3,200-Gallon Chemical Spill at Duke Energy's Anclote Plant in Holiday Raises Water Safety Questions

Duke Energy told Florida environmental regulators on Aug. 20 that roughly 3,200 gallons of sodium bisulfite, a chemical that can irritate skin and tissue, spilled onto soil and asphalt outside its Anclote Power Plant in Holiday. Another 500 gallons stayed contained inside the building. The plant sits directly on the Anclote River, and both Duke Energy and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection say none of the chemical reached the water.

The spill traces back to something mundane: a ladder fell overnight and broke a valve on a line feeding the chemical, according to a report filed with state regulators by a Duke Energy consultant. That broken valve is what let sodium bisulfite escape onto the ground outside the plant.

Duke Energy brought in two contractors, Arcadis and Republic Services, to clean up the site. By Aug. 24, four days after the spill was reported, cleanup was nearly finished.

What sodium bisulfite is doing at a power plant

Sodium bisulfite is commonly used at power plants to treat water and control chlorine and oxygen levels in industrial systems. It is not classified as highly toxic, but it can burn skin and eyes on contact and irritate the respiratory system if inhaled in concentrated form.

For residents near the plant along the Anclote River in Holiday, the main question has been whether the chemical made it into the water that flows past their neighborhoods. So far, the official answer from both the utility and state regulators is no.

Environmental groups push for more disclosure

Sierra Club Florida and The CLEO Institute are calling on Duke Energy to release more detail about what caused the spill and its full environmental impact, along with what the company plans to do to prevent a repeat.

Susannah Randolph, chapter director for Sierra Club Florida, said people living near Duke Energy facilities shouldn't have to wonder whether the next spill will threaten their health or their community, and argued that fossil fuel infrastructure carries real risks that no Florida family should have to accept just to keep the lights on.

Susan Glickman, vice president of policy and partnerships for The CLEO Institute, pointed to the numbers behind Duke Energy Florida's power supply. About 90% of the utility's generation in the state still comes from fossil fuels. She argued that incidents like this spill make the case for shifting toward cleaner energy sources, both to protect household energy bills and to protect Florida's tourism-dependent economy from pollution incidents.

What's still unclear

Neither Duke Energy nor state regulators have released a root-cause report explaining why the ladder fell or whether the valve and line were due for inspection. It's also not yet known whether the Florida Department of Environmental Protection will require additional monitoring, fines, or corrective action at the site.

The Anclote Power Plant has operated along the river in Holiday for decades and remains one of the larger industrial sites in Pasco County. Residents who live nearby are watching for whatever comes next: a formal DEP finding, any penalties, and whether Duke Energy responds publicly to the environmental groups' calls for more transparency.

Stay with the Pasco County Community Website for updates on this story, and follow us on Facebook for breaking local news. Have thoughts on what this means for the Anclote River and Holiday's water safety? Join the conversation in our Community Forum, and read more public safety stories from around Pasco County.

Header photo: Silveram / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)