MIAMI – Miami-Dade County officials told Local 10 News Friday that there are several active unsafe structures cases they are investigating at the Miami Seaquarium.
It comes after Local 10 News obtained exclusive pictures Thursday illustrating some of the distressing conditions federal inspectors have been documenting for months at the marine mammal park.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture made note of several repeated violations impacting the health and wellness of animals in the facility’s care including black mold, high bacteria levels, rusty enclosures and a critical shortage of adequately trained employees.
The county says they have issued violations for four unsafe structures found at the facility on December 18, 2023, which include the Golden Dome, Whale Bowl, the Seaquarium’s carpenter workshop and a maintenance corridor.
According to the document, an engineer described “cracking or spalling” in the wall above the last row of the pavilion seats and recommended closing the last row of the dome.
Miami-Dade County officials said on Feb. 15, 2003, the Unsafe Structures Board extended a previous order to require a permit for the repairs to be obtained at the dome within 120 days of the hearing and for them to be completed within 365 days after obtaining the permit.
That application has since expired, and no permit has been obtained for the structure.
The document states that the “entire structure has been closed to the public and permanent shoring throughout the structure has been installed.”
An engineer also recommended closure to the Bay 10 area of the Seaquarium until the repairs to its beam and steel joists are completed.
Officials also said the Seaquarium’s Whale Bowl has also been closed to the public and permanent shoring throughout the structure has been installed.
In addition to those four cases, the county says five other buildings have been referred to the re-certification unit for unsafe structures enforcement for failure to obtain required building re-certifications.
Miami-Dade County officials have already told the facility twice that it violates its lease agreement with the county due to unpaid rent and multiple structural violations.
The document states there are no fines or penalties associated with Unsafe Structures enforcement, however, upon correction of the violations, the owner (operator) will be billed for the enforcement costs associated with each case.
In addition to these four cases, five buildings have been referred by the Recertification Unit for Unsafe Structures enforcement for failure to obtain the required 50 or 60-year building recertifications. Research is being performed to identify the specific building to be addressed in each case, according to the report.
The County told Local 10 News in a statement Friday evening that the Seaquarium was required to obtain a repair permit for their maintenance corridor also known as “Corridor A,” but said that there were no applications or permits to address these repairs.
That case is in non-compliance with the Board Order dated on June 21, 2023.
Read the USDA’s list of structural violations found at Miami Seaquarium: