TALLAHASSEE -- The DEP's social media says it's to be "the last chapter" in the long saga of efforts to clean up the Piney Point wastewater site.
Thursday, the state's environmental agency filed in Manatee County Circuit Court an enforcement action against HRK Holdings, owner of the long-neglected phosphogypsum stack that leaked in early April, sending millions of gallons of tainted water into Tampa Bay. At least some suspect the Piney Point spill had an effect on the red tide outbreak that has created thousands of dead fish and a lot of discomfort on the south end of the bay.
Interim DEP secretary Shawn Hamilton said in a posting on Facebook and Twitter the action is intended to "enforce compliance with the state's environmental laws" and all of HRK's existing agreements with the state. Hamilton says DEP is seeking "maximum allowable penalties and recovery of costs and damages."
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