HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Item Summary FormAGENDA ITEM SUMMARY FORM
File ID: #11005
Date: 10/29/2021
Commission Meeting Date: 10/28/2021
Type:
Subject:
Resolution
Silt Plumes on Biscayne Bay
Budget Impact Analysis
Item has NOT an Expenditure
Total Fiscal Impact:
City Commission
Legislative Division
Office of Management and Budget
Office of the City Attorney
Office of the City Attorney
Office of the City Clerk
Maricarmen Lopez
Valentin J Alvarez
Marie Gouin
Barnaby L. Min
Victoria Mendez
City Clerk's Office
Requesting Department: City Commission
Sponsored By:
District Impacted: All
Reviewed B
Meeting
Legislative Division Review
Budget Review
Deputy Attorney Review
Approved Form and Correctness
Rendered
Completed
Completed
Completed
Completed
Completed
Completed
10/28/2021 9:00 AM
10/29/2021 11:35 AM
10/29/2021 3:04 PM
11/04/2021 8:55 AM
11/04/2021 1:37 PM
11/08/2021 8:25 PM
City of Miami
Legislation
Resolution
Enactment Number: R-21-0456
City Hall
3500 Pan American Drive
Miami, FL 33133
www.miamigov.com
File Number: 11005 Final Action Date:10/28/2021
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION URGING THE MIAMI-DADE
COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT,
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, AND THE UNITED
STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY TO TAKE ANY AND ALL
ACTIONS TO ENSURE THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION'S
("FDOT") FULL COMPLIANCE WITH THE CLEAN WATER ACT REGARDING FDOT'S
ROADWAY CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF MIAMI
(COLLECTIVELY, "PROJECT"); FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY ATTORNEY TO
TAKE ANY AND ALL ACTIONS NECESSARY, IN LAW OR EQUITY, REGARDING
THE REPEATED DISCHARGE OF SILT PLUMES INTO THE MIAMI RIVER AND
BISCAYNE BAY RESULTING FROM FDOT'S PROJECTS; DIRECTING THE CITY
CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE OFFICIALS NAMED
HEREIN.
WHEREAS, in or around 2020, the Florida Department of Transportation ("FDOT")
commenced various bridge and roadwork projects within the City of Miami ("City"), including but
not limited to, the Southwest 1st Street Bascule bridge ("1st Street"), Interstate 95 ("1-95"), and
the Interstate 395 ("1-395") extension toward Biscayne Bay (collectively, "Projects"); and
WHEREAS, FDOT engaged Archer Western Contractors, LLC and The de Moya Group,
Inc. for the 1-95 and 1-395 projects, and GLF Construction Corporation for the 1st Street project
as the construction contractors for the Projects (collectively, "Contractors"); and
WHEREAS, FDOT and its Contractors are in control and possession of all construction
sites related to the Projects and have repeatedly failed to implement erosion control measures
resulting in the continuous discharge of sediment from the Projects into the City's Waters and
Stormwater Management System ("System") and ultimately Biscayne Bay; and
WHEREAS, the large amounts of dust, dirt, and other particles discharged from the
Projects controlled by FDOT and its Contractors violates the National Pollution Discharge
Elimination System ("NPDES") program established in Florida by the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection ("DEP") pursuant to Section 403.0885, Florida Statutes, and locally
implemented in Section 22.5-121-28 of the Code of the City of Miami, Florida, as amended
("City Code"); and
WHEREAS, the City has issued numerous violations to FDOT and its Contractors
pursuant to Section 22.5-128 of the City Code for their repeated failures to implement erosion
control measures and, to date, FDOT and its Contractors have failed to take steps to bring their
construction practices and run-off discharge controls into compliance with NPDES and the City
Code; and
WHEREAS, the condition of the construction sites for the Projects continues to
deteriorate, resulting in continuous sediment draining into the City's System, flooding apartment
complexes and parking lots, and resulting in continuous discharge of silt plumes into Biscayne
Bay having devastating impacts on the environment and marine life; and
WHEREAS, the current ongoing conditions of the construction sites for the Projects and
the ongoing discharge of sediment into Biscayne Bay poses an immediate threat to the health,
safety, and welfare of the public and the City's marine ecosystem; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission finds that it is in the best interest of the City's
residents, business owners, and property owners to urge the Miami -Dade County ("County")
Department of Environmental Resource Management ("DERM"), DEP, and the United States
Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") to taky any and all actions necessary to ensure full
compliance with the Clean Water Act ("Act"); and
WHEREAS, the City Commission finds that it is in the best interest of the City's
residents, business owners, and property owners to authorize the City Attorney to take any and
all actions necessary to ensure all construction sites controlled by FDOT and Contractors
related to the Projects implement adequate erosion control measures to prevent the continuous
discharge of sediment into the City's System, including the Miami River and Biscayne Bay; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with Section 2-33(f) of the City Code, the City Commission,
by a majority vote, hereby deems this Resolution to be of an emergency nature;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI, FLORIDA:
Section 1. The recitals and findings contained in the Preamble to this Resolution are
adopted by reference and incorporated as fully set forth in this Section.
Section 2. The City Commission urges DERM, DEP, and EPA to take any and all
actions necessary to ensure full compliance with the Act.
Section 3. The City Commission authorizes the City Attorney to take any and all
actions necessary, in law or equity, regarding the discharge of silt plumes by FDOT and its
Contractors from the construction sites related to the Projects.
Section 4. The City Clerk is directed to forward a copy of this Resolution to County
Mayor Danielle Levine Cava, County Director of DERM Lee Hefty, DEP Secretary Shawn
Hamilton, and EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan.
Section 5. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS:
ndez, City Attor
ey 11/4/2021