Herbert R. Donica

Herbert R. Donica, CPA is the founding shareholder of the Donica Law Firm, P.A. in Tampa, Fla.,and has practiced bankruptcy law since 1990. He has represented clients, including bankruptcy trustees and receivers, in more than 2,000 bankruptcy and insolvency cases, many of which have involved the litigation of contested matters. Previously, Mr. Donica spent two years with the big-six accounting firmof Coopers and Lybrand as a tax specialist and two years in the business law department of the Calkins, Kramer, Grimshaw and Harring law firm in Denver. On Aug. 25, 2021, the Manatee Circuit Court entered an Order appointing Mr. Donica as a receiver to take control of the Piney Point Facility in ManateeCounty, Fla., a former phosphate fertilizer manufacturing complex, and oversee its permanent closure.The facility consists, in part, of a 466-acre phosphogypsum stack system including four elevated pond systems. The ponds are lined reservoir compartments that contain phosphogypsum process water and dredged materials. The stack system holds more than 400,000,000 gallons of water, much of which has levels of phosphorus and nitrogen as well of levels of heavy-metal particulate. In April 2021, the sidewall of one of the stacks developed a leak that resulted in the loss of more than 220,000,000 gallons of water into Bishops Harbor near Bradenton, Fla. The event prompted the State of Florida to investigate ways to implement a permanent solution to fix the Piney Point Facility. As receiver, Mr. Donica is charged with the responsibility to maintain, repair and close the Piney Point stack system as expeditiously as possible so that it is no longer a threat to public safety and the environment. The Florida legislature has set aside$100,000,000 to fund closure activities. Mr. Donica received his B.S. in accounting in 1975 from Indiana University and his J.D. in 1979 from Washington and Lee University Law School.