Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that crews are working to prevent the collapse of a large wastewater pond to avoid a "catastrophic flood." (April 4)
Florida Gov Ron DeSantis declared a State of Emergency for Manatee County on Saturday, April 3, as officials warned of the imminent collapse of a retention pond holding hundreds of millions gallons of toxic wastewater.Footage provided to Storyful by Manatee County Public Safety shows a rushing stream of contaminated water.The state-run Protecting Florida Together, website said the leak had been reported on March 26.On Saturday morning, Manatee County Public Safety said a significant leak had compromised the stability of the pond, which sits atop a phosphogypsum stack (often shortened to “gypsum stack”) near Piney Point, and ordered evacuations. Phosphogypsum is a regulated, radioactive substance that is the byproduct of fertilizer manufacturing, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). There are 27 gypsum stacks across Florida, WFLA reported.The gypsum stack at Piney Point is one of 27 across Florida, WFLA reported. Credit: Manatee County via Storyful
A state of emergency was declared after a leak at a waste water reservoir south of Tampa, Florida threatened to flood the area with polluted water.The heightened threat forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes.The leak in the containment wall of the Piney Point waste water reservoir was discovered about a week ago and has since worsened - prompting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency over concerns of the possible collapse of stacks of phosphogypsum, a waste product from manufacturing fertilizer that is radioactive.On Sunday, DeSantis visited the area.Authorities have been trying to drain any remaining polluted water from the property, which is owned by a company called HRK Holdings, to ease pressure on leaking containment walls to avoid a breach and flood.Acting Manatee County administrator Scott Hopes says with two pipes, 22,000 gallons per minute are being drawn and at that rate it will take 10-12 days to drain the water in a controlled fashion "so at least this material stays on Piney Point grounds."
Hundreds of families were ordered to evacuate after officials warned the Piney Point Reservoir near the Tampa Bay could be breached.
Millions of gallons of toxic wastewater pumped into Tampa BayGovernor DeSantis at scene as ‘20ft wall of water’ is feared The old Piney Point phosphate mine in Bradenton, Florida. Photograph: Tiffany Tompkins/AP Work crews were pumping millions of gallons of contaminated wastewater into an ecologically sensitive Florida bay on Sunday, as they tried to prevent the “imminent” collapse of a storage reservoir at an old phosphate mine. Officials in Manatee county extended an evacuation zone overnight and warned that up to 340m gallons could engulf the area in “a 20ft wall of water” if they could not repair the breach at the Piney Point reservoir in the Tampa Bay area, north of Bradenton. Aerial images aired on local television showed water pouring from leaks in the walls of the retention pond. Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, declared a state of emergency after officials warned of the “imminent collapse” of the pond. He toured the scene by helicopter and said at a press conference engineers were still attempting to plug breaches in the reservoir wall with rocks and other materials, and that other mitigation efforts included the controlled release of 35m gallons daily at Port Manatee. He said the state’s department of environmental protection (DEP) had brought in 20 new pumps. “What we’re looking at now is trying to prevent and respond to, if need be, a real catastrophic flood situation,” DeSantis said. “The water quality issues that are flowing from this for us is less than the risk of everyone’s health and safety, particularly folks who may live in the area.” The governor also attempted to downplay reports that the water contained traces of radioactive materials. “The water was tested prior to discharge [and] the primary concern is nutrients,” he said. “The water meets water quality standards, standards for marine waters, with the exception primarily of the phosphorus and the nitrogen.” Scott Hopes, the acting county administrator, warned that despite a low population density, the nearby area could be overwhelmed by a sudden collapse of the 77-acre pond, even though discharges had lessened the quantity of remaining water. “What if we should have a full breach? We’re down to about 340m gallons that could breach in totality in a period of minutes, and the models for less than an hour are as high as a 20ft wall of water. “So if you’re in an evacuation area and you have not heeded that you need to think twice and follow the orders.” Officials widened the evacuation zone late on Saturday from a dozen or so properties to more than 300 houses. The Tampa Bay Times interviewed some residents who were refusing to leave. A local jail a mile away from the leaky pond was not being evacuated, but officials were moving people and staff to the second story and putting sandbags on the ground floor. Hopes said models showed the area could be covered with between 1ft to 5ft of water, and the second floor is 10ft above ground. County officials said well water remained unaffected and there was no threat to Lake Manatee, the area’s primary source of drinking water. Governor Ron DeSantis tours the area over Piney Point. Photograph: twitter/AFP/Getty Images The pond at the abandoned phosphate mine sits in a stack of phosphogypsum, a radioactive waste product from fertiliser manufacturing. The pond contains small amounts of naturally occurring radium and uranium. The stacks can also release large concentrations of radon gas. Nikki Fried, the Florida agriculture commissioner and the only elected Democrat in statewide office, warned of an “environmental catastrophe” and called on DeSantis – who described the toxic water as “mixed saltwater” in a tweet announcing the state of emergency – to hold an emergency cabinet meeting. “Floridians were evacuated from their homes on Easter weekend. 