Manatee Park Deaths: What Is FPL’s responsibility during a shutdown?

LEE COUNTY, Fla.—More than two dozen manatees have died in Lee County, many of which were found in and around the waters near Manatee Park.

On Friday, WINK News was made aware that the “Save the Manatee Club” was told there was an issue at a Florida Power and Light facility in the area.

This information raises the question of what the protocol is when something negative occurs at a facility and whether it has been implemented. 

Is FPL’s Warm Water Voluntary — or Required?

For years, manatees have gathered near the FPL power plant in Lee County during cold snaps. The plant’s discharge creates warm water that serves as a refuge when temperatures drop.

But is that warm water simply a byproduct that benefits manatees, or is it part of a regulatory responsibility?

According toLee County’s 2004 Manatee Protection Plan, the discharge from the FPL plant is identified as the “major warm-water refuge” for manatees in winter.

The plan also states that FPL has a state-approved manatee plan with prescribed actions to minimize the complete loss of warm water during emergency shutdowns.

That language changes the focus.

If the plant went down, and if warm water was reduced or interrupted, the question becomes:

Did the state-approved plan designed for that moment work?

What Save the Manatee Club Says

Save the Manatee Club President Patrick Rose says there was a shutdown at the FPL facility and that he spoke directly with company leadership about the response.

“In my opinion, the standards that were set for backup heating were too low,” Rose said.

Rose says he was told supplemental heating had been planned but not activated as early as expected.

“They also had planned to turn on the supplemental heat sooner. Still trying to understand why it didn't, while it didn't get turned on three days earlier. We had expected that it would be, and no one can know for sure what the difference would have been. But the sooner that would have happened, I think it would have been an improvement,” Rose said.

Rose says FPL assured that changes would be made if another issue arose. 

“They would not wait to make sure that supplemental heat went on if there were to be another problem,” Rose said.

He also points to federal permitting requirements.

“We made sure that in the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination permits, they had to have a plan… that they would have a backup plan for heating,” Rose said.

What Happens Next?

As state officials continue their investigation, the focus is no longer just on what happened, but on whether the approved safeguards functioned as intended and what adjustments may be needed before the next cold-weather event.

WINK News contacted FPL, where our team asked the following questions:

• What triggered the shutdown?

• Whether permit requirements are met?

• And what changes, if any, are being considered moving forward?

Our team is currently waiting for a response.