Some violations at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium have become public.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the facility has been cited five times since 2010 by federal inspectors. Four of the problems could have harmed marine mammals.
The violations include chipping paint and rust, salinity levels that were too high and food stored on rusty shelves. All were violations of the Animal Welfare Act and were classified as "indirect" violations, meaning they weren't an immediate threat to an animal's life.
The inspections come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. By comparison, the Tampa Aquarium didn't have any violations during the same period.
Aquarium CEO David Yates told the Times no animals have been placed in danger and the aquarium's facility, which was formerly a city sewage plant, is hard to maintain.
The aquarium hopes to build a new $160.5 million facility in downtown Clearwater, but still needs voter approval in November.