Manatee County Commissioners voted Tuesday to continue cleaning up Piney Point.

The county is still waiting for reimbursement from the state. 

In 2021, a leak at Piney Point released over 200 million gallons of untreated wastewater into Tampa Bay.

A service manages contaminated water by pumping it under the aquifer. 

The decision for Manatee County to continue to oversee the cleanup at Piney Point for the next year comes as they await around $23 million in reimbursement from the state.

Commissioner Bob McCann voted against the proposal. 

“This is not a Manatee County taxpayer problem. I understand the public health and safety, but the public health and safety here, and the safety of the citizens and the potable water, belongs to the state – not the county’s taxpayers.”  McCann said.

Commissioner George Kruse voted in favor.

“This is kind of what we ask for as the current best-case scenario while we figure out the long-term options that we have.” Kruse said.

The amendment passed 4 to 1, with some commissioners arguing they must protect residents.

The cleanup could take years.

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