[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6427971,"mediaKeyId","5893623-8da16ad3a170362fc32a693d5818a245","parentId",5893623,"title","Miami-Dade details $50M-plus Biscayne Bay grants, pilot stormwater fixes and roadmap for federal/state approval","audioSeconds",3496,"startMs",1291000,"endMs",4787000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5893623-8da16ad3a170362fc32a693d5818a245&start=1291&end=4787","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5893623-8da16ad3a170362fc32a693d5818a245/thumbnail_1291000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6427971/Miami-Dade-County/Florida/Miami-Dade-details-50M-plus-Biscayne-Bay-grants-pilot-stormwater-fixes-and-roadmap-for-federalstate-approval","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6427971-0a03bcc5348336d2ccb891b3830d2b56/orig.mp4?Expires=1776223399&Signature=LppB1vOOitIfHWFf2S1-uD2uUk4n-Ql9QtbEcDvcaTLXLTKRx69nuiKQ0xddI5UgxoICwvzcAtSenXxNnqbmi69ZFFrPtzdg4aW5WUK5xjJiPC0bWsEb3J6RQz4QXl9lN4b9vYYRHcOBgMEIiHZcmn44hAg7pUDm1uhaV9qYUb50neDjnpeEwLk5AxVgGNsezwUsc~HAZ3RRt4~v9s1efICdfaVlFRWDdINK941enBiYWxhUVaE7X4YXXJdd9C5eBrXPO-2tFAhauYE6l-lCGEyCz6SiMVleqYw7CMorASZvcHZrpgByPxQ0RHwQXOLMNvqoDtuDVIwH8XJahu--sA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Miami-Dade County","date","2025-10-03T00:00:00Z","article","Miami-Dade County staff told the Biscayne Bay Watershed Management Advisory Board on Oct. 3 that more than $50 million in state grant funding has supported restoration, septic-to-sewer conversion, pilot stormwater-treatment installations and habitat-restoration planning in Biscayne Bay.

Pamela (Durham staff) and consultant Mike Wessel of Environmental Science Associates (ESA) described a portfolio of projects funded by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection that includes septic-to-sewer conversions, technology pilots to reduce stormwater nutrient loads, living-shoreline guidance, sponge restoration pilot studies and a water-quality dashboard used to develop the county’s Reasonable Assurance Plan (RAP).

Why it matters: The county is pursuing a RAP so that DEP and EPA can approve a county-led alternative to a formal TMDL path. The RAP requires a pollutant-loading model, an agreed reference (healthy) period for the bay and an inventory of projects that together will demonstrate the county can meet numeric nutrient targets and restore designated uses.

Grant and project highlights
- Funding: Pamela told the board that Miami-Dade has received more than $50 million in state funding over five years for Biscayne Bay restoration activities; the state’s initial $10 million pot in 2020 helped launch a larger program of projects.
- Septic-to-sewer conversions: State-supported work focuses on highly vulnerable areas (Little River, Biscayne Canal). The county and state are working to pay the private-side connections for some homes so that infrastructure laid by the county results in actual household connections. Pamela said the grant program will fund conversions and associated private-side connections for roughly 300 homes within the priority basins; other vulnerable homes are part of the broader water utility Connect To Protect program and a longer timeline.
- Stormwater pilot projects: Phase 1 sampling covered 50 stormwater structures at three locations. Technologies trialed include inlet screens and filter baskets, Ferguson storm basins, Ecosense EcoVault chambers, Hydro International (“Hydro Scribe”) and “Jellyfish” filtration devices, smart sponge filters, filter cages/line skimmers and pervious pavers. The county is also piloting “smart ponds” for controlled release and polishing of stormwater flows in Archer Creek.
- Smart sewer coverage: The county has installed networked manhole sensors across the service area (Pamela said roughly 427 devices deployed) that monitor pressure/volume and have helped utilities predict and prevent sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs). Pamela reported the system has prevented about 150 SSOs since deployment; she said state funding for the sensor program was not renewed and the county temporarily covered dashboard/communication costs while working with municipalities to identify long-term support.
- Habitat work: The grants funded living-shoreline guidance to help property owners and municipalities choose green/gray hybrid solutions; staff also piloted sponge-based filter restoration at a candidate site near the Julia Tuttle Causeway.

RAP and data dashboard
- Goal and timeline: The county’s RAP effort aims to identify a “healthy reference period” and pollutant loads associated with that period; county staff said the plan-of-study was approved by DEP. The timeline presented kept the county on track to submit a draft RAP to DEP with stakeholder review in 2026 and a final RAP targeted for December 2026, subject to DEP and EPA review.
- Dashboard: ESA’s Mike Wessel highlighted an internal data dashboard that compiles long-term county water-quality sampling (monthly records dating decades back), NEXRAD rainfall data, canal flow records and seagrass surveys. The dashboard is being used to identify monitoring stations contributing disproportionately to impairments and to test candidate reference periods (the team is focusing analyses on the 1995–2009 era, with other windows under review).

Questions and follow-up requests: Board members and municipal officials asked for comparative data for city-by-city filtration and catch-basin protection; Mayor Vince Lago requested county staff share relative municipality-level results so cities can see where they lead or lag. Rachel Silverstein of Miami Waterkeeper asked the board to request six-month monitoring reports on agreed metrics — violations, inspections, seagrass and water-quality indicators — so the public can track whether institutional changes and projects are delivering measurable improvements.