480m gallons of toxic wastewater could end up in Tampa Bay – this might become an environmental catastrophe,” she said on Twitter. Environmental protection groups warned that more pollutants in Tampa Bay would heighten the risk to wildlife from toxic red tide algae blooms. “Phosphate companies have had over 50 years to figure out a way to dispose of the radioactive gypsum wastes,” the activist group Mana-Sota 88 said. “At the present time there are no federal, state or local regulations requiring the industry to make final disposition of phosphogypsum wastes in an environmentally acceptable manner.” In a statement, the group added: “The current crisis can be traced back to the absurd 2006 decision to allow dredged material from Port Manatee to be placed into one of the gyp stacks at Piney Point, something the stack was never designed for and should have never been allowed.” At the Sunday press conference, Hopes said the long-term objective would be to entirely pump out the three reservoirs on the site and fill them in. Later in the day, he said the amount of water left in the reservoir was now below 300m gallons. The county commission said it was more comfortable than it had been, though a catastrophic collapse was still a possibility. Hopes also said: “This could have been resolved over two decades ago.” The owner of Piney Point, HRK Holdings, bought the site after it was abandoned by the Mulberry Corporation, which operated the phosphate plant for more than 40 years. As long ago as 2003, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reported, reservoir walls were crumbling. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) previously authorized the dumping of hundreds of millions of gallons of toxic water into the Gulf of Mexico. At a meeting of the Manatee commission on Thursday, called after the seriousness of the new leak became apparent, engineers pointed to the deterioration of the pond’s decades-old plastic liner. “The condition of the liner is not particularly great,” Mike Kelley, an engineer commissioned by HRK Holdings, told the meeting, the Times reported. “It’s old. There were some installation issues. There’s a long-documented history of that liner system having issues.” The newspaper inspected records and found that staff documented small holes or weaknesses in plastic seams above the water line in July, October and December 2020. On Sunday, DeSantis said HRK would be held accountable. The Associated Press contributed reporting
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday after a significant leak at a large pond of wastewater threatened to flood roads and burst a system that stores polluted waters. Officials in Florida ordered more than 300 homes to be evacuated and closed off a highway Saturday near the large reservoir in the Tampa Bay area north of Bradenton. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says a break was detected Friday in one of the walls of a 77-acre (33-hectare) pond that has a depth of 25 feet (8 meters) and holds millions of gallons of water containing phosphorus and nitrogen from an old phosphate plant.
Officials in Florida’s Manatee County warned Saturday morning, April 3, of the “imminent” collapse of a retention pond holding hundreds of millions gallons of wastewater contaminated with radioactive material, and ordered emergency evacuations.Official alerts from Manatee County Public Safety at 11 am on Saturday said a significant leak had compromised the stability of a reservoir pond sitting atop a phosphogypsum stack (often shortened to “gypsum stack”) near Piney Point. Phosphogypsum is a regulated, radioactive substance that is the byproduct of fertilizer manufacturing, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). There are 27 gypsum stacks across Florida, WFLA reported.A leak in the retention pond had been reported the previous week, County Administrator Scott Hopes said at a press briefing Friday evening. Hoping to offset the risk of collapse, officials were releasing 22,000 gallons of water per minute into Port Manatee. County Commissioner Misty Servia posted this footage on Friday shows the contaminated water being discharged into the port.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a State of Emergency for Manatee County on Saturday afternoon, and Florida Highway Patrol shut down the nearby US Highway 41.The Bradenton Herald reported that the pond was holding 480 million gallons of wastewater. Credit: Misty Servia via Storyful
A Sunday afternoon fire at a Raleigh townhome displaced at least eight people and one cat.
In Todd McShay's latest two-round mock draft, the Bears target a pair of Florida teammates in WR Kadarius Toney and QB Kyle Trask.
Part of the beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea was closed most of Sunday morning after a naval sea mine washed ashore.
"We need to educate folks," Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said.
