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Front Page » Communities » Doral incinerator location might get a second look

Doral incinerator location might get a second look

Written by on August 16, 2022
  • www.miamitodayepaper.com
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Doral incinerator location might get a second look

The location of a new Miami-Dade waste-to-energy incinerator plant, currently set to be constructed in the City of Doral, may be revised in the future.

“If I get elected, I would request that the four different sites be considered,” said Juan Carlos Bermudez, city mayor and candidate for the District 12 county commission seat.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava decided not to veto the decision of the county commission to select Doral as the location for the new facility, to stand right next to the existing Covanta Dade Renewable Energy plant, her Chief of Staff Rachel Johnson confirmed to Miami Today.

Mayor Levine Cava had presented a report analyzing different locations for the new incinerator. The document, completed by consultant Arcadis, shortlisted four locations: at the existing site, in the Town of Medley, and two other locations on Ingraham Highway.

Further analysis was proposed by the company and the mayor requested in an accompanying memorandum “the opportunity to conduct community outreach with respect to the potential sites as we move forward.” It is unclear if Mayor Levine Cava will pursue community outreach in the future.

“At this point, I wouldn’t tell you exactly what mechanism I’d be able to use once I get there, but I would tell you that I would explore any mechanism to bring that discussion back,” Doral Mayor Bermudez told the newspaper. “I’m as bothered with the process not being done the right way as I am with the decision.”

County rules establish that an action by the commission may be reconsidered only at the same meeting at which the action was taken or at the next regular meeting thereafter. Nonetheless, the rules also say a motion to reconsider “may be made only by a commissioner who voted on the prevailing side of the question and must be concurred in by a majority of those present at the meeting.”

New county commissioners are to take office after November, including filling the seat of District 12. Term-limited incumbent commission Chairman Jose “Pepe” Diaz, representing the area, who proposed the motion to select Doral as the new location, argued that the property where the new facility would stand is already paid for and all the permits and reviews are already completed.

The preliminary report says constructing the new facility in Doral would take 7 years and 9 months, while the alternative location in the Town of Medley would take 9 years and 9 months.

The Doral plant has a $1.45 billion estimated capital cost, while the Medley facility would require $48.3 million in additional capital cost, a 4.2% increase when compared to the Doral site. As the newspaper previously reported, the documents note that both locations have air permitting challenges and have good access to major roads.

The report notes that the existing Doral site is less than a tenth of a mile from the nearest residential zoning and that community political leaders and environmental groups have expressed their opposition to the site. The Medley facility is directly adjacent to residential zoning and if chosen could face community opposition in the future as well.

The current 1982 plant is reaching the end of its useful life. The county aims for a 4,000-ton-plus mass burn combustion plant that is more efficient than the existing refuse-derived fuel plant.

3 Responses to Doral incinerator location might get a second look

  1. T. Craig Eschrich

    August 17, 2022 at 5:10 pm

    The issue about waste to energy is the capture of the emissions, not the incineration of the waste. The emissions are extremely valuable if they are processed properly. As soon as you see the smokestacks you know they are doing it all wrong.

    It is entirely possible to process 100% of the municipal solid waste and manufacture products, produce organic fertilizer and produce electricity…..we have the ability to totally eliminate landfills and reclaim them at virtually no cost. Even parts of the third world are ahead of us on waste management and vertical re-use. Waste is an asset not a liability.

  2. Jose

    August 18, 2022 at 1:24 pm

    Miami-Dade County “Rule 5.05” on the Commission Agenda includes the following provision:

    “The commission shall not take action upon any matter when it is first presented to the commission in a report or reports made by the County Commissioners.”

    The WTE site was a Mayor Report first sent to the Commission and NO action item was scheduled on the agenda. As such, it appears the action violated Rule 5.05.

    There was a great deal of public input when the initial resolution was considered by the Chairman’s Policy Committee that requested the Mayor provide the WTE siting analysis. The manner in which this was handled at the July 19, 2022, Commission meeting did not allow for the opportunity for public input which is also appears to violate Section 286.0114, Florida Statutes that requires commission decision making to allows from a reasonable opportunity to be heard.

    No action item was on the published Agenda other than the commission receiving the Mayor’s Report. The WTE siting adoption resolution was never published ahead of item being considered late in the commission meeting on July 19, 2022, that allowed for the public to review and have the opportunity to be heard before action by the commission.

    This leads to lack of faith in the public process and raises serious questions on why the action was handled in this manner by the Chair of the Commission.

  3. Manny Sarmiento

    August 18, 2022 at 7:43 pm

    Bermudez was NOT willing to do anything while Mayor of the City of Doral but now, 5 days before the election he’s promising action!?

    This idiot will not do anything for us in Doral. That’s why not even the Doral Chamber of Commerce will endorse him for County Commissioner.

    Please ask him why it took him 16 years as a Career Politician to promise changes to this drastic issue.

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