Manatee County makes progress on underground injection well at Piney Point

Construction of a test well is expected to begin soon as part of plans to remove harmful wastewater remaining at the former Piney Point fertilizer plant.

Manatee County officials approved a plan in April to build a deep injection well at Piney Point after 215 million gallons of wastewater from the site was released into Tampa Bay through Port Manatee. The project could cost about $15 million. Officials plan to pre-treat the remaining wastewater at the site and use the well to dispose of it underground.

Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes said he envisions a future where Piney Point has been converted into parks for soccer fields and BMX tracks instead of the breached phosphogypsum stacks that sit there today.

The county also hopes to take over property on the site that could be used for industrial development near Port Manatee, including the railroad tracks.