Miami-Dade firefighters work to extinguish the fire at the Covanta incinerator plant in Doral on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023. The fire continued to burn on Wednesday. PHOTO COURTESY OF MIAMI-DADE FIRE RESCUE

 

By David L. Snelling

Miami – A proposed Florida bill which would ban incinerators a half mile from residential neighborhoods, schools and commercial areas could alter Miami-Dade County plans to build a new waste to-energy plant in Doral and other sites.

State Sen. Bryan Avila (R-Hialeah Gardens) sponsored SB 1008 which would prohibit local governments from building incinerator plants at least 2,640 feet from any residential and commercial properties and learning institutions.

The bill is a setback for Miami-Dade County which is eyeing several locations for building a $1.6 billion incinerator to burn 4,000 tons of trash per day since the plant in Doral was destroyed by a fire in 2023.

The sites include Doral, the now defunct Opa-locka Airport West which is less than a mile away from Miramar and slightly outside the Urban Development Boundary which protects the Everglades from development and urban sprawl, Medley and a tree farm west of Okeechobee Road.

Doral leaders and residents opposed rebuilding the plant in their city and Miramar leaders and residents protested the county’s proposal for an incinerator at the old airport site, fearing it may cause health issues.

When discussing his bill during the legislative session, Alvia described Doral residents’ ordeal when the incinerator caught fire and smoke filled the skies for days.

He said they couldn’t go outside because the smoke was unbearable and may have caused some health issues.

“I don’t live within a half mile of one of these facilities, but I know a lot of residents that do, and they tend to be not very well off, and they tend to not have many options as it relates to housing,” he said during a hearing.

The bill comes on the heels of Doral’s opposition to another incinerator in the city and even dragged President Trump’s family into the fray.

The site is near Trump Doral National Resort and the Trump Organization’s 1,500 condo unit project set to go up this year.

The bill’s critics most likely will ask Republican Gov. Ron to veto the legislation which could pit the governor against Trump.

Trump and DeSantis have been at odds since the president’s endorsement of Florida gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Bryon Donalds for governor over his wife.

Though she hasn’t officially entered the 2026 race, DeSantis has been touting her name as a potential candidate to replace him since he’s term-limited next year.

Miami-Dade also has the option of using landfills at two sites in the county and Central Florida, using trucks and rails to haul tons of solid waste.

County officials have been delaying a decision on how to handle solid waste issue since 2023, the latest one in February.

County leaders said they needed 120 days to decide whether to utilize incineration or landfilling.

A decision is expected in June.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert didn’t respond to an interview request about Avila’s bill.

A spokesperson for County Commissioner Keon Hardemon told the South Florida Times the commissioner doesn’t comment on the issue since the incinerator is not his district.

Hardemon challenged the Trump family at the meeting in February, saying he wasn’t afraid of the “big bad wolf” if the county decides on rebuilding the incinerator in Doral. “I believe an incinerator is part of the health discussion,” he said last month when commissioners postponed the vote. “We haven’t seen landfills to be the gold standard anywhere. Some communities have landfills, but it doesn’t mean it will work in Miami-Dade County.”

According to Florida Politics, Miami-Dade County Assistant Attorney Jess McCarty told state lawmakers the county opposes SB 1008 the way the language is written.

McCarty said all the sites county officials were considering for an incinerator would be impacted by the new law.

“The way the bill reads currently, all five sites currently under consideration for a new facility in Miami-Dade would be ineligible under the bill,” he said.

The Sierra Club, one of the largest environmental organizations in the U.S., protested against incineration during the county meetings.

They call the incinerator a red herring solution for the environment, and say the energy it takes to burn trash, and the ash leftover, is not zero waste.

“We are pitting communities against communities. Nobody wants it. We all share the same air,” said Noel Cleland, the regional chair of the Sierra Club. “We have a global issue with greenhouse gases, and this is adding to it.

Miramar, whose city leaders and residents turned out to every Miami-Dade Commission meeting to protest a plant at the old airport site, praised the bill.

“Miramar has a bill to prevent an incinerator from being built,” Mayor Wayne M. Messam said on social media. “All hands are on deck to push for passage. No incinerator.”