Coral Reefs, the Journal of the International Coral Reef Society, has awarded the “Best Paper Award 2018” to Ross Cunning, Andrew Baker, and our very own Executive Director & Waterkeeper, Rachel Silverstein!
Our 2019 numbers are in, and they are certainly something to boast about! This last year was a year of growth for Miami Waterkeeper across all fronts of our organization. Without sharing too much, we want to showcase some of our greatest successes over the past year.
Miami Waterkeeper is so thankful to be the organization chosen for an annual fundraiser put on by Periosolutions and their associated study club of dental offices. Each year they choose an organization to fundraise for, and this year they had the environment in mind! Raising over $1,500, they have shown their commitment to helping us ensure swimmable, drinkable, fishable water for all!
Miami Waterkeeper and the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) jointly provided supplemental technical comments on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (FDEP) Draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit for Turkey Point. These comments were submitted in addition to the comments made in May 2019.
Turkey Point Point Power Plant - Photo Credit: Sun-Sentinel
For the second year in a row, Miami Waterkeeper and HSBC Bank have been brought together through a partnership with Waterkeeper Alliance to help fulfill the mission of keeping critical local waterways clean and protected. HSBC has had a long-standing commitment to the issue of water. On December 3, 2019, the HSBC branch in Miami joined forces with us and the City of Miami Parks and Recreation for a day of habitat restoration.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission rubberstamped FPL's application for Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant's subsequent license renewal today. Miami Waterkeeper and co-plaintiffs, Friends of the Earth and Natural Resources Defense Council, initiated a legal challenge on this proposed license renewal in August 2018. The matter is still on appeal before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. However, the NRC issued a decision today that would provide a license to FPL to continue operating the reactors until the 2050s -- giving them an unprecedented 80-year life span and making them the oldest nuclear reactors in the world.
Photo Credit: Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Under Miami Dade County Water and Sewer Department's federally-mandated Consent Decree agreement with the U.S. EPA and Florida Department of Environmental Protection, they are required to issue periodic status reports. The 11th status report was recently released and covers the period of January 1, 2019, to June 30, 2019.
Earlier this summer, the Army Corps of Engineers announced they would be undertaking some routine maintenance dredging in the PortMiami shipping channel. This maintenance dredging is anticipated to last 45 days and would include dredging 24 hours a day. Miami Waterkeeper believes that this activity would produce a significant volume of sediment that could adversely impact benthic resources like seagrasses and corals.
In July, the Corps released a Draft Environmental Assessment which found that there would be "no significant impact" for this dredging activity. We disagree.
Miami Waterkeeper and the Center for Biological Diversity submitted comments to rebut this finding.
Miami Waterkeeper, as part of Waterkeepers Florida, jointly provided final comments to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) on the proposed revisions to Florida’s surface water quality standards. The proposed revisions included changes to the turbidity criterion, in all waters as well as in areas where coastal construction projects like dredging may affect corals and seagrass. The proposed changes also included revisions to the Numeric Nutrient Criteria and thresholds for cyanotoxins in recreational water.
Matheson Hammock Park experiencing continued inundation (2019)
Miami Waterkeeper, in collaboration with Catalyst Miami and the Miami Foundation, recently provided comments to the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on the Miami-Dade County “Back Bay” Coastal Storm Risk Management Feasibility Study. The study, designed to achieve improved resiliency from storm surge, targets flood-prone areas of Miami such as Little River and the Miami River, Cutler Bay, Arch Creek, and Aventura. Proposals for the project include building flood gates, floodwalls, and surge barriers, along with possible elevation of property and relocation. You can view the public meeting package of documents here. In our comments, we addressed concerns and made recommendations that asked the USACE for greater focus, definition, and expansion of the project's scope and objectives.
