water generated from the dewatering or washing of sand and fill mined at 
the sites.In general, the makeup and quantities of many industrial 
discharges into Tampa Bay have not been well documented (Tampa Bay 
Regional Planning Council 1985). 
Most of the industrial development in the Tampa Bay area has 
occurred on the northern and eastern sides of Hillsborough Bay primarily 
due to the presence of phosphate deposits east of the bay and the 
subsequent development of the Port of Tampa (Tiffany, this report). 
Hillsborough Bay has therefore received the greatest quantities of 
industrial wastes through its tributary rivers and creeks. One of the 
most heavily industrialized tributaries is Delaney Creek, a small creek 
which drains approximately 11,069 acres on the northeastern shore of 
Hillsborough Bay (TBRPC 1986b). Delaney Creek has been the receiving 
body for the wastes from a fertilizer manufacturing plant, plants which 
manufacture lead acid batteries, a trucking company, and at least 15 
wastewater treatment plants. Although the creek is designated as Class 
III waters as defined by the Florida Administrative Code, Chapter 17-3 
(recreation and propagation and management of fish and wildlife), it does 
not meet these standards. A recent study of the minor tributaries of 
Tampa Bay has resulted in several recommendations for the restoration and 
management of Delaney Creek (TBRPC 1986b). 
Phosphate Industry 
Phosphate deposits were discovered in the 1880’s in the Bone 
Valley region of Polk County east of Tampa Bay. This discovery not only 
led to direct impacts on the bay’s waters, but also greatly influenced 
the development of the Port of Tampa (Fehring 1985; Tiffany, this 
report). Small scale mining operations began in 1888 when the Arcadia 
Phosphate Company shipped ten carloads of ore mined from the Peace River 
at Arcadia to a fertilizer works in Atlanta (Blakey 1973). The mining 
industry gradually grew during the early part of the 20th Century. 
During this period most of the high grade ore was shipped overseas; the 
lower grade ore was used domestically as fertilizer. Tremendous 
expansion of mining activities occurred following World War II in 
response to the growing worldwide demand for phosphate fertilizers. 
During the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, the industry began to construct 
chemical plants making phosphoric acid, superphosphate, triple 
superphosphate and other concentrated phosphate products for fertilizer. 
The industry continued to expand in the 1960’s with production reaching 
its zenith in 1967. This industry has suffered declines in recent years 
due in part to increased phosphate production worldwide and uncertain 
economic conditions. 
Several activities are associated with the phosphate industry in 
southwest Florida, including mining and beneficiation of the ore, 
transportation of the ore and fertilizer products, and processing the raw 
ore into concentrated compounds for fertilizer. Each of these activities 
has caused environmental problems. Strip mining, for example, causes 
habitat loss and can contaminate both surface and groundwaters. Spillage 
during transport enriches waterways and causes noxious algal blooms. 
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