MIAMI – For more than a year, Miami-Dade County Commissioners Juan Carlos Bermudez and Raquel Regalado have been requesting the county take a comprehensive view of solid waste solutions.
“Waste is not just a waste-to-energy facility, it is landfills, it is also sludge. We can go down the list of things,” said Bermudez.
“The easiest thing to do is to think trash disappears, to say we burn it and it goes away, and maybe that is why it has taken so long for us to get to the comprehensive solutions special meeting we have been asking for,” said Regalado. “I think for now, it is trash on trains and it is landfills, but that is not a forever solution.”
She added, “This is more about geology than it is geography, because, our geology is porous, it is limestone and it leaks into aquifer, so whether we are talking about sludge or septic to sewer or trash or landfills, it is not something that we want here. In central Florida, in north Florida, in Georgia and other places they have different geology -- they can do a landfill in a better way, they can do composting better for us. For us, it is very difficult because of the proximity to our water supply.”
That has led to Tuesday’s planned workshop meeting.
“After two years for asking for a special meeting, we are having a workshop,” said Regalado.
To recap: in 2023, a massive fire destroyed the county’s trash incinerator in Doral. The talk started with where to re-build a new one. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava suggested Airport West near the Everglades and Broward County’s border.
The Broward city of Miramar opposed that idea.
“Just off the back door of our community, we will be in attendance there tomorrow to see the discussion take place. We looked forward to our city not being under threat of an incinerator being built,” said Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam. “We don’t believe incineration technology should be in anyone’s back yard, especially Airport West when you look at how environmental sensitive that site is.”
Levine Cava later toggled back to the existing site in Doral, which happens to be near Trump National Doral Miami.
Eric Trump, the son of President Donald Trump, gave Levine Cava a call late last year regarding the incinerator location topic.
“The mayor supported moving the new WTE outside Doral, then she changed her opinion and then she came back,” said Bermudez. “Then, obviously Eric Trump and the Trump entities disagreed with it so it may have had (an impact).”
Bermudez suspects it is unlikely a plan for an incinerator in Doral would get the required federal approvals and partial funding to move forward, in part because, with Donald Trump as president, he can’t imagine Trump National Doral Miami, which Doral just approved to build 1,500 luxury condominiums, would like an incinerator so close to the luxury project at a Trump resort property.
“The reality is if you talk about timing, an eight-to-10-year process, but you know that you are not getting federal support and you cannot do this without federal environmental support,” he said. “That definitely has an impact. My guess is that it has something to do with it. I am very appreciative of the Trump Organization, Eric with boots on the ground, that they let the administration know and my colleagues know that this is not the best place, and not just because the resort is there, but because in a community that has been growing, it made no sense.”
And now, ahead of Tuesday’s related workshop, Levine Cava has landed on a recommendation of continuing long-hauling waste via truck and rail as commissioners explore options.
“We are not going to be discussing our master plan, but I am bringing over eight items that take on that master plan, and what I hope to create for our February plan when we vote on these items is a waste management portfolio which may or may not include an incinerator,” said Regalado.
“I hope that everybody understands that we need to make a good decision for the long term,” added Bermudez.
They will discuss the cost of building a new landfill, and Bermudez and Regalado would also like to see the county administration explore working with Broward County on a possible cross-county solution, especially if an incinerator is still on the table.
“I also don’t see any reference to working with Broward County, who is facing the same issue -- maybe collaborating with Broward on some of these issues,” said Bermudez.
“We need to come up with a multi-county solution because one of the problems that we have is that whenever we land on a solution, we must send all of our trash, which makes zero waste difficult to do because if I am eliminated trash then I am hurting my own contract,” said Regalado. “Once you pan out and you come up with a multi-county solution, then you can have zero waste, you can do the recycling without hurting your bottom line, and I don’t want to own that thing. This should be a P3, whether it is an incinerator or something else. The funding is not there right now. In the next 90 days, we will learn more about the new EPA rules and funding.
“I am very thankful we are finally having this conversation,” added Bermudez. “We need to make some tough decisions eventually on these things.”
TRUMP NATIONAL LUXURY CONDOS
Earlier this month, Doral approved a Trump National Doral Miami plan to build hundreds of luxury condos on the property.
For more on the meeting, read the agenda below or click here.
ADDITIONAL LINKS
https://doral.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=13639590&GUID=3CD63A69-6DE3-4C95-AD91-3197C218B053
https://doral.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=13639586&GUID=89FD9BE8-708C-4F6D-8F47-2141838CCBE4
https://doral.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=13639584&GUID=7E179DD8-CA19-4E96-8971-4E257B38343F
https://doral.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=13659791&GUID=37E09D0B-A26D-4502-87D4-7D88EC9AE187