Scott Hopes

According to a separation agreement, Scott Hopes resigned without cause and is leaving in good standing with Manatee County.

County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge called the County Clerk of Court's allegations "politically motivated."

Leaders from a number of counties around the greater Tampa Bay region talked about issues such as wastewater management and making utilities stronger.

Manatee County officials are looking forward to the next chapter in the saga.

Manatee County officials are pushing for approval of a plan to pump hundred of millions of gallons of polluted water from the troubled Piney Point phosphate plant into the underground aquifer.

In our ongoing series on phosphate mines, WUSF reports on the long, tangled history of Florida's phosphate mines and the environment.

An emergency order issued in April by Florida's Department of Environmental Protection expired this week.

Hopes has been serving on an interim basis since April 1.

Acting Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes says it appears workers at the site have been able to bring the situation under control.

Evacuation orders were given late Friday to homes and businesses surrounding the leaking Piney Point processing plant in Manatee County.