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. The ordinance is countywide in scope. It was adopted on first reading on 7/21/2026 and forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners with a favorable recommendation following a public hearing on 9/9/2026. The ordinance is pending before the Board, with an agenda date of 10/6/2026. No specific project site, address, parcel, acreage, or applicant is stated. 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 an alternate power source under section 8B-17, subject to conditions 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, within the Urban Development Boundary, fuels contained in an approved above-ground storage facility with double-walled tanks and piping, fuel volume limits (1,500 gallons for food stores, volume required for compliance for health care facilities), a groundwater monitoring plan for exposed tanks, and an operating permit. The ordinance is sponsored by Juan Carlos Bermudez. The legislative history notes a report by CA Bonzon-Keenan and the ordinance was read into the record. The staff recommendation from the Mayor's office is to approve. The fiscal impact is stated as no negative fiscal impact to the County. The document states that a review of EQCB cases from 2020 to 2025 indicated approximately eight variances were granted related to the placement of emergency generators for healthcare facilities within wellfield protection areas. No public comment or stakeholder sentiment is stated in the document.