EMERGENCY GENERATORS INSTEAD OF EQCB

Board of County Commissioners · 2026-07-21 · ordinance

Ordinance amending Miami-Dade County Code sections 24-5, 24-18, and 24-43 to allow administrative approval of emergency generators for healthcare facilities and food stores within wellfield protection areas, subject to conditions, instead of requiring a public hearing before the Environmental Quality Control Board (EQCB). The ordinance was adopted on first reading on 7/21/2026 and set for a public hearing before the Recreation, Tourism, and Resiliency Committee on 9/9/2026. The scope is countywide. No specific project site, address, parcel, acreage, or applicant is stated. The ordinance is sponsored by Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez. The case/file number is 261214. The ordinance revises the definition of health care facilities, adds facilities with emergency generators within a wellfield protection area to the list requiring an operating permit, and allows fuels for emergency generators for health care facilities or food stores (required to maintain alternate power per section 8B-17) within the basic wellfield protection area, provided conditions are met, including: property served by utility water and sanitary sewers; located more than 30 days travel time from any utility potable water supply well; not within the Northwest Wellfield protection area or West Wellfield Interim protection area; located within the Urban Development Boundary; fuels contained in an above-ground storage facility approved per section 24-15(5) with double-walled tanks and double-walled piping; for food stores, fuel not exceeding 1,500 gallons per facility; for health care facilities, fuel volume not exceeding that required by regulations; a groundwater monitoring plan approved by the Director for tanks exposed to the environment; and an operating permit per section 24-18. The staff recommendation is approval. The ordinance is expected to have no negative fiscal impact. A review of EQCB cases from 2020 to 2025 indicated approximately eight variances were granted related to emergency generators for healthcare facilities within wellfield protection areas. The ordinance is part of efforts to streamline regulations and reduce permitting timeframes.