OriginClear Offers Free Advice to Piney Point Reservoir Owners on Emergency Repairs to Remediate Toxic Waste Leaks

OriginClear Tech Piney Point Proposal Cover (Graphic: Business Wire)

CLEARWATER, Fla.--()--OriginClear Tech, a division of OriginClear Inc. (OTC Pink: OCLN), a leading provider of water treatment solutions, offered to advise at no expense the owners of Tampa Bay’s old Piney Point phosphate plant on the best method to remediate the toxic waste leak and emergency discharge of an estimated 38 million gallons per day into the Bay.

OriginClear also said proposals being offered to remedy the situation were all way too high and the emergency could be remediated at far less cost, which OriginClear said it could accomplish itself at a fraction of what other companies are proposing.

On March 26, 2021, a retention pond at Piney Point was breached and cordoned off. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection reports that while some wastewater has been contained on site, roughly 173 million gallons of untreated wastewater have still been discharged into the bay.

“This is a major disaster,” said Tom Marchesello, OriginClear Chief Operating Officer, “and it is our duty to help however we can.” He addressed this offer to New York investor William “Mickey” F. Harley III, the listed owner of HRK Holdings, which owns the troubled Piney Point phosphate plant site leaking polluted wastewater.

Marchesello described Monday on WWSB ABC7 TV the longtime practice of allowing heavy toxins to settle at the bottom of the area’s gypsum stacks as “unsustainable.” At the very least, he said the huge wastewater lagoons must still be treated to prevent more disastrous leaks. (ABC7 News at 7 Roundtable Discussion) https://www.mysuncoast.com/video/2021/04/06/abc-news-roundtable-discussion-april-part-2/

OriginClear Chief Engineer Daniel M. Early also reviewed the situation:

“The current issue facing Piney Point and neighboring communities is that the nutrient loads for nitrogen and phosphorous, as released, are 300 to 800 times more concentrated respectively than typical municipal WWTP discharge permitted into Tampa Bay. While much is being done to protect the area from further damage, what remains important is that what should have been done in the first place is still needed as proper wastewater recovery. Our engineers want to offer what we believe will be the best solutions to avoid further environmental damage and to engage a real solution as quickly as possible,” said Early.

For Piney Point alone, OriginClear engineers believe it will be necessary to remove the following quantities (appx) of dissolved compounds from the water to bring it to a safer level allowable for discharge:

  • Two million pounds of ammonia
  • 5.3 million pounds of phosphate
  • 17.3 million pounds of sulfate
  • The pH of the pond water at 2.5 is to be considered highly acidic.

Based on its internal modular treatment systems that can be quickly trucked onsite, OriginClear believes Piney Point can be cleaned up over 4 years at an estimated cost of $50 million. This includes the initial equipment purchase of about $6 million in machines plus the monthly operational support of about $1 million per month to run the systems and replace filters.

Other solutions may include dewatering and sidestreaming process using the company’s BroncBoost™ Booster Pump Skids. A site like this will require backup redundancy to keep it continuously operating for job completion. You have to plan for a much higher load level of toxic wastewater than is anticipated to foul the filters and machines. Often, they will require a higher level of maintenance and replacement compared to other more normal industries.

“While this is an expensive process, it is easily affordable over time in the phosphate supply chain,” said Daniel M. Early, OriginClear Chief Engineer. “Contrast that with the costs of irreversible damage from not treating a toxic liquid landfill that could fall apart at any moment causing a cascading failure of the other nearby pond structures as well.”

“I live here now – this bay and beaches are where I take my daughter too; so, we want to help,” said OriginClear’s Chief Operating Officer, Tom Marchesello. “If this is done right, we can deal with this in my lifetime and make this region safe again before she is a teenager.” With a strong program in place Florida can be an environmental leader and deal with the other 27+ Phosphate Gypsum stack sites in a more unified manner that delivers real results in a reasonable timeframe.

OriginClear Tech – a division of OriginClear, Inc. OTC Pink: OCLN

OriginClear Tech is the development, manufacturing, and operations group of OriginClear Corp. Our Tech division focuses on small to midsize commercial and industrial & municipal end markets that need to self-manage onsite systems. We provide next generation Water Treatment Solutions engineered to be stronger, safer, and more cost effective using environmentally friendly materials and process.

OriginClear Tech owns brands that design, engineer, manufacture, and distribute water treatment solutions for commercial, industrial, and municipal end markets. Wholly owned Brand Companies include Progressive Water Treatment and Modular Water Systems. OriginClear Tech brands build and deliver the plug-n-play solutions, products & services for a revolutionary new model of self-reliant water treatment at onsite locations in the United States and International markets.

OriginClear Tech has a long history of developing innovations for Instant Infrastructure and is responsible for identifying leading edge technologies to solve today’s toughest water challenges. OriginClear Tech sponsors partnership relationships and sales distribution relationships to drive more advanced technologies towards adoption and use in Europe, Asia, Middle East, and North America. Our mission is to enable breakthrough water technologies that help make clean water available for all.

For more information, visit the company’s website: www.OriginClear.tech

OriginClear Tech is a subsidiary of OriginClear, Inc. OTC Pink: OCLN

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OriginClear Safe Harbor Statement:

Matters discussed in this presentation contain forward-looking statements. When used in this update, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with our history of losses and our need to raise additional financing, the acceptance of our products and technology in the marketplace, our ability to demonstrate the commercial viability of our products and technology and our need to increase the size of our organization. Further information on the Company's risk factors is contained in the Company's quarterly and annual reports as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason except as may be required under applicable law. There cannot be any assurance that our agreement with Philanthroinvestors, Inc. will enable us to generate any revenue.

Contacts

Investor Relations OriginClear:
Devin Angus
Toll-free: 877-999-OOIL (6645) Ext. 3
International: +1-323-939-6645 Ext. 3
Fax: 323-315-2301
ir@OriginClear.com
www.OriginClear.com

Press Contact:
Adrienne Mazzone
TransMedia Group
+1 561-908-1683
amazzone@transmediagroup.com
www.transmediagroup.com

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Contacts

Investor Relations OriginClear:
Devin Angus
Toll-free: 877-999-OOIL (6645) Ext. 3
International: +1-323-939-6645 Ext. 3
Fax: 323-315-2301
ir@OriginClear.com
www.OriginClear.com

Press Contact:
Adrienne Mazzone
TransMedia Group
+1 561-908-1683
amazzone@transmediagroup.com
www.transmediagroup.com