Legislative Matter

Miami-Dade Legislative Item
File Number: 180761

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File Number: 180761

File Type: Resolution

Status: Amended

Version: 0

Reference:

Control: Board of County Commissioners

File Name: JPA'S FPL GENERATION ENERGY PROJECT AND RECLAIMED WATER

Introduced: 3/22/2018

Requester: NONE

Cost:

Final Action:

Agenda Date: 4/10/2018

Agenda Item Number: 11A3

Notes:

SEE 180938 FOR FINAL VERSION AS ADOPTED

Title:

RESOLUTION APPROVING JOINT PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS WITH FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY PROVIDING FOR DEVELOPMENT OF (1) AN ADVANCED RECLAIMED WATER PROJECT AND (2) NEXT GENERATION ENERGY PROJECTS; AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR OR HIS DESIGNEE TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENTS AND EXERCISE THE PROVISIONS CONTAINED THEREIN [SEE ORIGINAL ITEM UNDER FILE NO. 180245]

Indexes:

JOINT USE AGREEMENT

Sponsors:	Esteban L. Bovo, Jr., Co-Prime Sponsor
	Rebeca Sosa, Co-Prime Sponsor
	Audrey M. Edmonson, Co-Sponsor
	Sally A. Heyman, Co-Sponsor
	Sen. Javier D. Souto, Co-Sponsor

Sunset Provision: No

Effective Date:

Expiration Date:

Registered Lobbyist:

None Listed

Legislative History
Acting Body	Date	Agenda Item	Action	Sent To	Due Date	Returned	Pass/Fail

Board of County Commissioners	4/10/2018	11A3	Amended
REPORT:	See Agenda Item 11A3 Amended; Legislative File No. 180938.

Office of the Chairperson	4/5/2018		Scrivener's Errors		4/10/2018
REPORT:	Handwritten pages 6 thru 29 were inadvertently omitted. This item has been reprinted to be included.

