DORAL, Fla. – Miami-Dade County commissioners voted Tuesday to defer a decision on the proposed incinerator rebuild in Doral, following mounting concerns from environmentalists, residents, and even a call from Eric Trump, whose family business operates the nearby Trump National Doral Miami.
According to Olga Vega, public records custodian for the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners, the vote to defer the incinerator decision to Feb. 19, 2025, passed 11-1. Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins cast the lone dissenting vote, and Commissioner Rene Garcia was absent.
“We have been asked to take a harder look at the site selection,” Miami-Dade Chief Operations Officer Jimmy Morales told commissioners during Tuesday’s meeting. He added, “In the last couple of days, we have received a lot of inquiries from environmentalists asking the administration to consider incinerator alternatives.”
The current proposal recommends rebuilding the incinerator at the same Doral location where the existing facility caught fire. This suggestion has sparked significant pushback, including from Doral Mayor Christi Fraga, who called for exploring long-term waste management solutions beyond incineration.
“To understand what options exist outside of just an incinerator that can really meet the needs of this county for the long term,” Fraga said in a post-vote interview with Local 10 News.
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Environmental advocates like Ken Russell, a Sierra Club lobbyist, support the delay, emphasizing alternatives to incineration. “Because it is possible for Miami-Dade to solve this without burning garbage,” he said.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado, who requested the deferral alongside Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez, welcomed the decision. The deferral will allow for a special meeting in January to explore various solid waste management strategies, including recycling, composting, and waste-to-energy technologies.
“The best part of today’s meeting is that we are finally going to get our special meeting,” said Bermudez, a former Doral mayor.
The financial implications of relocating the incinerator remain a significant factor. Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins noted the potential cost increases for municipalities across the county if the facility moves out of Doral.
“If we choose any of the options other than Doral, the city of Miami over a 20-year period will face costs ranging from $36 million to $90 million more than staying in Doral,” Higgins said, highlighting the challenge of balancing economic and environmental concerns.
The deferral also comes as Levine Cava announced efforts to hire a consultant to develop a zero-waste strategy.
“We are talking about a ‘waste campus,’ not a single solution,” Levine Cava said, adding that all options, including waste-to-energy and landfill alternatives, are under review.
Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam said his city commissioners and residents will attend the Miami-Dade commission meeting whenever it is set.
Miramar officials reported that over 20,000 signatures opposing the incinerator project have been gathered, with numerous residents ready to attend the upcoming public hearing and vote.
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Miami-Dade County officials initially considered three alternate locations for the new incinerator but faced pushback from residents in those areas.
The debate over the incinerator site has also reignited concerns among environmental advocates, community leaders, and residents in neighboring cities. 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.
Last month, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava shifted her stance, recommending the new facility be built near the original site in Doral.
That decision drew sharp criticism from Doral Mayor Christi Fraga and the Trump Organization, which owns the nearby Trump National Doral Golf Club.
“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.”
She also 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 added. “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.”
An agenda item concerning composting was also withdrawn during Tuesday’s commission meeting, as commissioners debated how to move forward with related issues.
Commissioner Oliver Gilbert expressed frustration with delays.
“I have extensive remarks, and I can’t just defer my item because [the] item has been deferred two times already,” he said. “I don’t know what we are going to do in three months that we didn’t do in 13 — we need to make a decision.”
Bermudez also called for a comprehensive approach to waste management.
“Have a real conversation — whether it is a mix of recycling, and landfilling, and composting — we still need to talk about the comprehensive site,” he said. “Before we make a decision on any site, I would be supportive of a deferral because we have not had (which was supposed to happen in December of last year) a special meeting on (the) solid waste master plan. I am supportive of a deferral for real logical reasons about let’s talk about the issue in its entirety.”
A final vote on the incinerator’s future is now expected in February 2025, following discussions scheduled for January.
Residents can register for the Miami-Dade Commission meeting at StopTheIncinerator.Eventbrite.com as well as contact the city of Miramar by visiting: miramarfl.gov/noburn.