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.
Positive People in Pinecrst : Madeline (Maddie) Wise
Palmetto High School senior Madeline (Maddie) Wise has been a Girl Scout since kindergarten. Over the years she has earned her Bronze Award and her Silver Award. Now, she's working on her Gold Award, which is equivalent to a Boy Scout Eagle Badge. Her project is a sun safety campaign called Ban the Tan.
NextEra's Florida Nuclear Plant Lifespan Extended (1)
A nuclear power plant on Florida's coast has been granted an unprecedented lifespan extension, letting it operate beyond 2050 despite rising sea levels. Licenses for two reactors at Florida Power & Light's Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station have been renewed through 2052 and 2053.
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
Nuclear Regulators Extend Life of Turkey Point Reactors to 80 Years
The Nuclear Regulatory Agency granted two controversial license extensions to Turkey Point's aging nuclear reactors on Thursday. The 20-year extensions - which extend the life of the reactors to 80 - are the first of their kind in the U.S. The licenses for the 1970s-era reactors overlooking Biscayne Bay were set to expire in 2032 and 2033.
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.
The Coral Gables Community Foundation Awards Grants to 28 Local Organizations
The Coral Gables Community Foundation has awarded grants to 28 deserving local non-profit organizations in its latest distribution to support issues within the Foundation's focus areas: education, arts & culture, historic preservation and social & health services.
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.