County Attorney	3/22/2018		Assigned	Henry N. Gillman

Chairmans Policy Council	3/8/2018	2A AMENDED	Forwarded to BCC with a favorable recommendation with committee amendment(s)				P
REPORT:	Assistant County Attorney Annery Pulgar Alfonso read the foregoing item into the record. Chairman Bovo advised he would allow a speaker from Key West the opportunity to speak, although the public hearing portion was previously completed. Mr. Kent Nelson, Deputy Director, Florida Keys Aqua Authority (FKAA), commented that the current agreement under consideration conflicted with a resolution passed by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) in July 2016. He requested that the BCC include Monroe County and the FKAA in the decision process for Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) regarding licensure application or renewal; require remediation of the existing plum; and also require FPL to decommission the cooling canal system and install cooling towers. Following hearing Mr. Nelson’s remarks, Chairman Bovo closed the floor to public comment. Mayor Carlos Gimenez noted the goals for the Joint Participation Agreement (JPA), were to decrease the use of ocean outfalls, reduce demands on the aquifer, allow a healthy ecosystem to return to the cooling canals at Turkey Point and support power generation through zero emission technology. He advised the JPA did not constitute any financial or regulatory commitments for either party; FPL would fully fund the design and analysis for the facility to retreat the reclaimed water; Miami-Dade County (MDC) & FPL would only be responsible for each parties share of the cost of capital and operations of maintenance of the facility; and the design would be scalable. Mayor Gimenez pointed out cost sharing would benefit the residents, FPL consumers and the rate payers of Miami-Dade Water and Sewer and maintaining a healthy ecosystem would be the future responsibility of FPL. Mayor Gimenez reported the plan was to use a supply of reused water, followed by designing the technology, establishing reclaimed water standards and determining a healthy ecosystem for the canals by various agencies. He specified the four goals for these programs were to: ~Reduce the future cost of wastewater treatment and the provision of electrical service ~Actively manage the cooling system and achieve a healthy cooling ecosystem ahead of the 2033 established goal ~Determine a cost efficient solution to reach reused water goals ~Support zero emission power generation for the future Mayor Gimenez indicated it was possible to have a healthy ecosystem by 2025 if the decommissioning process began now. He noted he understood the concerns expressed by the Council and pointed out this agreement would benefit all parties by sharing costs. Mayor Gimenez advised they were working with FPL regarding the installation of 1 million solar panels and reviewing the possibility of floating the solar panels. Mayor Gimenez announced plans would not proceed without prior BCC permission and urged the Council to forward this item to the full Board. Assistant County Attorney Henry Gillman read the amendment into the record. It was moved by Commissioner Sosa that the foregoing proposed resolution be forwarded to the BCC with a favorable recommendation with the following amendments: 1) on handwritten page 3, the second whereas clause would read, “whereas pursuant to resolution R-722-16, the Board of County Commissioners support the Mayor’s efforts in seeking a solution to the environmental problems existing in the cooling canal system at Turkey Point; 2) on handwritten page 4 after the third whereas clause, would read “whereas each entity would be solely responsible for the cost associated with facilities and assets beneficial to each entities customers”; 3) and the last whereas clause would read, “whereas any agreement to implement the project set forth, the JPA’s would be presented to the Board for approval prior to incurring any County obligations”. This motion was seconded by Commissioner Edmonson and upon being put to a vote, the motion passed with a vote of 8-0. In response to Commissioner Sosa’s question, Mayor Gimenez commented this was a much better proposal than stopping the cooling canals. He explained this plan would actively restore the canals with a minimum of 60 million gallons of fresh water daily while relieving the pressure on the aquifer. In response to Commissioner Sosa’s question as to how the canals would be restored to a healthy environment, Ms. lrene White, FPL, 4200 West Flagler Street, Miami, FL, stated FPL would like to make the canals healthier more quickly by bringing in fresh water. Mayor Gimenez mentioned 2025 was the targeted year to discontinue the use of ocean outfalls for wastewater and indicated freshwater would be used to replenish the cooling canals once the wastewater was cleaned. Commissioner Sosa commented that MDC needed to maintain regulatory control in terms of plant and wastewater treatment and ensure the Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) was allowed to conduct testing. She also requested a yearly testing report from the experts to monitor the improvements. Assistant County Attorney Gillman noted this language could be included in the actual agreement presented to the BCC for approval. Mayor Gimenez reported the shared cost and liability would be determined as the process continues. Commissioner Heyman asked if the resources from placing the two nuclear units on hold would decrease the timeframe for cooling the canals. Mr. Steven Scroggs, Senior Director, FPL, 4200 West Flagler Street, Miami, FL, advised the new units were designed to be independent of the cooling canals and therefore they did not interact with the canals. He reported the economics did not support FPL moving forward with the new units, but it allowed them to focus on accomplishing this task. Mr. Scroggs stated this reclaimed water will assist the county with being drought free and he expected the timeline to be accelerated. Responding to Commissioner Heyman’s question, Assistant County Attorney Gillman advised additional language could be included in the Reclaimed Water Service Agreement, which would be negotiated between the parties and returned to the Board for approval. Commissioner Heyman requested advancements be applied to this agreement and any future amendments as they occurred. Commissioner Moss reiterated the importance of MDC maintaining regulatory control and inquired why the cooling towers were no longer an alternative for FPL. Mr. Scroggs reported there was no value in the cooling towers environmentally or for the benefit of the customers. He said eventually the nuclear units would be decommissioned and the cooling canals had to be reintegrated into the ecosystem. Mr. Scroggs added that using this preference provided the opportunity to get a head start toward restoring a healthy system while providing MDC with low cost zero emissions. Commissioner Moss mentioned the use of solar farms and opined it was a good opportunity for farmers to be engaged in producing solar energy on their land. He also suggested further discussion be held on not limiting use solely to County owned property. Responding to Commissioner Monestime’s concerns, Mayor Gimenez announced nothing in this agreement affected the current regulatory environment or any findings connected to the canals; the completion and remediation of contamination into the into the bay or any other area around the canals. Mr. Scroggs advised a consent agreement addendum was issued by Assistant Director Lee Hefty, Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER), which required FPL to actively take samples around the cooling canal system, the surface and ground water and provide the information to the County. Discussion ensued between Commissioner Monestime and Mr. Scroggs regarding the cooling canal system and the use of solar power. Mr. Scroggs stated this partnership allowed for research opportunities to position the most cost effective and best technology in place for the customers. Mayor Gimenez informed Commissioner Monestime the cost to build the wastewater treatment plant would be passed on to the customer, but noted there was no comparison with the cost avoidance of building two new nuclear power plants. He mentioned implementing battery banks to reduce the amount of power being used and he opined once technology advanced, the energy cost would decrease. In response to Commissioner Souto’s inquiry regarding the use of wind power, Mr. Scroggs advised wind power was not stable in Florida and was limited by the low natural source of wind generation. He noted there were some opportunities on coastal sites but it competed with the visual coastal lines and added the right combination of economic technology had not been found. Commissioner Souto asked the County Attorney’s Office to construct a resolution for a detailed study regarding the need for water in MDC over the next 15 years. Commissioner Sosa requested a complete report within a year to ensure this proposal was working as planned. Hearing no further comments the Council members proceeded to vote on the foregoing resolution, as amended.

