Res No 096-17-14897RESOLUTION NO. 096-17-14897
A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commissioners of the City of South Miami,
Florida, urging Governor Rick Scott to not veto legislatively approved action to
provide funding to assist local communities with converting from septic tanks to
sewer systems; to assist local communities with eliminating septic systems and
converting to sewer system connections, as originally proposed by the Governor.
WHEREAS, on July 6, 2016, Governor Rick Scott announced that he proposed additional
funding in his State Fiscal Year 2017-2018 recommended budget to help clean up the Indian
River Lagoon and Caloosahatchee River into which the polluted waters of Lake Okeechobee are
discharged; and
WHEREAS, this proposal included new funding for a voluntary 50/50 matching grant
program with local communities surrounding the water bodies affected by algae blooms resulting
from the frequent discharges of water from the Lake; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature approved similar language as a pilot program for the City of
South Miami and Okaloosa County, which would provide funding to encourage residents to
convert from septic tanks to sewer systems to help curb pollution that is currently entering into
these water bodies; and
WHEREAS, Governor Rick Scott stated in a press release that "[s]eptic tank runoff is a
major contributor to the pollution in these water bodies and I look forward to working with the
Legislature to fund efforts to curb it."; and
WHEREAS, the Governor's proposal provided financial support to local communities to
help them build wastewater systems to meet the increased demand for wastewater services; and
WHEREAS, as the Governor explained, "[i]t is up to all of us -the state, Florida's local
communities and the federal government -to work together on long term solutions to improve
the quality of our water. That is why I am going to commit state funding and match it with local
contributions so we can work together on efforts to clean up our waters. "; and
WHEREAS, the problem of pollution due to septic systems extends beyond the
communities surrounding the Indian River Lagoon and Caloosahatchee River; and
WHEREAS, wherever they are located, septic systems may present environmental
concerns and are potentially vulnerable to the effects of sea level rise; and
WHEREAS, significant portions of South Miami lack public sanitary sewer systems and
therefore rely on septic systems to treat and dispose of wastewater from toilets, showers, sinks,
and dishwashers; and
WHEREAS, all the nitrogen and phosphorus in effluent from such septic tanks in South
Miami flows through our porous rock into the canal system of the South Florida Water Management
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Res. No. 096-17-14897
District Snapper Creek C-2 Canal, which is a boundary of the City of South Miami and which flows
within two miles into Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to Miami Beach, harming the
fishing and tourism economies that are jobs engines for the State of Florida; and
WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County will benefit from funding to, at a minimum, help
eliminate septic systems and install sewer system connections in areas where no such systems
currently exist; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Commission for the City of South Miami supports the
Legislatively approved line item 1606A in SB2500 the final Appropriations bill for this pilot
program, which was sponsored by Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez and Rep. Daisy Baez, and was
based on the Governor's original proposal and urges the Governor to not veto the funding for the
abovementioned purposes in the State Fiscal Year 2017-2018 budget.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSIONERS OF
THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA:
Section 1. The City of South Miami supports line item 1606A for funding a pilot program
to assist local communities with converting from septic tanks to sewer systems, similar to the
program that was originally proposed by the Governor and urges the Governor not to veto this
budgetary line item.
Section 2. The City Clerk is directed to send a copy of this resolution to Governor Rick
Scott.
Section 3. Severability. If any section clause, sentence, or phrase of this resolution is for
any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the holding shall
not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this resolution.
Section 4. Effective Date. This resolution shall become effective immediately upon
adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 16 th day of May, 2017.
li~ Y R
COMMISSION VOTE: 5-0
Mayor Stoddard: Yea
Vice Mayor Welsh: Yea
Commissioner Harris: Yea
Commissioner Edmond: Yea
Commissioner Liebman: Yea
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