Meeting
Wednesday - May 16, 2012 3:15 P.M.
Sierra Club Office -1365 Fruitville Road
Sarasota, FL 34236
OUR TOXIC
INDUSTRIES_____ According to the EPA Toxic Release Inventory
(TRI) 2010 report, the top six polluting facilities listed for Total On- and Off-site Disposal or Other Releases in Manatee
County are:
#1. FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT CO FPL MANATEE POWER PLANT, 19050
STATE RD 62, PARRISH
#2. TROPICANA MANUFACTURING CO INC., 1001 13TH AVE E, BRADENTON
#3. ALLIED MOLDED PRODUCTS INC, 1145 13TH AVE E, PALMETTO
#4. JUPITER MARINE INTERNATIONAL INC.1103 12TH AVE E, PALMETTO
FLORIDA
#5. DONZI MARINE, 7110 21ST ST E, SARASOTA
#6. CHRIS CRAFT, 8161 15TH ST E, SARASOTA
The top polluting facility for TRI's
(Total On- and Off-site Disposal or Other Releases)
in Sarasota County is:
#1. GLASPRO INC, 101 POND CYPRESS RD, VENICE
The top polluting facilities for TRI's (Total On- and Off-site Disposal or Other Releases) in
Florida are:
#1 ASCEND PERFORMANCE MATERIALS LLC. (ESCAMBIA)
#2 FLORIDA POWER CORP CRYSTAL RIVER ENERGY COMPLEX. (CITRUS)
#3 ST JOHNS RIVER POWER PARK/NORTHSIDE GENERATING STATION.
(DUVAL)
#4 SEMINOLE GENERATING STATION. (PUTNAM)
#5 CF INDUSTRIES INC (PLANT CITY PHOSPHATE COMPLEX). (HILLSBOROUGH)
#6 MOSAIC FERTILIZER LLC - NEW WALES PLANT. (POLK)
#7 GULF POWER CO - PLANT CRIST. (ESCAMBIA)
#8 SMURFIT-STONE CONTAINER ENTERPRISES INC. (NASSAU)
#9 BUCKEYE FLORIDA LP. (TAYLOR)
#10 SMURFIT-STONE CONTAINER CORP. (BAY)
MOSAIC FERTILIZER, LLC
TOXIC RELEASES _____ The Environmental Protection Agency
and Florida are required to annually collect data on toxic chemical releases and make the data available to the public in
the Toxic Release Inventory.
The 2008 EPA Toxic Release Inventory reported Mosaic Fertilizer
LLC facilities located in Florida released a total of 1,771,488 lbs of toxic waste.
The 2010 EPA Toxic Release Inventory reported Mosaic Fertilizer
LLC facilities located in Florida released a total of 2,780,028 lbs of toxic waste.
According to the EPA, Mosaic Fertilizer LLC facilities have
increased the Total On and Off Site Disposal of Toxic Wastes in Florida by over one million pounds in two years time.
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EPA EXPLORER TRI DATA 2010 (REPORTED IN POUNDS)
Total On- and Off-site Disposal or Other Releases
MOSAIC FERTILIZER LLC - BARTOW.3200 HWY 60 W, BARTOW FLORIDA
33830 (POLK) 436,220 lbs.
MOSAIC FERTILIZER LLC - NEW WALES PLANT.3095 COUNTY RD 640
W, MULBERRY FLORIDA 33860 (POLK) 2,007,030 lbs.
MOSAIC FERTILIZER LLC - RIVERVIEW.8813 S US HWY 41, RIVERVIEW
FLORIDA 33578 (HILLSBOROUGH) 312,307 lbs.
MOSAIC FERTILIZER LLC - SOUTH PIERCE PLANT.7450 COUNTY RD 630,
MULBERRY FLORIDA 33860 (POLK) 24,471 lbs.
Total = 2, 780, 028 lbs of toxic waste released
by Mosaic Fertilizer LLC facilities located in Florida for 2010.
