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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSubstitution Memo from City AttorneyCITY OF MIAMI OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY MEMORANDUM TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission FROM: Victoria Mendez, City Attorne,1,z DATE: September 17, 2020 RE: September 24, 2020 Virtual Commission Meeting Agenda — Substitution of RE.7 - Funding for elimination of Septic Systems File No. 7906 Item RE.7 on the September 24, 2020 City Commission Agenda urges the United States Congress and the Florida Legislature to provide funding to assist local governments with the elimination of septic systems and conversion to sewer system connections. The item is being substituted to reflect additional language highlighting the approximately 2,000 properties in the City of Miami without access to a sanitary sewer connection along with an Exhibit as requested by the Sponsor. cc. Arthur Noriega V, City Manager Miriam Santana, Agenda Coordinator VM/BLM/DJG A y ry'sQ 7c7p Sub$1+uion Mio thwjffo 6-1-1/ City of Miami Legislation Resolution: City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 www.miamigov.com File Number: 7906 Final Action Date: A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS AND THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO PROVIDE FUNDING TO ASSIST LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WITH THE ELIMINATION OF SEPTIC SYSTEMS AND CONVERSION TO SEWER SYSTEM CONNECTIONS; DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO INCLUDE THIS REQUEST AMONG THE CITY OF MIAMI'S FEDERAL AithIDo STATE LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES IN 2020 AND 2021 AND DIRECTINGITFIE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THO�AID OFFICIALS LISTED HEREIN; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. .44 SPONSOR(S): Commissioner Manolo Reyes 31- r" ,.o < WHEREAS, the City of Miami ("City") is the largest and oldest municipality in I9Ani-N Dade County and is the second largest city in the State of Florida; and WHEREAS, septic systems are on -site sewage treatment and disposal systems that treat wastewater from individual properties; and WHEREAS, historically, many septic tanks were installed due to a lack of a centralized sewer systems available to service individual properties; and WHEREAS, older regulations only required one (1) foot of soil under the septic tank to allow for the filtration of liquid waste to the underlying aquifer; and WHEREAS, although current regulations in Miami -Dade County ("County") require two (2) feet of soil, that depth is often inadequate to allow for proper filtration without affecting nearby water quality; and WHEREAS, exacerbating this problem is that regulations and traditional engineering standards were historically premised on the fact that groundwater elevation would remain stable over long periods of time; and WHEREAS, this premise has proven to be incorrect due to sea level rise, which is degrading any protection of the septic systems in the City and County; and WHEREAS, sea level rise, heavy rains, and king tides are negatively impacting many low-lying septic tank systems and can push feces ridden water into the Biscayne Aquifer and into the water supply thereby exacerbating an environmental and health concern as recently evidenced with the large-scale fish kill in Biscayne Bay; and WHEREAS, this seepage poses a threat to the public health, safety, and general welfare of the residents of the City and County; and City of Miami Page 1 of 3 File ID: 7906 (Revision:) Printed On: 9/16/2020 File ID: 7906 Enactment Number: WHEREAS, of the approximately 108,000 properties within the County that use septic tanks, 105,000 of those are residential properties with more than 65,000 properties lying within the unincorporated areas of the County and the remainder in municipalities; and WHEREAS, according to the Miami -Dade Water and Sewer Department ("WASD"), there are approximately 2,000 properties in the City without access to the sanitary sewer system, with those properties depicted in teal in the map attached and incorporated as Exhibit "A"; and o -q N WHEREAS, sea level rise poses a concern for septic systems because it acc Afiteg water table rise, diminishes treatment capacity for drain fields, and results in elevated4telsq ground water pollution; and 'a_ ; in piti WHEREAS, legislative notice is taken of the November 2018 Report ("County paortaipresented to the Miami -Dade County Board of County Commissioners by the County'_ Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, WASD, and the State of Florida's `StAt") Department of Health which found that approximately half the septic tanks in the Countyereg down each year which is expected to increase to 64% by 2040; and WHEREAS, the best way to address long term risks with rising groundwater levels is to extend sewer connections to new and existing structures and prohibit or sharply reduce approvals for new septic systems in the County and in other vulnerable areas of the State; and WHEREAS, the County Report estimated that the cost to connect the remaining residential areas that do not have County or City water and/or sewer service that are within a certain proximity of wastewater infrastructure to the regional wastewater system would be approximately $3.3 billion; and WHEREAS, although the County may require property owners to connect to the sewer system at the property owner's expense, such cost may be prohibitive, especially for residential properties; and WHEREAS, the elimination of septic systems and conversion to sewer system connections is not just a local issue but is a Federal and State level concern touching on public health and water quality issues; and WHEREAS, legislative notice is taken of County Resolution Nos. R-1160-19 adopted on October 29, 2019 and R-881-20 adopted on August 31, 2020 urging the Florida Legislature to assist the County and affected cities within the County in eliminating the septic systems and replacing them with sewer system connections and to identify this issue as a federal and state legislative funding priority; and WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature included twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000.00) in funding for water quality improvement projects including septic to sewer grants and septic to sewer conversions; and WHEREAS, notwithstanding the Florida Legislature's action, this funding was vetoed and is still needed to address these serious and worsening conditions relative to septic systems; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: City of Miami Page 2 of 3 File ID: 7906 (Revision:) Printed on: 9/16/2020 Fife ID: 7906 Enactment Number: Section 1. The recitals and finding contained in the Preamble to this Resolution are adopted by reference and incorporated as if fully set forth in this Section. Section 2. The City Commission urges the United States Congress and the Florida Legislature to provide funding to assist local governments with the elimination of septic systems and conversion to sewer system connections. Section 3. The City Manager is directed to include this request among the City's Federal and State legislative priorities in 2020 and 2021. Section 4. The City Clerk is directed to submit a certified copy of this Resolution to the County Mayor, Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners, President of the United States, the Florida Congressional Delegation, the Governor of the State of Florida, United States Senate President, House Speaker of the State, and the members of the Miami -Dade County Legislative Delegation. Section 5. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS: 91 :ZI Wd L 1 d3S OZOZ rri " ' City of Miami Page 3 of 3 File ID: 7906 (Revision:) Printed on: 9/16/2020 1 1 -sw-8 h-S - , A sw-Etth-St 4 t SW 88thSt em. cDi A 7 Fti Nwir7,9th „ . NVV 36th St • ‘77 • rsv44,74hrSt— • REM VE0 MO SEP I 7 PH 12: 47 OF DIE CITY CLEM r OF141Atil ti '),) - ,<, 9 '