Legislative Text

TITLE
RESOLUTION APPROVING JOINT PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS WITH FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY PROVIDING FOR DEVELOPMENT OF (1) AN ADVANCED RECLAIMED WATER PROJECT AND (2) NEXT GENERATION ENERGY PROJECTS; AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR OR HIS DESIGNEE TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENTS AND EXERCISE THE PROVISIONS CONTAINED THEREIN

BODY
WHEREAS, Miami Dade County (the County) and Florida Power and Light Company (FPL) share an interest in enhancing the sustainability of water resources and the resilience of energy supplies in the region; and
>>WHEREAS, pursuant to Resolution R-722-16, the Board of County Commissioners supported the Mayor�s efforts in seeking a solution to the environmental problems existing in the cooling canal system at Turkey Point; and<<1
WHEREAS, FPL has an obligation to restore water quality conditions in the cooling canal system serving their facilities at Turkey Point and the County has an obligation to utilize reclaimed wastewater in cost-effective and beneficial ways; and
WHEREAS, FPL and Miami-Dade County have an opportunity to partner to support two significant transportation-related projects: battery storage to support the Metrorail system and electric-vehicle charging stations for County facilities; and
WHEREAS, based upon preliminary planning, there are significant opportunities for the County and FPL to collaborate on using reclaimed water for various purposes at the Turkey Point complex and for deploying solar generating capacity and battery storage capacity at a number of County facilities and properties throughout Miami-Dade County; and
WHEREAS, this collaboration could result in the largest wastewater reuse project in State history to support zero-emissions energy sources and the production of sufficient solar-generated electrical power to match all of the County�s electrical needs essential to preserve clean air and address climate change; and
WHEREAS, a collaborative effort can reduce the cost burdens of these projects to both parties and provide new cooperative opportunities while enhancing the resilience of critical infrastructure; and
>>WHEREAS, each entity will be solely responsible for the costs associated with facilities and assets beneficial to each entity�s customers; and<<
WHEREAS, a formal engagement in detailed planning and preliminary engineering will provide the basis for specific long term agreements by which the County and FPL can realize the mutual benefits of these projects; and
WHEREAS, any agreement to implement the projects set forth in the JPAs will be presented to this Board for approval prior to incurring [[additional]] >>any<< County obligations,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board approves Joint Participation Agreements with Florida Power & Light Company providing for the development of agreements for (1) an advanced reclaimed water project and (2) next generation energy projects. The County Mayor or his designee is authorized to execute the Joint Participation Agreements, in substantially the form attached hereto and made a part hereof as Exhibits �A� and �B�, respectively, and to exercise the provisions contained therein.

1 Committee amendments are indicated as follows: words stricken through and/or [[double bracketed]] shall be deleted, words underscored and/or �double arrowed� constitute the amendment proposed.