Florida Gov. DeSantis declares a state of emergency for Tampa-area water waste issue

Florida’s Manatee County Public Safety Department has ordered a complete evacuation of the Piney Point reservoir site and surrounding areas due a leak that could cause a collapse of phosphogypsum stacks, waste that is created during fertilizer production and phosphate rock mining.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday declared a state of emergency for Manatee County “due to a possible breach of mixed saltwater from the south reservoir at the Piney Point facility,” he said in a tweet.

Manatee County commissioners declared a local state of emergency Thursday due to the leak and concerns that if there is an uncontrolled breach, process water could impact nearby property owners, according to tweets from the county public safety department.

Piney Point facility is about 40 miles south of Tampa’s city center.

Manatee County officials have scheduled a news conference for Saturday afternoon to provide an update.