A fertilizer company says it hopes to have a massive sinkhole plugged by spring, months after contaminated water and waste began flowing into Florida's main drinking water aquifer.

spokeswoman Callie Neslund said in an email Friday that the company recently finished a survey of the sinkhole cavity and believed it could be plugged by spring or sooner.

This comes after it reached a plan with the state Department of Environmental Protection earlier this week. Mosaic is required to put up $40 million, and if it fails to follow through on the cleanup, the company will face fines of up to $10,000 per day.

Meanwhile, state environmental officials say contaminates found in private wells near the site aren't believed to be related to the sinkhole.

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