MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Wednesday night was another step in the long process of cleaning up Piney Point.

A three-hour meeting gave residents a look at how it will be done.

For county officials, the meeting was the last box for them to check before getting the go ahead from the Department of Environmental Protection to start cleanup.

The plan involves treating the remaining 260 million gallons of waste water at the site and injecting it 3,000 feet below the Florida aquifer.

Manatee County resident Ruth Lawler was among those with questions.

“I do have a better understanding of how the well will be constructed,” she said. “What I don’t understand and no one seems to have the answer is, once the water is pumped out into the deep injection well and concrete to cap it and all of that and it’s monitored, what happens to the sludge at the bottom of the jib stack?

“What happened to the jib stack? Is it going to be monitored? Is it gonna be removed? Is it going to be covered? That wasn’t addressed in this at all and yet it all goes together,” she said.

DEP officials say once the cleanup is done, there should be no more environmental concerns surrounding the site.

County officials say they’re ready to get started with the cleanup as soon as the state gives them the green light.

“There are engineers and drillers and staff on site today,” said Manatee County Administrator Dr. Scott Hopes. “Everything is set up. The pad is completed. The pumps are there. The water services are there. Construction buildings are there, so it will start the second that they say that permit is clean and ready to go.”

Once the cleanup begins, it’s estimated that it’ll take two to three years before it’s completed.