DORAL, Fla. – As Miami-Dade County Commissioners prepare for a critical vote on the location of a new trash-burning incinerator, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Monday that a deferral may be imminent.
“I don’t request deferrals; it is a board prerogative,” Levine Cava told Local 10′s Christina Vazquez. “In speaking with some members of the board, it seemed that they also were willing to create a little more space to explore some other options.”
The vote, scheduled for Tuesday, will determine the future site of a facility to replace the Covanta plant in Doral, which was heavily damaged in a fire in February of last year. Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado formally requested the deferral, emphasizing the need for more environmental analysis and logistical planning.
“What we want is more information on how this would potentially impact the environment,” Regalado said during a Sept. 16 commission meeting. “We still have not approved the solid waste master plan, we have still not talked about capacity in other landfills, and we have yet to land on actual solutions for the five to seven years that this is going to be in litigation. This is not the moment to build an incinerator.”
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Growing Opposition to Current Proposals
The debate over the incinerator site has reignited concerns among environmental advocates, community leaders, and residents in neighboring cities. Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam has been outspoken in his opposition to the Airport West location, a proposed site near his city’s border and the Everglades.
“This incinerator should not be in anyone’s backyard,” Messam said last week, echoing concerns about the environmental impact and potential health hazards for nearby residents.
In Doral, where the previous facility operated for decades, frustration remains high among residents and local officials. Doral Mayor Christi Fraga has called for broader solutions, emphasizing the region’s waste management challenges.
“We are not fixing this problem,” Fraga said. “We produce twice the national average of garbage, not just from residents but also from tourists. Why?”
However, the revised recommendation has faced pushback from Doral city leaders, who argue that the site is no longer suitable. The location is also home to Trump National Doral Miami, adding another layer of complexity after Eric Trump reached out to Levine Cava about the matter.
“This has been a long process, and we’ve explored many, many options,” Levine Cava said Monday. “I did meet last week with a group of environmentalists who asked me to look again at alternatives. So we wanted to do that.”
How Biden-to-Trump Transition Could Impact Miami-Dade Incinerator Plans
Miami-Dade County’s plans to build an incinerator face uncertainty due to the shift in federal priorities with the incoming Trump administration, according to Regalado.
Regalado noted that much of the financing for the project was tied to anticipated infrastructure funding under the Biden administration.
“A lot of the financing was based on money the county thought it was going to receive from the Biden administration, particularly infrastructure money,” Regalado said. “Which we are not sure if it is going to go to this type of project. I would think that it would more likely than not be reshuffled to bridges and roads, which was the priority of the Trump administration.”
Federal Regulations in Flux
Regalado expressed additional concerns about potential changes to Environmental Protection Agency regulations under Trump.
“Another unknown is how the incoming Trump administration could impact EPA rules that were moving us closer and closer to getting rid of ‘forever chemicals,’ PFAS, and that may also change,” she said.
Regalado explained that existing EPA rules targeting PFAS had been a driving factor behind the county’s push for an incinerator.
“These rules were really driving us toward an incinerator because you need to burn those at a very high temperature,” she said. “And we may still need a version of that, but do we need to burn all of our trash? That is the bigger question.”
Environmental and Economic Considerations
The ongoing discussion has drawn attention from environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club.
Ken Russell, a lobbyist for the group, noted mixed reactions to Levine Cava’s recent pivot away from the Airport West location.
“Some folks were happy that the decision moved away from the Everglades,” Russell said. “But a lot of us were not satisfied yet because they are still planning on building the country’s largest incinerator.”
Levine Cava acknowledged the environmental and logistical challenges associated with the county’s growing waste output.
“We produce double the national average per person of garbage,” she said. “We need to get into the habit of better recycling and reusing. Landfilling is always an option, but if we truck or send by train to someplace else, that’s also a very big environmental impact and costs us money in the long term.”
Calls for Comprehensive Planning
For some community stakeholders, the incinerator debate highlights the need for a broader reassessment of the county’s waste management policies. Miami-Dade Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz has called for a solid waste master plan to guide future decisions.
“What are we going to do with the existing landfills that are not yet at capacity? Are we ever going to be able to compost? Why are we hiring zero waste experts if we are never going to get to zero waste?” Diaz asked during a recent meeting.
Levine Cava also stressed the importance of long-term strategies, pointing to initiatives such as the single-use plastic ban in county facilities.
“We are building a more connected community that is ‘future ready,’” she said.
Fiscal and Scientific Concerns
Regalado emphasized the need for a more comprehensive approach to waste management, warning against hasty decisions.
“There is a lot of moving parts,” she said. “The last thing we want to do is spend a billion dollars to build a white elephant. I think we have to be thoughtful.”
She also highlighted the environmental trade-offs of incineration.
“Some people are saying, ‘No, I don’t want a landfill,’ but an incinerator comes with a landfill. You have to landfill the ash,” she said.
Regalado suggested exploring composting options for yard waste and better utilizing existing landfills, noting, “There are fiscal concerns, but there are also, from a scientific point of view, a lot of things we should discuss with our county partners.”
Collaboration Across Counties
As Miami-Dade considers its waste disposal future, Regalado proposed a regional approach.
“West Palm is building an incinerator,” she said. “Broward County has created an authority to look for a site to do an incinerator. Waste Management has said they want to do one on their property. FPL has said they want to do a public-private [partnership]. So why can’t we partner with folks?”
Regalado called for a broader master plan, saying, “This is not about picking a site and building a thing. It is about having tools.”
The commissioner also pointed out key differences between the U.S. and Europe in waste management, explaining that Europe’s stricter import regulations affect its waste stream.
“Europe has a lot of limitations on what you can bring into the country. A lot of the plastics that we have, a lot of the products that we use, are actually illegal in Europe,” she said. “We need to be honest with people about our waste stream, what that looks like, what is recyclable, what is not recyclable.”
Regalado’s call for a deferral underscores her push for a more deliberative, adaptive approach as the county navigates evolving federal policies and environmental challenges.
Next Steps
While the commission seems poised to approve the deferral, Levine Cava said the delay would only be temporary.
“We are only talking about a short deferral,” she said. “A decision will have to be made about what exactly the solution will be and where the solution will be.”
The commission’s decision, whether deferred or finalized, could shape Miami-Dade County’s waste management policies for decades, influencing environmental health and regional development across South Florida.
To hear more of Levine Cava’s interview with Local 10 News, watch the video below.