(Bloomberg) -- The guardians of the global economy will gather this week, one year into the pandemic, to assess the damage and chart a path forward.The International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings will take place virtually for a second year starting on Monday. The IMF will release its updated World Economic Outlook on Tuesday, with Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva already indicating that it will include an upgrade to January’s forecast for 5.5% global economic growth for 2021.What Bloomberg Economics Says:“A shrinking virus threat, expanding U.S. stimulus boost, and trillions of dollars in pent-up savings ready to be spent mean the world economy is poised for the fastest expansion on record back to the 1960s.”--Tom Orlik, chief economist. For full analysis, click hereRead more: World Economy Risks ‘Dangerously Diverging’ Even as Growth BoomsBeyond the much-watched economic report, attention will focus on a Group of 20 finance ministers’ meeting on Wednesday, where officials may decide to extend the Debt Service Suspension Initiative, set to expire in June, through the end of this year. The program has provided $5 billion in debt relief for low-income nations since it began last May, according to World Bank data.Another focus of conversation will be the IMF’s proposed $650 billion issuance of reserve assets known as special drawing rights. While the official proposal won’t come until June, Georgieva last month touted broad support for the idea among IMF members.The plan would help send more than $20 billion to poor countries. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last week told U.S. Congress that President Joe Biden’s administration intends to support the idea, starting a countdown of at least 90 days before a formal vote in favor at the IMF.Elsewhere, minutes of the latest Federal Reserve and European Central Bank meetings will shed insight on policy makers’ thinking and central banks in India, Australia and Poland are predicted to keep policy unchanged.Click here for what happened last week and below is our wrap of what is coming up in the global economy.U.S. and CanadaInvestors will be watching out for the latest data on services activity, job openings and producer prices for signs of the economy’s progress and developing inflationary pressures.On Wednesday, Fed watchers will also have minutes of the central bank’s last meeting to pour through and Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at an event Thursday in time with the IMF’s meeting.For more, read Bloomberg Economics’ full Week Ahead for the U.S.AsiaJapan releases household and wage data on Tuesday that will offer more insight into the hit to the economy from a second state of emergency amid signs it was less brutal than first feared.Australia has an interest rate meeting on Tuesday and India on Wednesday. With neither central bank expected to move their main policy tools, the focus will be on their outlooks.China releases data on Friday that’s likely to show consumer price inflation climbed back into positive territory while factory costs are starting to swell.For more, read Bloomberg Economics’ full Week Ahead for AsiaEurope, Middle East, AfricaThe health of Europe’s manufacturing base as it weathers the coronavirus crisis will focus economists’ attention in the coming week as they gauge the underlying strength of growth drivers during the quarter that just finished.German factory orders and industrial production data for February are among the more significant reports, and both are anticipated to show output increases during the month.Meanwhile, the lastest lockdown in France means the economy will rebound less than previously expected this year, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in an interview published Sunday.A shorter week than usual in much of the region because of the Easter holiday on Monday features fewer scheduled remarks by ECB officials to guide investors on the state of policy.But the institution’s account of its decision on March 11 will pique interest, perhaps signaling a spectrum of opinion among governors on the risks to economic growth at a meeting when they ratified new quarterly forecasts.Poland may announce a new fiscal stimulus program, largely paid for by EU funds. Meanwhile, the country’s central bank is set to keep policy unchanged.Turkey may report that inflation rose to above 16% in March, when the firing of Naci Agbal and appointment of Sahap Kavcioglu as central bank governor sent the lira plunging by more than 10% as foreign investors sold Turkish assets at the fastest pace in 15 years.Russia is expected to report that inflation accelerated to the highest since 2016 at 5.8% in March, when the central bank raised interest rates to try and combat the effects of ruble weakness and rising food prices.For more, read Bloomberg Economics’ full Week Ahead for EMEALatin AmericaReports on Mexico’s industrial output and manufacturing this week should point to the negative output gap of early 2021. On Thursday, the consumer price reports and the central bank minutes may boil down to this: Inflation’s above target, but the data-dependent Banxico is ready to wait, expecting it to slow in line with their forecasts. Bear in mind that the most recent GDP forecasts from Banxico and the Finance Ministry are quite upbeat too.In contrast, gloom pervades the region’s biggest economy. One of the country’s largest hedge fund managers says Brazil may be nearing a “perfect inflationary storm.” Data out Friday may show consumer prices are well over the 5.25% target range ceiling and consistent with the more dire central bank scenarios.Among the Andean nations, inflation in Chile should come in right around 3% whereas analysts see Colombia’s setting a record-low of 1.45%. Rounding out the week, look for Peru’s central bank to keep the key rate at a record-low 0.25% for a 12th straight meeting.For more, read Bloomberg Economics’ full Week Ahead for Latin America(Updated with French forecasts in EMEA section)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
AB 525 would jump-start offshore wind production in California by setting a goal of 10 gigawatts by 2040.