The Toxics Release Inventory contains information on releases
of nearly 650 chemicals and chemical categories from various industries including: manufacturing, metal and coal mining, electric
utilities, and commercial hazardous waste treatment, among others. Citizens can search for polluting facilities that are located
within their zip code at http://www.epa.gov/tri/
LONGBOAT KEY
EROSION _____ The Manatee County Commission should not support
any proposal to build a jetty and groins on Longboat Key side of Longboat Pass.
According to a report by Longboat Key's engineering firm Coastal
Planning and Engineering (Inlet Management Study of Longboat Pass and Adjacent Beaches, October 2011)
Longboat Pass is directly connected to the Sarasota Bay
estuary system, which is a small, subtropical estuary classified as an Outstanding Florida Water. Sarasota Bay was designated
an "estuary of national significance” by the U.S. Congress in 1988 as part of the Water Quality Act of 1987. It is a
coastal lagoon system formed by a chain of barrier islands to the west and the mainland of Sarasota and Manatee Counties to
the east. The area surrounding Longboat Pass supports extensive sea grass beds, and is dotted with mangrove keys. The region
is home to a variety of coastal and marine wildlife, including dolphins and manatees, sea turtles, shore and wading birds,
and many recreationally and commercially important fish species.
Any action Longboat Key takes to reduce erosion adjacent to
the Pass must avoid impacts to sea grass areas, sea turtle nesting sites, and hard bottom habitats. The proposed project should
not have any adverse environmental impacts. Beach renourishment projects and modeling done in similar situations have not
been successful and Longboat Key should not repeat past mistakes.
Fish and invertebrate communities of the adjacent marine areas
are diverse. Reasonable assurances have not been provided that the project would not adversely affect the conservation
of fish and wildlife, including endangered or threatened species, or their habitats or the marine productivity in the
vicinity of the project.
Further environmental impact studies are needed to address
the long-term solution of the Town of Longboat Key's coastal erosion problem.
MOSAIC WINGATE
STRIP MINE ____ Thanks to Manatee County Commissioners Joe
McClash, Robin Disabatino and Michael Gallen for their vote to deny the Mosaic Wingate Phosphate Strip Mine Expansion, unfortunately
it was not enough and the strip mine extension was approved by a 4- 3 vote. There is the outstanding and unresolved controversy
of whether Mosaic can provide reasonable assurances that successful wetland reclamation activities can be accomplished, which
is a central issue of dispute of this mining approval.
The existing Wingate Phosphate Mine should not have been permitted
in the first place. It was a historical mistake because the Wingate Mine is located in the headwaters of the Myakka
River. To expand upon an existing mistake is irresponsible. If the holding ponds located at Wingate Mine fail, the toxic waters
running offsite would annihilate almost everything downstream, with significant impacts to the fish and wildlife at Myakka
River State Park. We are one hurricane away from finding that out.
Representing ManaSota-88, Glenn Compton noted there are a number
of problems with the mine expansion and a number of conditions ManaSota-88 believes should be strengthened. However,
the degradation of the Outstanding Florida Waters within the Florida State Park Beker Tract downstream of the existing Wingate
Creek Mine alone should have been enough to deny the project. The phosphate mine extension will likely further degrade Johnson
Creek, generate low dissolved oxygen levels and significantly increase pollutant levels in Wingate Creek and the Myakka River.
During the Manatee County Commission public hearings, it became
clear that the Manatee Phosphate Mining Ordinance is outdated because the Florida Legislature eliminated the requirements
for a Development of Regional Impact study for phosphate mines. As a result, Manatee County has additional responsibilities
to review new phosphate mines for their regional impacts. Mr. Compton noted that no review or communication was received from
Sarasota or Charlotte counties which are located downstream of the strip mine site.
ManaSota-88 strongly disagrees with the provisions allowing
for wetlands destruction on the mine site. As approved, Manatee County will be trading wetland impacts on the Wingate Mine
Extension site for a Duette Preserve Hydrological Study.
