Turkey Point Petition

South Florida’s geology is made up of limestone, a porous rock full of holes. Water flows throughout these holes, and so do pollutants. This means contamination doesn’t stay contained and can spread through the aquifer, which is the sole source of drinking water for over four million South Florida residents. 

To cool its reactors, Turkey Point uses a massive network of open-air canals carved directly into this porous rock. Because the cooling canal system is unlined, water moves easily from the canals into the Biscayne Aquifer below, carrying with it contaminants and large quantities of salt, spreading into the Biscayne Aquifer. This dense, contaminated water has been sinking into the groundwater and then spreading for miles underground, moving closer to public drinking water supplies. 

After many legal challenges, Florida Power & Light was ordered by Miami-Dade County and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to clean up the contaminated plume. The company is currently attempting to do this through a recovery well system intended to withdraw the polluted water from the ground. However, a 2020  peer-review study of Florida Power & Light’s remediation plan progress, as well as several other independent studies and county technical reviews, found that the plan appears unlikely to meet its goals of containing and retracting the plume.

Sign the petition to demand Miami-Dade County hold Florida Power & Light accountable.