The Department of the Interior announced Friday it will invest $1.6 billion to improve transportation and recreation infrastructure in national parks, wildlife refuges and recreation areas as part of the Great American Outdoors Act passed last year.Why it matters: The department said the investment, which includes improvements for Bureau of Indian Education schools, will support an estimated 18,800 jobs and contribute $2 billion to the nation’s annual gross domestic product.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.What they're saying: “Through the Great American Outdoors Act, we are investing in the American people, and in the future of our public lands and sacred spaces,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement."We must address the long-delayed maintenance needs of the nation’s aging buildings and infrastructure. Importantly, this funding also honors our commitment to Tribal communities by investing in Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools for current and future generations," Haaland added.The big picture: The first major expense, $3 million to the National Park Service, will complete the restoration of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.The act grants as much as $1.6 billion for the National Park System yearly to address its multi-billion-dollar deferred maintenance backlog at national parks, on other public lands and at tribal schools, according to the department.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
Radiators would have to run 10 degrees cooler under changes to homes needed for Britain to hit net zero, the public has been warned. The Government has said it wants 600,000 heat pumps replacing gas boilers every year by 2028 to help decarbonise the country’s home heating, which accounts for 10 per cent of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. But MPs and experts have warned that without a massive programme to address the UK’s draughty homes and scale up engineering skills, people could be left in the cold by the technology, which works by drawing in heat from the air or ground outside. While gas boiler heating systems can pump 60C water into a home’s radiators, the Climate Change Committee, which advises the Government, assumes heat pumps will operate at 50C. To keep homes warm, that may require bigger radiators, underfloor heating and improved insulation, with full modifications estimated to cost on average £18,000. The costs of an energy efficient house are shown below
CAIRO (Reuters) -All ships stranded by the grounding of the giant container ship Ever Given in the Suez Canal in March had passed through the canal by Saturday, ending the backlog that built up during the blockage, the canal authority said. The last 61 ships, out of 422 ships that were queuing when the vessel was dislodged on Monday, passed through the vital trade artery on Saturday, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said. In total, 85 ships had been due to pass through the canal on Saturday including 24 ships that arrived after Ever Given was dislodged, the SCA said.
13 states are not offering the federal tax break on 2020 returns.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Saturday declared a state of emergency for Manatee County as officials warned the collapse of a gypsum stack at the Piney Point industrial site was "imminent." The big picture: The old phosphate plant site, in operation from the 1960s until 2001, holds stacks of phosphogypsum, a byproduct of fertilizer production, and large pools of polluted water, Axios' Ben Montgomery, Selene San Felice reported. A leak was discovered in the 77-acre process water pond last week. Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeThe facility was releasing wastewater into Piney Point Creek, which leads into Tampa Bay, according to government officials.The latest: Manatee County Public Safety Department expanded the mandatory evacuation area around the breached reservoir on Saturday. Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes in an update Saturday said, "We're talking about the potential of about [480] million gallons, within a matter of seconds and minutes, leaving that retention pool and going around the surrounding area," per CNN. Those ponds hold "waste that would be less conducive to life on land and...life in the sea," Hopes added, noting that the population density of the area was fortunately low. "Pumping the entire pond would take 10 to 12 days," AP noted.A public safety alert on Saturday told residents, "Evacuate the area NOW. Collapse of Piney Point Stack is imminent. Immediate evacuation of Chapman Road to Airport Road and US 41 to O’Neill Road. Leave area IMMEDIATELY," per the Miami Herald. BREAKING: @MCGPublicSafety officials just expanded a mandatory evacuation area around the breached Piney Point reservoir. The original evacuation zone has expanded a half-mile west and one mile southwest to Moccasin Wallow Road. pic.twitter.com/8rjsQrptdr— Manatee County Public Safety Department (@MCGPublicSafety) April 3, 2021 What they're saying: "Due 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 & recovery," DeSantis tweeted Saturday. Go deeper: Tampa Bay stares down environmental disaster from Piney Point phosphate plantSubscribe for Axios Tampa Bay newsletter, designed to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news unfolding in their own backyard.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
Screeching tyres disturb the peace in Atlanta, Georgia, as street racers claim the city's highways.
Heading into the stretch drive that begins with Monday's home clash with the Edmonton Oilers, the Montreal Canadiens suffered a defeat in their last outing that might snap their focus back in place. The Canadiens, who boast a solid hold on the fourth and final playoff spot in the North Division, were enjoying a three-game winning streak and 4-0-2 run before the last-place Ottawa Senators slapped six goals on them Saturday in a 6-3 decision in Montreal. "It was unfortunate," forward Tyler Toffoli said.
Ron Weiser, who also chairs the Michigan Republican Party, said he took ‘full responsibility’ for ‘poorly chosen words’ that also included the suggestion that the women were in for a ‘burning at the stake’ in 2022 elections.
