- Named Best Florida Newspaper In Its Class -
VOL 24 No. 47
July 17, 2024
Manatee surprise
CINDY LANE | SUN
A herd of manatees takes a morning excursion along the beach on Anna Maria Island, delighting surprised beachgoers.
Settlement reached in Piney Point litigation
Conservation groups applaud the new restrictions. BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
PALMETTO - Prompted by a 2021 lawsuit by multiple conservation groups, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has agreed to allow more oversight of discharges from the Piney Point phosphate facility. The settlement agreement also establishes enforceable limits on pollution discharged into Tampa Bay and provides for taxpayer funding to monitor Piney Point’s impacts on Tampa Bay’s water quality. “The Piney Point phosphogypsum stack is a mountainous heap of toxic waste topped by an impoundment of hundreds of millions of gallons of pro-
cess wastewater, stormwater and tons of dredged spoil from Port Manatee,” according to a press release from the plaintiffs, The Center for Biological Diversity, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, Suncoast Waterkeeper, ManaSota-88 and Our Children’s Earth Foundation. Three years ago, after discovering a leak in the facility’s reservoir liner, regulators ordered the discharge of 215 million gallons of wastewater from the gypsum stack into Tampa Bay to avert a collapse and flooding. “During the 2021 wastewater release, Tampa Bay received more nitrogen - nearly 200 tons - than it usually receives from all other sources in an entire year. The red tides that have plagued Florida are fueled by nitrogen,” according to the press release. “Following the release,
SEE PINEY POINT, PAGE 29
Pedicini consulting for Satcher, Van Ostenbridge, Turner Political consultant Anthony Pedicini plays a significant role in Manatee County elections and politics.
Van Ostenbridge, George Kruse and Vanessa Baugh win their respective Manatee County Commission races and he remains actively involved in Manatee County politics.
BY JOE HENDRICKS
SUPERVISOR’S RACE
SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
MANATEE COUNTY – During a recent Supervisor of Elections debate, candidate James Satcher refused to acknowledge that he’s using Anthony Pedicini as his political consultant. Manatee County Commission candidates Kevin Van Ostenbridge and Ray Turner are also utilizing the campaign consulting services of Pedicini and his Tampa-based Strategic Image Management (SIMWINS) consulting firm. In 2020, Pedicini helped Satcher,
TASTY EGGPLANT Napoleon also a feast for the eyes. 25 Page 27 Anna Maria Island, Florida
The Island’s award-winning weekly newspaper
On April 12, Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Satcher, then the District 1 county commissioner, to serve the remaining months of the four-year term that Supervisor of Elections Mike Bennett vacated when he retired in March. Bennett’s longtime Chief of Staff Scott Farrington also sought the gubernatorial appointment and he resigned after DeSantis appointed Satcher, who had no previous experience working in an elections office or supervising an election.
SEE CONSULTING, PAGE 27
HENRIETTA RETURNS to AMI to
nest a second time. 11
GULF ISLAND FERRY stop in Holmes
Beach debated. 9
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