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, amending Section 24-34 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida. It establishes a loan program for environmental remediation that meets existing requirements of Section 24-34, without changing said requirements, and creates requirements, parameters, and procedures for said loan program. The ordinance was adopted on first reading on 7/21/2026 and set for a public hearing before the Infrastructure, Innovation & Technology Committee on 9/10/2026. 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 long-term leases) or no longer owned by the County but previously owned by the County in fee-simple 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 repaid from the sixth year of the loan closing in annual installments of one percent of the principal loan amount, with the balance due not more than 35 years from the date of the loan closing, subject to zero percent interest, secured by a second priority lien and a mortgage on Former County Properties, and subject to prior approval of the Board of County Commissioners. Loans to County departments for properties owned in fee-simple by the County are subject to approval of the Board, repaid within not more than 35 years from the date of the loan, not subject to any interest assessment, and set forth in an interdepartmental memorandum. The County Mayor or Mayor's designee shall confirm the amount of money in the Utility Service Fee Fund as of September 30, 2026, and at least 20 percent of the Fund Balance shall remain in the Utility Service Fee Fund and be unavailable for the Loan Fund. Beginning in fiscal year 2026-2027, all legally available, unencumbered utility service fee monies collected and retained by the County in each fiscal year, provided that at least 20 percent of the Annual Collection must remain in the Utility Service Fee Fund and be unavailable for the Loan Fund. The loan program is a discretionary program, and no property owner or individual desiring to participate shall be deemed to have a right to request or obtain any such loan from the Loan Fund. The ordinance shall become effective ten (10) days after the date of enactment unless vetoed by the Mayor, and if vetoed, shall become effective only upon an override by this Board. The document does not state any public comment or stakeholder sentiment.