The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says it's to "ensure safe storage capacities" during the rainy season.

Controlled releases of treated water may begin if levels in the ponds at the former phosphate plant continue to rise, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

About 267 million gallons are currently held in the structure, up from about 200 million gallons before the summer.

Once phosphate mines are used up, you can only build on them using special construction techniques that mitigate radon gas. Low levels of toxicity means they usually become preserves or cattle ranches. But several old mines in the Tampa Bay area have had a different fate.

The state is seeking the maximum allowable penalties and recovery of costs and damages from HRK Holdings.

Teams from Manatee County surveying damage found minor flooding along the Myakka River and the barrier islands, where some turtle nests were affected.

Emergency pumps have been installed to combat heavy rain and winds from the storm.

Several environmental advocacy groups sued last year to overturn the waiver, which would have allowed the use of the slightly radioactive waste in road construction.

The primary defendant is the state Department of Environmental Regulation, which allowed the plant's operators to refill the gypsum stack several years ago with sea water being dredged at nearby Port Manatee.

Business owners in Manatee County took their concerns to Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.

Tom Frazer, the dean and a professor at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science, said the wastewater spill at the phosphate plant could be helping to fuel the outbreak.

Three months ago, a rupture at the former Piney Point phosphate plant sent hundreds of millions of gallons of toxic water into Tampa Bay. We take a tour of one towering "gypstack" to see what's being done to keep that from happening again.