A U.S. congresswoman criticized Governor Rick Scott’s office and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection this week on their response in the wake of the Mosaic sinkhole.  

  • Rep. Gwen Graham describes state as being "asleep at the wheel"
  • Graham points out no discussion about alerting Floridians to problem
  • DEP, Mosaic communicated for two weeks regarding sinkhole prior to story reaching the media

Representative Gwen Graham, D-Panama City, reviewed hundreds of emails released in a public records request between the government entities and Mosaic. Based on her findings, she said no one discussed notifying residents, and described the state as being “asleep at the wheel.”

“The immediate response was not that we need to let Floridians know about this sinkhole," said Graham. "I don’t believe it was until after it was brought to the attention by the media, and then we got involved, that the people around the sinkhole were alerted their water quality could be affected."

The emails begin when Mosaic employees noticed the water tables were off. Emails between DEP employees and Mosaic followed for nearly two weeks, but not one talked about notifying the public until after the media got a hold of the story.

When we and other media entities asked state officials why residents weren’t notified about the sinkhole which potentially threatened their drinking water, officials said it was not required by law unless the water was contaminated.

“It really made me quite sad that the state of Florida would use a law to excuse themselves from doing what should be their immediate responsibility, which is to protect citizens and their families,” said Graham.

When reached for comment on Graham's comments, Mosaic issued the following statement:

Upon confirmation of the water loss, Mosaic promptly notified federal, state and local agencies. We will continue to meet our obligations under the Governor's emergency rule that was issued in September.

We reached out to the governor’s office and the DEP in regards to Rep. Graham's comments, as well. Thus far, we have received no response.

The DEP did, however, announce Wednesday that contaminants had been found in private wells of 57 homeowners near the sinkhole site, but that the Mosaic plant's contaminated runoff was not detected in those wells.

Officials offered additional testing and treatment options for Mulberry well owners, if the wells are used for drinking water.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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