R-2020-311
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RESOLUTION NO. 2020-31
A RESOLUTION OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF MIAMI SHORES
VILLAGE, FLORIDA, URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS AND
THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO PROVIDE FUNDING TO ASSIST LOCAL
GOVERNMENTS WITH THE ELIMINATION OF SEPTIC SYSTEMS AND
CONVERSION TO SEWER SYSTEM CONNECTIONS; DIRECTING THE
VILLAGE MANAGER TO INCLUDE THIS REQUEST AMONG THE MIAMI
SHORES VILLAGE'S LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES IN 2020 AND 2021;
DIRECTING THE VILLAGE CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS
RESOLUTION TO THE NAMED OFFICIALS LISTED HEREIN;AND
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the Miami Shores Village ("Village") was incorporated in 1932 and is among
the oldest municipalities in Miami -Dade County; and
WHEREAS, septic systems are on -site sewage treatment and disposal systems that treat
wastewater from individual properties; and
WHEREAS, historically, septic tanks were installed in the Village due to a lack of a
centralized sewer systems available to service individual properties; and
WHEREAS, certain older regulations only required one (1) foot of soil under the septic
tank to allow for the filtration of liquid waste to the underlying aquifer; and
WHEREAS, although current regulations in Miami -Dade County ("County") require two (2)
feet of soil, that depth is often inadequate to allow for proper filtration without affecting nearby
water quality; and
WHEREAS, exacerbating this problem is that regulations and traditional engineering
standards were historically premised on the fact that groundwater elevation would remain stable
over long periods of time; and
WHEREAS, this premise has proven to be incorrect due to sea level rise, which is
degrading any protection of the septic systems in the Village and County; and
WHEREAS, sea level rise, heavy rains, and king tides are negatively impacting many low-
lying septic tank systems and can push feces ridden water into the Biscayne Aquifer and into the
water supply thereby exacerbating an environmental and health concern; and
WHEREAS, such seepage poses a threat to the public health, safety, and general welfare
of the residents of the Village and County; and
WHEREAS, of the approximately 108,000 properties within the County that use septic
tanks, 105,000 of those are residential properties with more than 65,000 properties lying within
the unincorporated areas of the County and the remainder in municipalities; and
WHEREAS, according to the County's Water and Sewer Department ("WASD") the
overwhelming bulk of properties within the Village lack access to the sanitary sewer system (over
3120 residential properties and dozens of commercial properties as well); and
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2 WHEREAS, sea level rise poses a concern for septic systems because it accelerates
3 water table rise, diminishes treatment capacity for drain fields, and results in elevated levels of
4 ground water pollution; and
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6 WHEREAS, legislative notice is taken of the November 2018 Report ("County Report")
7 presented to the County's Board of County Commissioners by the County's Department of
8 Regulatory and Economic Resources, WASD, and the State's Department of Health which found
9 that approximately half the septic tanks in the County break down each year which is expected to
10 increase to 64% by 2040; and
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WHEREAS, one way to address long term risks with rising groundwater levels is to extend
sewer connections to new and existing structures and prohibit or sharply reduce approvals for
new septic systems in the County and in other vulnerable areas of the State; and
WHEREAS, the County Report estimated that the cost to connect the remaining
residential areas that do not have County or City water and/or sewer service that are within a
certain proximity of wastewater infrastructure to the regional wastewater system would be
approximately $3.3 billion; and
WHEREAS, although the County may require property owners to connect to the sewer
system at the property owner's expense, such cost may be prohibitive, especially for residential
properties; and
WHEREAS, the elimination of septic systems and conversion to sewer system
connections is not just a local issue but is a Federal and State level concern touching on public
health and water quality issues; and
WHEREAS, legislative notice is taken of County Resolution Nos. R-1160-19 adopted on
October 29, 2019 and R-881-20 adopted on August 31, 2020 urging the Florida Legislature to
assist the County and affected cities within the County in eliminating the septic systems and
replacing them with sewer system connections and to identify this issue as a federal and State
legislative funding priority; and
WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature proposed twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000.00)
in funding for water quality improvement projects including septic to sewer grants and septic to
sewer conversions; and
WHEREAS, notwithstanding the Florida Legislature's action, this funding was vetoed and
is still needed to address these serious and worsening conditions relative to septic systems;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF MIAMI
SHORES, FLORIDA:
Section 1. The recitals and finding contained in the Preamble to this Resolution are
adopted by reference and incorporated as if fully set forth in this Section.
Section 2. The Village Council urges the United States Congress and the Florida
Legislature to provide funding to assist local governments with the elimination of septic systems
and conversion to sewer system connections.
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Section 3. The Village Manager is directed to include this request among the Village's
legislative priorities in 2020 and 2021.
Section 4. The Village Clerk is directed to submit a certified copy of this Resolution to the
County Mayor, Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners, President of the United States, the
Florida Congressional Delegation, the Governor of the State of Florida, the United States Senate
President, the House Speaker of the State, and the members of the County Legislative
Delegation.
Section 5. Since it is reported that eight Miami Dade municipalities (Coral Gables,
Homestead, Miami Gardens, Miami Shores, North Miami Beach, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, and
South Miami) comprise 33,277 of the County's septic systems, and as a group, are second only
to unincorporated Miami Dade in number of such systems, the Village Clerk is also directed to
present certified copies of this Resolution to the other 7 municipalities in that group, in an attempt
to engage inter -governmental cooperation and focus attention on this urgent matter.
Section 6. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 17 day of November, 2020.
ATTEST:
Ysabely Rodrriir uez, CMC
Village Clerk
28 APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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31 Richard Sarafan
32 Village Attorney
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