Res No 085-18-15118RESOLUTION NO. 085-18-15118
A Resolution of the City of South Miami, Florida, supporting the Sierra
Club's opposition .to Florida Power & Light Company's (FPL)'s application
for the location, construction, and operation of a gas-burning power plant in
Dania Beach and authorizing the Mayor to testify in support of the Sierra
Club's proceedings.
WHEREAS, recognizing the hann to the climate and South Florida's future caused by
the burning of fossil carbon-based fuels, the City of South Miami pledged to become carbon
neutral by 2030 in resolution #23-09-12832, approved on Feb 3, 2009; and
WHEREAS, Florida Power & Light Company's (FPL) has filed an application for the
location, construction, and operation of a gas-burning power plant in Dania Beach ("Dania
Beach Energy Center" or "DBEC"); and
WHEREAS, the proceeding is governed by the Florida Electrical Power Plant Siting Act
("Siting Act"), §§ 403.501-403.518, Fla. Stat.; and
WHEREAS, the parties to the proceedings are FPL, the Department of Environmental
Protection ("DEP"), and Sierra Club; and
WHEREAS, the Administrative Law Judge assigned to the hearing scheduled the
evidentiary hearing from May 15-18,2018, in Davie, Florida; and
WHEREAS, it is reasonable to conclude that if DBEC were approved, without
conditions, the forty years of greenhouse gas pollution from FPL building and operating DBEC
could in all likelihood injure the City of South Miami and its residents, families, and businesses;
and
WHEREAS, the Sierra Club, as a party to the proceedings, is advocating for the denial
of the application and, in the alternative, that conditions to be placed on the approval of FPL's
application; and
WHEREAS, the Sierra Club would like to enlist the support of the Mayor and the City
Commission and the testimony of the Mayor; and
WHEREAS, to forestall the potential injury to the people who live and work in South
Miami, the Mayor desires to advocate for appropriate conditions to be placed on the approval of
the application, or that DBEC be denied absent such conditions; and
WHEREAS, FPL intends to build gas-burning power plants known as "peakers" to meet
peak demand in South Florida, and it will cause significant hanns to South Miami due to FPL's
failure to investigate alternatives to those peakers; and
WHEREAS, the precedent of this case could have serious consequences beyond this
particular application and unless reversed, it signals that FPL can continue building gas-burning
Res. No. 085-18-15118
plants, even if they are not the least-cost alternative, and avoid the rigorous prudency review
established by the Legislature for public protection; and
WHEREAS, the Public Service Commission has already approved a proposal that
exempts FPL from having to perform a routine market study of alternatives to yet another gas-
burning plant replacement in Dania Beach; and
WHEREAS, regulators have approved FPL's administrative shortcut on the Broward
plant, (Miami Herald, July 13,2017, available at
http://w-ww.mianliherald.com/news/business/articie 161184638.html) In re: Fla. Power & Light
Co.'s Petition to Request Exemption Under Rule 25-22.082(18), F.A.C., from Issuing a Request
for Proposals for the Modernization of the Lauderdale Plant, Docket No. 20170122,
http://www.psc.state.flus/ClerkOftice/DocketFiling?docket=20 17012').
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA THAT:
Section 1. The City of South Miami supports the Sierra Club's efforts to oppose FPL' s
application for the location, construction, and operation of a gas-burning power plant in Dania
Beach ("Dania Beach Energy Center" or "DBEC"). The Mayor is hereby authorized, in his
official capacity as Mayor of the City of South Miami, to oppose the application and to testify on
behalf of the Sierra Club's opposition to the application.
Section 2. 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 3. Effective Date. This resolution shall become effective immediately upon
adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 1 st day of_M_a'-"y'---__ , 2018.
ED AS TO FORM,
XECUTION
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COMMISSION VOTE: 5-0
Mayor Stoddard: Yea
Vice Mayor Harris: Yea
Commissioner Welsh: Yea
Commissioner Liebman: Yea
Commissioner Gil: Yea