At the July 17, 2019 City Commission meeting, Commissioner Mark Samuelian and Commissioner Michael Gongora referred this discussion to the Sustainability and Resiliency Committee (SRC), which has been merged and renamed the Land Use and Sustainability Committee. An initial discussion was held at the July 19, 2019 SRC meeting and an update was provided at the September 25, 2019 meeting. This item has been deferred since December 2019.

The city reduces potential pollution through a combination of education and outreach, good housekeeping, as well as the use of cutting-edge technology and industry-vetted operational practices. The city’s stormwater management program focuses heavily on preventing pollution at its source: people. It is easier and less expensive for each person to do their part by picking up after their pets, tossing trash into designated bins, and properly applying landscape maintenance chemicals than to capture and remove pollutants in larger concentrations from within the stormwater system. Nevertheless, the city plays an important role in protecting water quality and has a well-rounded strategy to remove pollutants outside and inside the stormwater system before they reach Biscayne Bay.

Beginning in 2016, staff from the City Manager’s Office, the Environment and Sustainability Department, and the Public Works Department have been holding monthly coordination meetings with Miami-Dade County Division of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) leadership. The purpose of these meetings was to increase communication between the two entities and allow county and city staff to proactive address potential issues through high-level coordination.

Last April 2019, interdepartmental staff met with DERM leadership to discuss water quality and talk through the city’s plans to improve upon our current efforts. The city began by highlighting the progress we have made over the last five years to improve water quality, including:

•  In science, such as the voluntary launch of a municipal water quality sampling program
•  In design, such as the modification of pumped outfall designs to include dissipator boxes that reduce discharge velocities from those approved in the city’s first new generation pump stations;
•  In operations, such as increasing stormwater system maintenance from once every three years to once every year;
•  In policy, such as the citywide bans on polystyrene and plastic straws; and,
•  In compliance, such as the creation of the city’s environmental inspection programs to reduce sanitary sewer overflows and construction run-off.

During the meeting, DERM and city staff identified several action items to take our stormwater management program to the next level. Following this meeting, the City Engineer was appointed as main point of contact with DERM’s Water Control Section to coordinate permitting. Over the last year, the City Engineer has been working with DERM to coordinate on-going permitting and project designs to address water quality.

Following the April 2019 meeting, significant progress has been made with respect to permitting. Below are brief highlights of the most significant achievements.

1.      Hibiscus Island Stormwater Improvements

•  Coordinated abandonment of four (4) gravity outfall in Hibiscus Island to ensure compliance with DERM requirements on April 20, 2020.
•  A final inspection was completed by DERM on June 5, 2020 for the Class II permit modification request. A Request for Additional Information (RAI) was issued by DERM on June 11, 2020. Only two items pending in order to issue the after-the-fact permit modification for Hibiscus Island, (1) minor as-built correction, (2) two inlets were covered by resident’s landscape, pending inspection. A response to the RAI is currently being prepared.
• Three properties were approved for Class II Permits by DERM on June 11, 2020

• Two properties were approved for DERM Class II on June 11, 2020

•  25 properties with inlets were approved by DERM on June 12, 2020 Class II permit.

  
  
  

3.     Venetian Island (San Marino, Di Lido and Rivo Alto)

•  A final inspection was completed by DERM on May 8, 2020 for the Class II

•  Drainage system was found to be in compliance with the final approved plans an issued permit. Permit approval is pending completion of DERM outfall sampling effort.

4.     Cherokee Seawall

•  Approval of Class II Permit Cherokee Ave Drainage Outfall was approved by DERM on May 19, 2020

•  Approval of Class V dewatering permit application package.

5.     59 Street Bioswale 

•  Approval of Class II Permit for W 59 Bioswale on May 14, 2020.

6.     19th Street Pump Station

•  Permit extension application was submitted to DERM on June 2, 2020. Project is completed and approved. Close out pending outfall sampling effort by DERM.

7.     Indian Creek Seawall

•  The monitoring report was submitted to the South Florida Management District on March 16, 2020.

•  Removed four (4) derelict vessels within Biscayne Bay to comply with SFWMD required mitigation with Indian Creek Seawall

• Approval of SFWMD permit was issued on April 21, 2020.

8.     Class V Permit Extensions

•  An extension request for the DERM Class V dewatering permits for North Beach, Indian Creek Drive, Central Bayshore, North Bay Road, Normandy Isle, Alton Road, and Sunset Islands was submitted to DERM on April 8, 2020.

9.     West Ave

• Coordination has begun with DERM to address additional water quality treatment requirements

10.     Pump Station No. 3 Pumps Replacement

•  Class II permit was approved on May 8th, 2020 for the replacement of the pumps at Pump Station No.3 in Sunset Harbour.

City staff will continue to work with DERM on a project-by-project basis to close out any pending compliance issues and ensure future work is properly permitted before it begins construction. This report is presented to the members of the Land Use and Sustainability Committee as a status update. Staff recommends concluding this item and directing staff to provide regular progress updates via Letters to Commission.