that surrounds the base of the stack.
To keep the ditch from overflowing, the company neutralized the acid in the water and discharged it into Archie Creek, which flows into Hillsborough Bay. By the time the discharge stopped early Tuesday, 70-million gallons of contaminated water had been sent into the creek.
"We want to make sure that doesn't happen again," Schweiss said.
Unlike Cargill, which recycles the water it uses to make fertilizer instead of discharging it into local waters, the other facilities the DEP ordered to lower their water levels are all equipped to treat water to standards suitable for release into the environment.
But the order relaxes those standards.
"This allows them to do more rapid treatment," Schweiss said.
Cargill might release an additional 30 million gallons of partially treated water if Ivan hits the area.
Early calculations show that the Cargill spill carried about 93 tons of nitrogen into Hillsborough Bay. Excess nitrogen can be deadly to sea grass beds, an important food source and breeding ground for wildlife.
Environmental groups haven't determined the extent of the damage caused by the Cargill release.
But they're talking about how Cargill can offset the disaster. One possibility: improve stormwater and sewer systems around Tampa Bay.
George Henderson, a scientist at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, brought up the idea Friday at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.
On a typical day, about 6 tons of nitrogen goes into the bay. Half of that comes from stormwater, said Dick Eckenrod, executive director of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.
If Cargill were required to make stormwater improvements as part of its restoration efforts, the work wouldn't happen for years. Discussions of fines and cleanup by regulatory agencies haven't even begun. But the stormwater idea piqued the interest of the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission's executive director, Rick Garrity, who attended the estuary program meeting.
"It's a good concept that's probably going to be followed up on as we continue these discussions with Cargill," Garrity said.
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