ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION AND UTILITY SERVICE FEE

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

The document is a legislative item for an ordinance relating to environmental remediation and utility service fee. It amends Section 24-34 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, to establish a loan program for environmental remediation that meets existing requirements of Section 24-34, without changing said requirements. The ordinance creates requirements, parameters, and procedures for the loan program. The ordinance was introduced on 6/2/2026, and adopted on first reading on 7/21/2026, with a public hearing scheduled before the Infrastructure, Innovation & Technology Committee on 9/10/2026. The prime sponsor is Raquel A. Regalado. The file number is 261035. The ordinance establishes a loan program using utility service fee monies for environmental remediation of certain properties for drinking water supply protection. Eligible properties must be currently owned by the County in fee-simple, including those with long-term leases, or formerly owned by the County as of January 1, 2025. The property to be remediated must be 10 acres in size or greater. Eligible applicants include any County department or agency, any tenant on a County-owned property, any fee-simple owner of Former County Properties, and any tenant on a Former County Property. Loans to non-County entities are to be repaid from the sixth year of the loan closing in annual installments of one percent of the principal, with the balance due not more than 35 years from the date of the loan closing, subject to zero percent interest, and secured by a second priority lien and mortgage. Loans to County departments are to be repaid within not more than 35 years, not subject to any interest assessment, and set forth in an interdepartmental memorandum. The County Mayor or designee shall confirm the amount of money in the Utility Service Fee Fund as of September 30, 2026, with at least 20 percent of the Fund Balance remaining unavailable for the Loan Fund. The ordinance states it does not expand the categories of eligible uses of utility service fee monies. No public comment or stakeholder sentiment is stated in the document.