Miami-Dade County commissioners will meet for a second time Thursday to vote on “unusual use” permits that could pave the way for a pair of controversial new reactors at the existing nuclear power plant at Turkey Point in South Miami-Dade.
Florida Power & Light is seeking the use of up to 90 million gallons of wastewater a day to cool two new reactors, and to create a network of coastal wells that would tap groundwater under Biscayne Bay as a back-up cooling system.
When commissioners last met over the issue in December, not enough attended to constitute a quorum.
Environmentalists argue the treatment plant would destroy about 40 acres of wetlands. They also fear the shallow wells could hurt efforts to restore freshwater flows to Biscayne Bay and worsen the inland march of saltwater that could threaten the county’s drinking water supply.
FPL says the plan is one of the last significant hurdles it needs to clear to add the reactors to the complex on Biscayne Bay.
The meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First Ave. It is open to the public.
Source: Miami Herald