Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency as county officials evacuated residents near a phosphate processing plant over the weekend. Officials warned that a pond filled with toxic wastewater could collapse “at any time.”
“A portion of the containment wall at the leak site shifted laterally,” Manatee County Director of Public Safety Jake Saur told WSTP after a “significant leak” was discovered at the Piney Point processing plant. Saur further cautioned that “structural collapse could occur at any time.”