Sea rise makes septic tanks ‘ticking bombs.’ Why does Miami-Dade still allow them?

Alex Harris for Florida Keys News writes:

For parts of this summer, swaths of once-clear Biscayne Bay turned into a stew of exploding algae and decaying fish carcasses.

One big reason why is right under our yards: Miami-Dade’s 120,000-plus septic tanks — an aging, leaky system for disposing of human waste that experts have pointed to as a public health and environmental hazard for bay waters since the 1950s. Yet, despite periodic calls as early as the 1960s for ambitious sewage system upgrades, the Herald found that the county has put only a small dent in the septic mess over the decades — and actually continues to issue permits for new ones.

Read full article here.