Limitations and next steps: Presenters noted that restoring a large estuary is complex and may require decades of work; DEP’s numeric criteria for estuaries focus on total nitrogen, total phosphorus and chlorophyll, which the RAP must address. County staff said modeling and stakeholder review remain underway, and they committed to providing updates at future board meetings and to continue working with municipalities and academic partners to refine monitoring and project selection.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Biscayne Bay Watershed Management Advisory Board","oneSentenceSummary","Durham staff and consultants updated the Biscayne Bay Watershed Management Advisory Board on more than $50 million in state funding, pilot stormwater and septic-to-sewer projects, a suite of monitoring technologies and the county's Reasonable Assurance Plan (RAP) dashboard and timeline for DEP review and EPA approval.","taxTitle","Miami-Dade County, Florida","taxId",2864,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6427983,"Environmental groups press Miami-Dade advisory board for clarity after budget shift moves permitting authority",861,133000,994000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5893623-8da16ad3a170362fc32a693d5818a245&start=133&end=994","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5893623-8da16ad3a170362fc32a693d5818a245/thumbnail_133000.jpg","/articles/6427983/Miami-Dade-County/Florida/Environmental-groups-press-Miami-Dade-advisory-board-for-clarity-after-budget-shift-moves-permitting-authority","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6427983-a50faa7ce3839cbea4c111aff6d58d42/orig.mp4?Expires=1776223399&Signature=H2KcT85kZVDdKn5~8HMCPVblYjnNLm367flHLDipUBxQicZGuG9sUBwmh8UJw4x7446HB04TKbQgtW96yoGvY0~x0q~UmtDowle9yJvpTDd9hP7kN2n4c6XSPZW1cJSaIspqRJ6L2cMDyJSBBv2gPlagzAo1pVSsm49mPFm9ahegz9Q2nBBC2PsZ-XPFvx8BjOvm7fbRWXLMqwwdJ9ZrTgeTGkIGG7EkKdER~2a9eBFIcCkfGwyYjGRqJd4eyPkFA~zVLiXtByBZsYdbsTV7le~1wce7klMDaEPBes7cmprIYVD7DIvM-dt7OtzkcFhJYUbZpGa2srtb5AUjZFBuXw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Mariana Aziz, environmental policy specialist for Miami Waterkeeper, told the Biscayne Bay Watershed Management Advisory Board on Oct. 3 that recent budget language and a reorganization “stripped” permitting authority away from Durham and moved it to Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER).

The public commentators said the change was enacted via the county budget and that the reorganization reduced what had been a standalone regulatory office into a “policy office.” At the meeting, several speakers urged the advisory board to request a clear, public explanation from county administration about who will hold specific permitting and enforcement powers under chapter 24 and the budget ordinance.

Why it matters: The speakers said Durham historically functioned as an independent local environmental regulator that issued and enforced permits under chapter 24, managed wetlands and mangroves, and could require environmental studies and testing. They warned that if permitting and enforcement are separated across agencies without written processes and accountability, environmental protections for Biscayne Bay could suffer.

Members of Miami Waterkeeper pressed the board with a long list of operational questions: which director will have authority to issue or suspend development permits; whether Durham (sometimes referred to in public materials as DERM) will retain authority to require environmental impact statements or to issue notices of violation; which office will investigate and prosecute chapter 24 complaints; and whether enforcement and permitting will be siloed so that different offices issue permits and carry out compliance inspections.

“From decades, Durham was the most respected local environmental agency … The term director historically had independent authority to grant, deny or condition permits,” Mariana Aziz said. Jessica Ganim, an environmental policy analyst with Miami Waterkeeper, described the process that led to the change as lacking transparency: “A reorganization of environmental permitting…should not happen through last minute language in the budget.” Adriana Gonzales Fernandez, Miami Waterkeeper’s science and research director, asked specifically whether references in county code that once named the Durham director for certain actions now name the RER director.

Rachel Silverstein, executive director and waterkeeper at Miami Waterkeeper, asked the advisory board to demand performance metrics from the administration so the public can evaluate whether the reorganization preserves environmental standards. “We need clear metrics…including but not limited to the number of violations resolved, the number of notices of violation issued, water quality and pollution, acres of seagrass lost,” Silverstein said, recommending the board request metrics at least every six months.

Board reaction and next steps: Chair Commissioner Mickey Steinberg acknowledged the public comments and said Durham was not on the written agenda for the Oct. 3 meeting, but that she could add the topic to a future agenda. A county attorney present told the board the environmental requirements in chapter 24 were not amended as part of the reorganization; the chair asked staff to collect more information and return to the board for a fuller discussion.

No formal change in county code or a vote on permitting authority was recorded at the Oct. 3 meeting. The advisory board’s next steps, as stated in the meeting, are to seek written clarifications from the administration on the specific powers assigned by the budget ordinance and to place the topic on a future board agenda for more extensive review.

The advisory board’s discussion distinguished between public comment (the speakers’ concerns and questions), staff assurances that chapter 24 has not been amended, and the board chair’s direction to request further information from the county administration.

Contacts and sources: Public comments at the meeting came from multiple Miami Waterkeeper staff and volunteers who identified themselves by name and role; the county attorney’s brief response at the meeting addressed legal text but did not provide a department-level organizational chart or a process flow. The advisory board requested that administration provide written answers to the specific operational questions raised by the speakers.

Looking ahead: Advisory board members and members of the public said they expect the board to receive a written explanation from the administration before a formal vote or ordinance change, and they asked the board to use its oversight role to monitor outcomes under any new structure.

","Multiple members of Miami Waterkeeper told the Biscayne Bay Watershed Management Advisory Board that a recent budget ordinance and county reorganization shifted permitting and enforcement powers away from Durham to RER, and they asked the board to press the administration for clear procedures, enforcement lines and performance metrics.","actionData","errors"]

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Miami-Dade details $50M-plus Biscayne Bay grants, pilot stormwater fixes and roadmap for federal/state approval

Environmental groups press Miami-Dade advisory board for clarity after budget shift moves permitting authority