Posted on 06/28/2003 8:51:35 PM PDT by Calpernia
Fla Gets OK From EPA To Dump Wastewater In Gulf Of Mexico
04-10-03 12:36 PM EST
PALMETTO, Fla. (AP)--The federal government has given Florida permission to dump more than 500 million gallons of wastewater from an abandoned phosphate plant into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Environmental Protection Agency approved the dumping Wednesday after determining that continued heavy rain could cause a wastewater spill at the plant. If the untreated, acidic water reached Tampa Bay, it could cause a massive fish kill, according to environmental reports.
Under the plan approved by the EPA, the plant's wastewater will be treated before being discharged slowly over 19,500 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico. The water will still contain traces of ammonia and nitrogen, but at concentrations not expected to harm marine life.
State environmental officials said the dumping could begin in two to six weeks. The shipments are expected to cost more than $16 million.
The state has been in charge of cleaning up the phosphogypsum stacks at the Piney Point Phosphates plant since owner Mulberry Corp. went bankrupt in 2001. The stacks contain gypsum and acidic water left over from the process of converting phosphate ore into a fertilizer ingredient.
Dow Jones Newswires 04-10-03 1244ET
Copyright (C) 2003 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2002 Dow Jones & Co., Inc.
What's this about? "EPA Approves Massive Wastewater Dump in Gulf."
Already approved this past April, it allows for the dumping of 500 million gallons of acidic wastewater from the old Piney Point phosphate mine.
Florida's DEP tried to get rid of this stuff and it caused a massive algae bloom in Bishop Harbor. So, the Federal EPA has stepped in, deciding that spraying millions of gallons of this stuff in the Gulf is an okay thing. Yeah, sure! We only had to notify 80 other countries involved in an ocean dumping treaty.
Now here's the Christy Todd Whitman typical modus operandi. You can bet that her darling hubby, John Whitman, is going to make a huge buck off of moving this stuff. They've probably already got their hands prepped to get dirty on the eventual clean-up off the future "environmental disaster" that will certainly ensue.
All fits too neat, considering she's already announced her resignation; after the fact.
Get the word out. NOW!!! Waiting for the remaining coral beds to die will be a tad too long.
The Environmental Protection Agency approved the dumping Wednesday after determining that continued heavy rain could cause a wastewater spill at the plant. If the untreated, acidic water reached Tampa Bay, it could cause a massive fish kill, according to environmental reports.
Under the plan approved by the EPA, the plant's wastewater will be treated before being discharged slowly over 19,500 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico. The water will still contain traces of ammonia and nitrogen, but at concentrations not expected to harm marine life.
What about this doesn't make sense, other than perhaps this plant never should have been allowed to operate in the first place? You can hardly fault Whitman or anyone else in the Bush administration (Florida or Federal) for that...!
Guess what? They can't do any better. They can damn sure cook up a wad of regulations....as long as they don't have to meet their own requirements.
Sure, way out in the Gulf is better than in the Bay. But God help the industry if it ever asks to do that.
Is Bob Graham Governor again? It sure feels like it.
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