Then there will be budget adjustments: 100 or 500 million more, even much more.
If everyone finally comes to an agreement, the county government and residents of the area where the new facility would operate, the cost of garbage collection could even decrease, after the rate was slightly increased last year.
Of the more than 2.4 million tons of waste that Miami-Dade collects each year, at least half was processed by Covanta in Doral.
After the incident, a good portion of the waste is transported outside of Miami-Dade County, which increases the cost of handling and incineration.
Context
Last December, the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners awarded a $65 million contract to the firm AtkinsRealis to advise the county on a new “mass waste-to-energy” facility.
In fact, the design firm, which provides engineering and construction services in several countries, said in a press release that it had obtained the approval of Miami-Dade County to “provide professional engineering” and that it has the project that would “efficiently repurpose waste toward a successful transition to zero” waste.
AtkinsRéalis’ many engineering designs include 23 alternative fuels projects in North America since 1982, including three in Florida, as well as design reviews for the Brightline express rail line between Miami and Orlando.
Under the 10-year contract, “AtkinsRéalis will provide design criteria, consultancy, advisory services and environmental services for the construction.”
In addition, according to the report, “it will also oversee construction and provide quality control support to Miami-Dade County. These plants incinerate waste and generate heat, which is used to power a turbine generator that produces electricity and other alternative fuels. Only one new facility like this has been built in the United States in the past 20 years.”
Once the County secures a site, it will request proposals for a construction and operation contract.
Where?
It remains to be decided where the facility will be built and how much it will ultimately cost. But no one wants a waste processing plant near or far from their homes.
For years, Doralinos complained about the bad smell emitted by the waste treatment plant. A municipality that emerged and grew after the landfill existed.
“Take it to the Everglades!” demanded Vicente, a resident of Doral Isles, an exclusive residential area that was partly built in the late 1990s.
But Vicente does not know that the processing plant cannot be built in the Everglades because it is a protected area.
“Homestead then,” he replied. Homestead doesn’t want it either and the county government must find a place to build it.
Among the most frequently mentioned sites is the land once occupied by the Opa-Locka West Airport. This vacant land once occupied the airfield that was built in 1970 and relieved cargo traffic congestion at the Opa-Locka Airport.
The land in question is a 416-acre county-owned property located outside the development boundary but a half-mile from the Miramar residential area in neighboring Broward County, which could spark a lawsuit.
The proposal has already sparked criticism from Miramar residents and Mayor Wayne Messam, who, during a public address, said he had not been consulted by Miami-Dade County and warned that he would oppose the construction of the waste processing plant.
“Miramar does not want to be in a confrontational position, but since we were not listened to before the recommendations were made, we have no other option,” said Mayor Messam.
“As we watch the adoption of resolutions, we respectfully urge the (Miami-Dade) Commission not to build a mass burning facility in our backyard,” he said.
When?
Miami-Dade does not expect construction of the new plant to begin until 2027, given the delays caused by obtaining permits from the state of Florida and the federal government, and projects it would come online in 2033, 10 years after the Covanta fire in Doral.
Meanwhile, the county authority must find the money: 1.5 billion dollars that, in principle, the new plant would cost, in addition to the funds it seeks to replace the network of septic tanks, the sewage drainage and the long-awaited expansion of public transport, among a thousand other things.
Meantime
The Miami-Dade County government is looking for ways to process waste in the most economical way possible.
Today, much of what is not processed in Doral is sent to a landfill near West Palm Beach, which means a trip of at least two hours.
Meanwhile, despite the fire and the many other challenges, Miami-Dade is working with Covanta to “address the cleanup costs related to the damage caused” by the fire, according to the report sent to this newsroom.
“Covanta continues to operate the tire processing facility and we expect to discontinue these operations in the coming months and begin shipping tires for processing to a local county supplier,” the report said.
“We have approved four projects to be overseen by Covanta,” the report said, “including chemical removal and remediation of storage tanks, completion of an asbestos abatement study, structural cleanup of the bottom ash system, and development of a cost estimate for demolition of the plant.”
