Miami Herald, The
November 18, 2025
State of Florida
Department of Environmental Protection
Notice of Draft Permit
The Department of Environmental Protection hereby provides notice that it has prepared a draft permit for the proposed project as detailed in the application, subject to the conditions specified in the draft permit and summarized below. The applicant, Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department, Jay J. Fink, Director of Water and Sewer, 3071 Southwest 38th Avenue, Suite 521, Miami, Florida 33146 applied on March 28, 2025, for a Class I injection well construction permit. The project is located at North District Wastewater Treatment Plant, 2575 Northeast 156th Street, North Miami, Florida 33160, in Miami-Dade County (File 0057792-035-039-UC/1M, WACS ID 56453).
The permittee will operationally test five, non-hazardous Class I injection wells (IW-5N, IW-6N, IW-7N, IW-8N, and IW-9N) that have been constructed for the disposal of high-level disinfected (HLD) domestic (municipal) wastewater from the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (WASD), North District Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The injection wells are constructed with 24-inch outside diameter injection casings set to depths ranging from 2,635 to 2,785 feet below land surface (bls). Each well has been drilled to a total, open-hole depth of 3,300 feet bls. The maximum injection rate and volume for each injection well shall be 12,951 gallons per minute per well and the maximum injection volume shall be 18.65 million gallons per day per well at a peak, hourly flow velocity of 10 feet per second in the injection casing of each well during operational testing. Operational testing of IW-5N, IW-6N, IW-7N, IW-8N, and IW-9N will not commence until construction of the HLD processes are completed at the North District WWTP. Operational testing of the five injection wells will be monitored by dual-zone monitor wells MWFA-5N and MWFA-6N. The monitor wells are completed in the Floridan aquifer with upper monitor zones at approximately 1,100 to 1,200 feet bls and lower monitor zones at 1,440 to 1,500 feet bls. Four other injection wells (IW-1N, IW-2N, IW-3N, and IW-4N) for the disposal of secondary treated municipal wastewater and four associated monitor wells (FA-1R, FA-2N, FA-3N, and FA-4R) are currently operating at this facility under separate UIC permits.
The Department has permitting jurisdiction under Chapter 403 of the Florida Statutes and the rules adopted thereunder. The project is not exempt from permitting procedures. The Department has determined that an Underground Injection Control permit is required for the proposed work.
Any interested person may submit written comments on the draft permit and may request a public meeting within 30 days after publication of this public notice. A request for a public meeting shall be submitted in writing and shall state the nature of the issues proposed to be raised in the meeting. If a public meeting is later scheduled, there will be another 30-day notice period for that meeting. Written comments or a public meeting request shall be submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection, Aquifer Protection Program, 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 3530, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400, which is the office processing this permit application. All comments received within the 30-day period will be considered in formulation of the Department's final decision regarding permit issuance.
The files associated with this order are available for public inspection during normal business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except state holidays, at the Department of Environmental Protection, Southeast District, and at the Department of Environmental Protection, Aquifer Protection Program office in Tallahassee. Any additional information concerning this project may be obtained by contacting Rufus Dickey, Professional Geologist III, at 850-245-7580.
IPL0290573
Nov 18 2025
Miscellaneous Notices