Mosaic can satisfy the "overriding public
benefit" requirement by trading the destruction of valuable environmental resources for scientific studies. Some things,
such as the protection of existing wetlands, should not be negotiable.
ADDITIONAL PHOSPHATE MINING
REGULATION IS NEEDED _____ Florida phosphate mining is an industry
of oil, chemical, and mineral giants who apparently have vast legislative influence. The industries clout in the Florida political
environment is matched only by the phosphate mining process, an attack against nearly every component of the natural environment
from land to man. It is a devastating chain of technological events which should not be permitted to further expand without
an understanding the environmental and economic consequences this industry poses on the state of Florida.
Last year Governor Rick Scott signed legislation exempting
phosphate strip mines from the Development of Regional Impact (DRI) review. This year, a late session Florida Senate committee
meeting recommended $120 million a year in tax breaks to phosphate companies and other industries.
Exempting phosphate mining from DRI review undoubtedly shifted
the burden of protection from the state to the local county commissioners. According to the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection, DRI's are developments which, because of their character, magnitude, or location, are presumed to have a substantial
effect upon the health, safety, or welfare of citizens of more than one county.
The recent approval of the expansion of the Mosaic Wingate
Phosphate Strip Mine in Manatee County clearly demonstrates that Manatee County's local rules governing phosphate mining strongly
favor the phosphate industry. Without a DRI review, the Mosaic Wingate Mine Expansion in Manatee County was approved without
comments from the affected counties located downstream of the mine. The Wingate Mine Extension represents a short sighted
and narrow approach to reviewing the impacts of phosphate mining; it is a piecemeal approach that does not adequately address
the cumulative and secondary environmental impacts of strip mining in Manatee County and the surrounding areas.
Manatee County's phosphate mining ordinance is an extremely
significant law for protecting the county's water supply, natural resources, and the general well being and health of its
citizens. Yet it is not as comprehensive as a DRI review. Manatee County must now act in updating their phosphate mining regulations
for adequate protection against the adverse impacts of strip mining.
Additionally, since it is both economically and technically
feasible, the county commission should require that radiation levels after mining not exceed those that existed before
mining. Manatee County's mining ordinance should include a non-degradation clause that will require lands be returned to essentially
the same
radiation levels that existed before mining.
Even if the industry had no recourse and could not return lands
to premining radiation levels, Manasota-88 would not recommend they be permitted to increase radiation levels. Mining in Manatee
County is not necessary for our survival.
Much of the land owned by mining interests in Florida will
ultimately be developed as residential property unless future land use is restricted to prohibit construction of housing on
reclaimed lands, increasing exposure of present and future residents to enhanced levels of radiation is inevitable. Land mined
for phosphate exhibits higher radioactivity at the surface than it did before mining. Phosphate mining exposes radioactive
materials and can increase surface and ground water radiation levels.
The phosphate industries radiation pollution problem has become
Florida's problem.
SUPERFUND
2012 _____ According to the GAO January 2012 Superfund Status
of EPA's Efforts to Improve Its Management and Oversight of Special Accounts (GAO-12-109):
From fiscal year 1990 through October 2010, the Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) 10 regions collected from potentially responsible parties almost $4 billion in funds that were placed
in special accounts. Nearly half of these funds are still available to be obligated for future Superfund cleanup; the remaining
funds have already been obligated, but not all of these obligated funds have been disbursed.
CUBA OIL
DRILLING _____ The U.S. Geological Survey estimates Cuba has
nearly 4.6 billion barrels of oil and 8.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in undiscovered reserves. Cuba has plans to begin
deep water drilling of their shore in the near future.
Oil drilling off the northern coast of Cuba will place Florida's
coastline, an area of high environmental sensitivity and marine productivity, at risk. Presently the region supports numerous
species of wildlife, major commercial and recreational fisheries and several species of endangered animals.
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Tax-deductible contributions should be mailed to: ManaSota-88, P.O. Box 1728, Nokomis, Florida
34274
