Although major Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina fertilizer producers reported that they were taking precautions related to Hurricane Matthew, no planned closures were announced. Those contacted included The Mosaic Co., Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., and Fibrant.
Mosaic said Oct. 6 that it has implemented a hurricane preparation plan for all of its Florida facilities, noting that a Tropical Storm Warning was issued for Polk County, with anywhere from 4-7 inches of rain expected.
Mosaic reiterated that its recovery well at the New Wales sinkhole is currently maintaining a pumping rate of 3,500 gallons per minute, and back-up generators are onsite in case of a power outage. The pumping rate is not expected to be impacted by the weather.
“We are confident that any rainwater that mixes with the water we are recovering from the sinkhole will be recovered throughout normal recovery operations,” said Will Precourt, Mosaic senior vice president, Phosphates. Testing of neighboring wells, however, will not occur Oct. 7 due to the weather.
Mosaic posted a letter in local Florida newspapers Oct. 2 from Precourt updating the community on the sinkhole and saying that so far over 260 well test results show that neighboring water wells are within the health-based drinking water standards established by EPA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. He also said that its own groundwater monitoring shows that there have been no offsite impacts as a result of the sinkhole.
Mosaic also released a geology fact sheet saying that the water underneath the site moves at only about 500 feet per month, meaning that even without any pumping on Mosaic’s part, it would take more than two years for the water to move just to the western edge of its New Wales property boundary. However, Mosaic is removing the water from the affected area to the surface via a recovery well, saying this well acts essentially like a straw in the aquifer, recovering all the slow-moving impacted water back to the surface.
“Sinkholes are a naturally occurring part of the geology in Florida, and we are working with experts to develop a plan to plug the sinkhole, which will likely include the use of concrete-like grout to seal the pathway that opened in the aquifer,” said Precourt. The company has estimated the cost to fix the sinkhole could reach $50 million.
Precourt said until the sinkhole is sealed, it will continue to provide updates to the community. As of Oct. 6, the company said some 930 well tests have been scheduled and 452 sites visited or sampled, and there have been 600 requests for bottled water.
In the meantime, both analysts and environmentalists have suggested that the sinkhole may spur increased scrutiny of any Mosaic expansion plans going forward.
In other news, a mysterious envelope containing a powdery substance was discovered at Mosaic’s Lithia, Fla., offices Sept. 30. However, by late Oct. 6, the FBI told the Tampa Bay Times that the substance tested non-threatening.