Mayor Levine Cava scraps plans to build new Miami-Dade incinerator, memo reveals
MIAMI — After nearly two years of debate and protest, the building of a new Miami-Dade County waste-to-energy incinerator will not happen, according to an internal memo obtained by CBS News Miami.
The memo, signed by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, said that the county has decided to kill the idea of building a new incinerator entirely. Instead, she said the county should continue long-hauling waste.
"After careful consideration and much analysis, I am recommending that we continue to long haul waste via truck and rail using our contracted capacity while we continue exploring options to build a landfill outside of Miami-Dade County," Cava said.
Throughout the memo, Cava said that she and the county commissioners have learned there isn't an "easy solution" when it comes to waste management. As much as they recognize the urgency of managing the loss of the Doral incinerator that was destroyed in a February 2023 fire, Cava said that "any option we pursue does not recreate an undue burden to our ratepayers."
"I take my role as the steward of the public's tax dollars and of our natural resources very seriously, and at my direction, County staff has spent countless hours analyzing the financial and environmental costs and benefits to each of these options," she said.
Cava said despite the confidence that a new incinerator, which would be built to "stringent modern standards" by meeting the disposal needs while protecting both human health and the environment, the costs of building and maintaining the facility are "extremely high."
"Any site selected would likely generate legal and other challenges that would significantly extend the project timeline," she said. "This is decision also comes at a time of mounting pressure on our County's overall budget as we transition."
Building build-up
The memo comes a month after Miami-Dade County officials voted to postpone a decision on the incinerator's location. At the time, Cava said she supported deferring the decision, citing the need for additional time to explore other options beyond rebuilding the incinerator.
The deferment came as controversy swirled around President Trump's son Eric Trump in the decision. In November, Cava because of the costs, she believed the new facility should be built in Doral, where the previous incinerator burned down after catching fire about two years ago.
Aside from Doral, the county considered other locations, including the site of the former Opa-locka West Airport, a tree farm outside of Hialeah Gardens and a site in Medley.
The Trump Organization, which owns the Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami-Dade County, has lobbied county officials, including Doral Mayor Christi Fraga and District 12 Commissioner J.C. Bermudez, to relocate the incinerator. Fraga said at the time she contacted the Trump Organization to oppose rebuilding it at its current location.
Meanwhile, the Opa-locka West Airport site, which is near the Broward County line, drew opposition from the city of Miramar. Wayne Messam, the mayor of Miramar, opposed the airport site because it was about two miles away from his city.
Lowell Dunn II, the CEO of D3 Energy and the owner of the Medley site, expressed his support for bringing the incinerator to his property but was disappointed as the county leaned toward the Opa-locka West Airport site.
