Plant City Insider

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has scheduled an open house public meeting to discuss a draft underground injection control permit for Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. EDT at 1601 E. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Plant City, Hillsborough County, Florida.

The DEP’s Drinking Water and Aquifer Protection Program is inviting the public to engage with representatives from both DEP and Mosaic Fertilizer to address questions and provide insights regarding the draft permit (File No. 0441607-001-UC-1EX, WACS ID 108119). The permit proposes authorizing the construction of a Class V, Group 9 exploratory well at Mosaic’s Plant City Facility, located at 10609 Paul S. Buchman Highway. The well, planned to reach a depth of 8,000 feet below the surface, aims to assess the subsurface geology and confinement suitability for potential future underground injection activities. Notably, this permit does not authorize wastewater injection or disposal, which would require separate approval. The reasoning for this move is likely due to the recent Piney Point disaster where thousands of gallons of radioactive wastewater had to be dumped into Tampa Bay due to the containment basin reaching a failing point. Mosaic argues that this method has been used before in other industries and is safe.

The Plant City Mosaic facility was a former CF Industries plant which came into the ownership of Mosaic after they were purchased in 2014. Mosaic idled the plant in 2017 and then chose to close the plant in 2019 due to it being the “highest-cost operating plant in Florida”.

Mosaic submitted its permit application on October 17, 2023, with the draft permit issued on November 22, 2024, following a thorough review by DEP’s engineering and geology experts. The Notice of Draft Permit was published in the Tampa Bay Times on December 4, 2024.

During the meeting, representatives from DEP and Mosaic will be available to answer questions. Public comments will be accepted both in writing and orally. Written comments can also be submitted via email or mail to Richard Lobinske at app@dep.state.fl.us or 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 3530, Tallahassee, FL, 32399-2400, until March 14, 2025.

For additional details or to request the meeting agenda, contact Richard Lobinske at 850-245-8655 or richard.lobinske@floridadep.gov.