The fate of a controversial new incinerator in Miami-Dade will be up for discussion during Wednesday’s commission meeting.
It’s been a hot topic in the county after multiple delays in voting on where to build it.
Mayors of cities in, and near, the proposed sites are voicing their concerns.
Doral Mayor Christi Fraga took to social media on Tuesday to urge residents to show up at the meeting to voice their opposition to a new incinerator being built in their city. During the last meeting on the topic, the City of Miramar bussed in residents to protest the proposed site in Opa-locka.
Here’s where the decision stands
Back in February, the commission voted to defer the vote until July 16, but it’s unclear if that vote will happen, though it’s still on the agenda for discussion.
The county’s incinerator in Doral burned down in 2023 and since then there has been a heated discussion over what to do with the county’s trash.
The proposed sites include the former Opa-locka West Airport, Okeechobee Road between NW 178 Street and NW 182 Street, the previous Doral location and a location in Medley.
Fraga has urged commissioners to keep the incinerator out of Doral because residents have already endured decades of health and environmental concerns.
Miramar officials said there are nine schools within three miles of the proposed Opa-locka site and they’re concerned about health issues. Mayor Wayne Messam said his residents won’t be the only ones impacted if it’s built there.
“Pembroke Pines will be impacted, Southwest Ranches will be impacted, Weston will be impacted. If you’re west of I-75, you’re going to be impacted. It’s probably over 200,000 to 300,000 Broward county residents that would be within limits of the impacts of this facility,” he said.
Earlier this year, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava reversed her decision on a new incinerator. She’s now advocating for a new landfill.
“I am recommending that we continue to long haul waste via truck and rail using our contracted capacity while we continue exploring options to build a landfill outside of Miami-Dade county,” she wrote in a memo released in late January.
