Fight is on to keep new trash incinerator out of Doral ahead of vote

Residents and local leaders in Doral are hoping they can prevent Miami-Dade's next trash incinerator from being built on the site of the old one that burned down last year after the county's mayor came out in support of that proposal.

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is changing her initial choice on where the new Solid Waste Campus that houses the county’s trash should be located. On Friday, she announced that she believes the best location is for it to stay exactly where it was originally housed, in Doral.

“Our priority is to build a facility that is safe for people and the environment, can integrate seamlessly into the community and include our zero waste initiative, and does not create an undue burden for our rate payers. Following a final analysis of all available locations, the costs of relocating have proven to be extremely high, leading us to recommend the existing site in Doral as the location for a new Solid Waste Campus," Levine Cava said in a statement. "This has not been an easy decision and there is no perfect site for the Solid Waste Campus, but I am confident we are making the best decision we have at hand to protect our residents, our environment and our rate payers. Building a new Solid Waste Campus is a major step toward finding a sustainable long-term solution to our waste challenges while lowering emissions, reducing waste sent to landfills, and accelerating innovative zero waste technologies.”

However, residents and leaders of Doral are not pleased with the change ahead of next week’s vote by county commissioners on where to house the plant.

Odel Torres is the President of the Homeowners Association for the second-largest community in Doral called Landmark Doral. It is just a block away from where the county’s waste to energy plant is located in Doral.

Torres has found it difficult to accept Levine Cava's recommendation.

"Doral has been labeled the garbage, the Garbage City and it’s like the garbage belongs to Doral. But obviously it belongs to 13 other cities that utilize the service, plus the unincorporated areas, so why should we be the only ones?" Torres said.

In September, Levine Cava released a proposal that the site be built at the Opa Locka West Airport. It’s an option she’s stood by until changing course Friday.

Doral Mayor Christi Fraga said she’s ready to fight if the Doral location is voted on by commissioners.

"We will take every recourse necessary legally to protect our residents. So, we are ready to file a lawsuit and I do believe that it's going to be a challenge for them because Doral has grown so much," Fraga said.

In Cava’s statement, she mentioned cost as playing a factor in her proposal. The county claims that by not keeping the waste facility in Doral, it would cost an additional $800 million. That equates to an extra $42 a year per household for 20 years.

But it’s something some commissioners, like Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez, believe is worth the extra money.

"When you’re talking about a difference of $100 million in a $1.6 billion facility, you’re looking at a decision that will last 30, 40, 50 years for this county. It shouldn’t be just cost. It should be what’s the best decision in the long run," Bermudez said.

Residents like Torres are worried of how this will affect their community.

“The last year and a half since the plant broke down, we’ve been able to breathe clean air and people have been able to go outside. Do their barbecues and enjoy the outside weather like today. And now the feeling is just that we have to go back inside because we’re afraid that this plant will not solve the issue,” Torres said.

Residents like Cesar Abarca claim that the new facility, which is expected to be bigger than what is currently in use, if it stays in Doral, will be placed on the smallest of all the proposed sites.

Abarca believes it will mean more traffic, more trucks, and more garbage which will impact the image and value of his community. 

"Many of us bought a house here, put in all of our savings of our lives and in my thought, I think prices are going to go down," Abarca said.

There are four proposed sites on the table: one in Medley, one in Okeechobee, one at the Airport West facility and the one in Doral.

Next week, on Dec. 3^rd, the county commissioners are expected to place their vote on which location they prefer to house this new county waste site.

NBC6 reached out to all of the commissioners for comment on this issue. The Office of Commissioner Keon Hardemon said that they would “pass on the opportunity.”

NBC6 as of Monday afternoon did not hear back from any other commissioner.