Decision on Waste-to-Energy Facility was deferred one more time

DORAL, FL – On Tuesday, Sept. 17, Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners (BCC) held a meeting to discuss and vote on the relocation of the Waste-to-Energy Facility incinerator, currently located in Doral, following the announcement of Mayor Daniella Levine Cava that she recommended the Airport West site as the new location. 

After a lengthy public comments section, that included the intervention of several Doral and Miramar residents, as well as that of environmental activists and elected officials, in what became a two-part meeting in which the incinerator was left as the last item of discussion, County Commissioners voted 11-2 in favor of a deferral. 

The board will reunite again on Nov.6 in a special meeting to make what is expected to be a final decision on where to relocate the Waste-to-Energy Facility, a matter that has been pending for a year and nine months ever since Covanta’s fire at the beginning of 2023.  

“We’ve put a tremendous amount of thought and consideration into this recommendation. We’ve been working on tirelessly for the last 18 months. It has not been an easy one for me personally or for the county staff who have spent countless hours over the last year and a half researching it, weighing the options, and preparing for the decision before you today,” Miami-Dade County Mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, said at the meeting.

“This was not based on our beliefs. It was based on facts and the careful analysis that was provided to us by scientific experts,” the mayor continued. “This proposal -Airport West- offers a solution that is safe, I am confident, for residents or the environment, or we would not be bringing it to you today.”

Still, commissioners by majority thought the Airport West site information they had was not sufficient to make a decision with Chairman Oliver G. Gilbert, III stating the Medley site “solves a number of problems if we could afford it”.  There was even a discussion with Lowell Dunn II, owner of the Medley site, to address some of the concerns commissioners had. He proposed a “swap it dollar by dollar” solution. 

Other concerns addressed in the meeting are the money that could cost moving the facility out of Doral, and the financial contribution City of Doral would have to make, that some argued it wouldn’t be fair to determine an amount until a decision on a site is finalized. 

There is also a fourth proposal on the table known as a “land swap”. The site was recommended previously by David Martin, of Terra Group, and is a 65-ace lot near Okeechobee Road and Northwest 137 Avenue. It’s located east of the Milton E. Thompson County Park, at 1665 NW 177 Ave., and the Everglades Wildlife Management Area Conservation. 

City of Doral Mayor, Christi Fraga, was present at the meeting showing support and understanding in the face of the pending decision.

“I want to thank the mayor for her recommendation. Look, this is not an easy decision. We understand the decision that’s before you. We understand the cost that is before you. And we do not want to burden any other community, understanding that this is a service that this county has to deal with.” 

The mayor also mentioned there is a plan to get to zero waste and that “takes all of us to have to do it.” “But today, there is no solution for zero waste, and the population is not going down. So, understanding the decision that has to be made before you all, we come as the community of Doral to tell you that we have lived with the shadow of this for many years. Today, the decision before you is a piece of property that is more than a mile away from any resident and has taken all environmental considerations into account.”