Here is an example of a mind full of holes (mine) but I do have the kernel of the story and fans of Natacha Seijas: She is involved. I remember enough to know this story smells (not just of sewage).Mayor watch yourself on fighting wastewater. You are being thrown to the dogs. You should not have come out against the DEP on cleaning up the water being pumped into the ocean. The DEP is right, and the County has been dragging its feet. Get your facts first from reliable sources. Not whomever you are talking to now.
There was a 1/17/01 Memo of Understanding between the Department of Environmental Protection and Miami Dade County, it is 387 pages long and it is on Wastewater. there also was a 2003 Consent Decree (see Comment Section) Natacha represented the County side on this Consent Decree. She browbeat the head of Water & Sewer, Bill Brandt, in my presence during the drafting phase. Now, I haven't time to read this 387 page document but the Mayor's staff should. The wastewater problem has been a big thorn in Natacha's side for a very long time and the blood letting was the firing of Brandt (to protect her).
After taking a quick look at the MOU I found, that the DEP 2003 Consent Decree covered injection wells. The County promised to stop injecting partially treated waste underground because it had been found to be moving upward towards our drinking water. The County was suppose to build a plant in a certain time period. That hasn't been done and the time period is fast approaching. And guess what happened, the 2003 consent order was rendered complete without ONE WORD TO THE PUBLIC for comments.
My advice to the Mayor: You had better call in Bill Brandt and talk to him TO GET THE REAL STORY. Because Mr. Mayor you are now getting Natacha laced bullshit from staff. Mr. Mayor you are defending Natacha's position without knowing it and she is laughing. She has been a thorn in the waste water debacle since like: Forever! And, while you are at it, Mayor Alvarez, call in Angela Gittens and get the REAL STORY on the airport. Don't be a putz, do some meaningful research before you go out front on an issue. This is the one MOU I found: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/legal/Operating_Agreement/agreements/dade/dade_1_17_01.pdf and WASD feel good report:http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:RhzfoQ5l5RsJ:www.miamidade.gov/wasd/library/WASD_AnnRpt2004_into.pdf+Injection+wells+Miami+MOU+%22department+of+environmental+protection%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us and finally: https://www.commentmgr.com/projects/1148/docs/MeekerPlan.pdf
5 comments:
I had high expectations of Mayor Alvarez' performance once he won the strong mayor referendum. To my disappointment the fact that he kept in place the same county manager (Burgess)gives the impression that he wants to maintain the status quo in M-D County. Or could it be laziness or lack of initiative? You be the judge.
Injection Wells (from a Mayor Letter)
Consent Order
The Consent Order governing the use of
deep injection wells for effluent disposal
entered into between the Miami-Dade
Water & Sewer Department and the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection
(FDEP) in FY03 has been closed. In its
place, the Department and the FDEP
have entered into a new agreement that
will address concerns of fluid movement
in injection wells at the Department’s
South DistrictWastewaterTreatment Plant.
The new Consent Order became effective
April 29, 2004.
Under the new order, the Department
will be required to meet a variety of
stipulations; among them, upgrading the
treatment process to implement Florida’s
High Level Disinfection (HRD) standards or
an equivalent process, conducting a pilot
project to demonstrate the equivalency of
various methods of pathogen reduction
to HRD, constructing treatment facilities
based on the results of that pilot project,
and conducting a groundwater study.
The Department completed, on or ahead
of schedule, 62 milestones associated with
this Consent Order.
Consent Decrees and
Settlement Agreements
The Miami-Dade Water and Sewer
Department has successfully completed
91 percent of the mandated improvements
under its Consent Decrees and Settlement
Agreements (CD/SA) program with the
United States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and the Florida Department
of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
The Department continues to be in
compliance with all the provisions of the
CD/SA and through FY04 has not incurred
anypenaltiesfornotcompletingtaskswithin
deadlines. More than 1,422 milestones
have been satisfactorily completed as
prescribed by these enforcement actions
on, or ahead of, schedule.
I am deeply disappointed in the Mayor's position against the rapid development of reuse facilities.The water issue may be the most critical issue for Miami-Dade County. Water and sewer has been the most mismanaged of all services. Even greater than affordable housing. For the Mayor to try to continue the old policies on reuse, water supply, and waste disposal shows he is sadly uneducated on the problems associated with these areas.
Especially since Natacha Seijas is responsible for creating all the policies....we have been implementing her policies for years....
I think the Mayor himself is very limited, and he does not have talented people around him. Burgess is still there because he is unable to manage the County himself, and is unwilling to reach out for new help.
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