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 is countywide in scope. It 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 ordinance revises the definition of health care facilities, adds facilities with emergency generators within a wellfield protection area to the list of facilities 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, within the Urban Development Boundary, fuels contained in an above-ground storage facility approved per section 24-15(5) with double-walled tanks and piping, food stores fuel not exceeding 1,500 gallons per facility, health care facilities fuel volume not exceeding that required to comply with emergency power supply system requirements, a groundwater monitoring plan approved by the Director for tanks exposed to the environment, and an operating permit obtained per section 24-18. The staff recommendation is approval. The ordinance was sponsored by Juan Carlos Bermudez. No public comment sentiment is stated in the document.