Doral accuses Miami-Dade of acting in ‘bad faith’ in garbage incinerator negotiations

When Miami-Dade County’s garbage incinerator burned in February 2023 at its site within Doral city limits, Doral saw an opportunity to push for the facility’s relocation. As the county now prepares to make a decision about where to rebuild the waste plant — which could include keeping it at the same location — Doral is considering triggering a legal dispute that would compel the county into formal negotiations.

Up until now, the county has been in discussions with city leaders about what concessions Doral would be willing to make for the county to move the incinerator to another location. Assuming that property values in the area would rise if the facility were to be moved, Miami-Dade has asked that Doral contribute a portion of the increased tax revenue. The incinerator is estimated to cost $1.5 billion , for a facility that would be capable of processing 4,000 tons of waste per day, converting it into electricity and alternative fuels.

Doral’s City Council had already offered a long-term tax contribution of at least $20 million and was prepared to make a 30-year commitment to fund the relocation. But at a Miami-Dade County Commission meeting Sept. 17, County Commissioner Eileen Higgins pushed for more. “Moving this out of Doral is going to cost money. Without a contribution from Doral, garbage prices are going to go up for every single person in the county, and that’s a dealbreaker for me,” she said, suggesting the city ask its voters to weigh in on a general obligation bond.

Higgins also stated that Doral needs to present a clear plan for covering the costs associated with the facility’s relocation. “This includes the incremental capital cost, estimated at $125 million, plus an additional $50 million for a transfer station, which we currently don’t need,” she said. “Put a little inflation there, it’s about $200 million in capital, and for the transfer station, it’s about $12 million per year.”

Following that statement, Doral’s deputy city attorney, Lorenzo Cobiella, recommended that the city file a government dispute under a section of the Florida Statutes. During a town hall meeting called by Doral Mayor Christi Fraga on Wednesday night, Cobiella condemned the County Commission’s request for Doral to contribute $400 million — nearly four times the city’s annual budget — as “criminal.”

Cobiella explained that invoking Chapter 164 would force both administrations to meet with a mediator within 30 days, to be followed by a joint session of the City Council and County Commission 60 days later. Cobiella said the dispute would help to work out a compromise with the county, which in his view has been acting in “bad faith.”

Natalia Jaramillo, the communications director for Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, declined to comment on the matter, saying the county hadn’t received any formal information regarding the dispute as of Friday afternoon.

Cobiella told el Nuevo Herald that on Friday night, the legal and administrative teams from both the city of Doral and Miami-Dade County met to explore options for renegotiating the relocation of the incinerator, which has been in Doral since the 1980s.

Fraga said the county cannot force the city into an agreement, especially with three Doral council seats up for election on Nov. 5 before the county revisits the topic. The county postponed any decision until the Nov. 6 commission meeting, where four options will be considered, including keeping the incinerator at its current location. The county is also considering a location in Medley and another at the site of the defunct Opa-locka Airport West, which has been recommended by Levine Cava. A fourth option, supported by former Doral mayor and current County Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez, involves a piece of land being offered by developer David Martin in a rural area outside of Hialeah Gardens on the western edge of the county.

If mediation fails, Doral could file a lawsuit against the county, Fraga said.

A special Doral City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday at 5 p.m. to present the proposal. Approval requires three out of five votes from a council that’s been recently deadlocked. On the same day, a rescheduled second budget hearing will take place after the previous meeting ended without an agreement .

Councilwoman Maureen Porras, who is the swing vote, told el Nuevo Herald that although she hasn’t seen a written copy of the dispute proposal, “any proposal that benefits the city and helps to remove the incinerator will have my support.”

Residents of Doral fear the rebuilding of waste plant in the city

Two of the residents attending the town hall, who live about a mile from the waste plant, were seeking answers about potential health risks to their families posed by the trash incinerator.

Ran Ghive Acurero, a 38-year-old of Venezuelan origin, has lived a mile from the waste facility in Doral for 10 years in a home where his two children were born and raised. Now, he is considering moving if the county decides to build the new plant at the site.

The possibility of keeping the waste plant in Doral brought back memories for Acurero of the fear he and his wife experienced when the facility burned for days in February 2023 . “We had to leave for a week with our children; my son was just turning 1 at the time. We measured the gases, and they were toxic. We developed respiratory issues, and my son had asthma,” he recalled.

Acurero criticized Miami-Dade’s focus on finances over the health concerns of Doral residents, saying, “They’re only interested in how much Doral can contribute, but they don’t care about the impact on our health if the city can’t meet their expectations.”

Josep Correia, 39, has also lived near the waste facility for over 10 years. The day the fire started, he said he was riding bikes with his wife, breathing the toxic air without knowing the impact it might have for their health. Now, he is fighting against a possible reconstruction within city limits. Correia was at the County Commission meeting on Sept. 17 with other Doral residents and said Miami-Dade’s demand felt like “a slap in the face.”

“I saw how they betrayed Doral’s residents. How can they ask us to pay $400 million? That’s four times our budget!” Correia said.

Correia said he views filing a dispute against Miami-Dade as a last resort, but “we have no other option.”

“Whether they build a transfer station here or rebuild the incinerator, Doral’s residents will be the ones most affected,” he said.

It is not the first time the city has invoked a government dispute. In 2006, Doral filed one against Medley when the neighbor city decided on an expansion of the landfill owned and operated by Waste Management of Florida. The two cities came to an agreement more than 14 years later.