No discussion on controversial incinerator project until May. Here’s the latest
After confusion over whether a long-awaited incinerator proposal would be discussed at Tuesday’s Miami-Dade commission meeting, commissioners are now preparing to hear from the consortium seeking to build the facility in May.
The issue is especially important to residents in Miramar and Pembroke Pines: Both proposals for a new site are near the Broward County line in southwest Miami-Dade, downwind from both cities, which have opposed the plans.
Miami-Dade is considering two primary sites near the Everglades for a new waste-to-energy incinerator, following a 2023 plant fire.
A proposal from Florida Power & Light (FPL) is located near U.S. 27 and NW 178th Street, while another proposed location, from FCC Environmental, lies near Okeechobee Road and NW 137th Avenue.
Both sites face environmental backlash over potential impact on the Florida Everglades.
In a statement, FPL said it is continuing to work with FCC Environmental Services to develop a plan that meets the county’s needs, adding that an update is expected in May.
County leaders have received a financial model, which will now be reviewed by outside advisors. Still, until a site is selected and a full proposal is presented, one of the region’s most-expensive and controversial infrastructure projects remains in limbo.
According to county staff, the proposal submitted lacked critical information — most notably, a confirmed site for the facility and associated land costs.
“There was no property selected, no property cost,” Roy Coley, the county’s chief utilities and regulatory services officer, told commissioners, who had to explain to the gallery why the topic was not on the agenda. “I don’t know how we move forward until we select a property.”
The delay is the latest setback in what has become a yearslong and often contentious effort to replace the aging waste-to-energy plant. Officials had hoped the April 21 meeting would include a proposed location and a clearer financial framework for the roughly $2 billion project.
Outside the meeting, protesters once again voiced strong opposition to any new incinerator, particularly near environmentally sensitive areas such as the Everglades.
The project has faced pushback, with residents and environmental advocates raising concerns about air quality, public health and potential environmental impacts. Each proposed site has drawn resistance, complicating efforts to move forward.
Opposition from Miramar, led by Mayor Wayne M. Messam, appears to have persuaded the county to drop plans to build the incinerator at the old Opa-Locka Airport site, near the Miami-Dade-Broward line.
But Messam has said Miramar officials and residents must remain vigilant until Miami-Dade picks its site.
