Miami-Dade County proposes new WTE site, months after Covanta facility fire

Miami-Dade County has announced plans to open a new waste-to-energy (WTE) facility approximately five months after a fire left the former WTE plant in Doral, Florida, inoperable.

The report released by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava on Aug. 18 details plans to open a solid waste campus in Hialeah, Florida, about eight miles north of the original resource recovery facility (RRF). The proposed site would feature a WTE facility using mass burn technology as opposed to the refuse-derived fuel (RDF) combustion technology employed for more than 40 years by the RRF.

The Feb. 12 fire partially destroyed the Covanta Energy-operated facility and its equipment, originating inside the G gallery and spreading to four other buildings. Since then, waste has been diverted to the North Dade Landfill and South Dade Landfill; however, Cava notes this solution is not sustainable. The RRF processed more than one million tons of waste annually, and the landfills are expected to reach capacity by 2026 and 2030 respectively, with continued waste diversion from the fire accelerating these timelines.

Covanta proposed partially reopening the RRF until a new facility is built but was struck down by the county due to high operational and capital costs when compared with other Florida facilities.

The proposed location, referred to as Opa-Locka West Airport site, includes 416 acres of county-owned land outside of the urban development boundary (UDB) and sits a half mile away from a residential area in neighboring Broward County. Due to its location at the northwest corner of the county line, the department of solid waste (DSWM) proposes adding a transfer station at the previous RRF site to save waste haulers from having to make the longer drive, the report explains. The estimated construction schedule is nine years and three months.

Additional potential sites, including the original RRF facility location, are noted in the report, but due to environmental impact, an extensive permitting process and proximity to residential communities and Everglades National Park, these options are not workable.

Cava says that expediting the construction of the WTE facility is paramount to take advantage of up to $200 million in insurance proceeds from the fire. Miami-Dade County’s policy requires construction to begin within two years of the incident, which would be Feb. 12, 2025. Construction could begin as early as Jan. 1, 2025, as outlined by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which would grant the county tax credits that could fund as much as 30 percent of the project.

The report notes that a new WTE facility can only be developed alongside the establishment of waste diversion programs per the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state of Florida’s standards. A materials separation program, a plan that identifies both a goal and strategy to make more municipal solid waste available for recycling, is required for development by the county and may include drop-off facilities, buy-back programs, curbside pickup programs and centralized mechanical separation systems.

“We fully intend to meet and exceed these requirements in connection with rolling out an integrated solid waste management plan that includes existing diversion strategies and alternative technologies,” Cava writes in the report.

The alternative technologies, namely anaerobic digestion and biogasification, will be considered at the proposed solid waste campus to divert organic waste.

In addition to developing an updated WTE facility, the report indicates plans to vertically expand the North Dade Landfill from its current maximum permitted height of 135 feet. The proposed expansion could provide 30 more years of use and more than $400 million in anticipated revenues. The North Dade Landfill is a Class III landfill that only accepts yard waste and woody materials.

Aside from insurance revenue and tax credits, the county is considering implementing a $36 fee hike for trash collection to fund the project, NBC Miami reports. A Sept. 6 meeting has been called to review funding.