STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

IN RE: Application of CITY OF ) MIAMI (Department of Public ) Works) to Install a 54" Storm )

Sewer Outfall Adjacent to ) CASE NO. 75-451 Venetian Causeway Bridge )

Abutment )

) TIITF File No. 13-39-2728 )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice the Division of Administrative Hearings, by its duly designated hearing office, K. N. Ayers, held a public

hearing in the above styled cause on June 30, 1975 in Miami, Florida.

APPEARANCES

For Applicant, Michael Anderson

City of Miami: 65 Southwest First Street

Miami, Florida

For Florida Board Steven Barber

of Trustees: Internal Improvement Trust Fund

1. By this application the City of Miami, through its Department of Public Works, seeks authority to construct a 54" concrete pipe through the bulkhead adjacent to the Venetian Causeway Bridge Abutment to be used as a storm sewer outfall. It will replace an existing 24" combined sanitary and storm sewer outfall.

   
   

2. Two witnesses testified in support of the application, and six exhibits were admitted into evidence. The area in the vicinity of Northeast 15th Street and Biscayne Bay, Miami, has experienced considerable difficulty in the past with flooding. During strong winds, tidal waters can inundate the streets in this vicinity. The proposed project will raise the ground level of the street two feet above mean high water. The area to be serviced with the new line is slightly larger than the area that was serviced by the existing 24" line.

   
   

3. During construction it will be necessary to excavate approximately 210 cubic yards of material from Biscayne Bay to install the sewer outfall through the bulkhead at this, point. During this construction all requirements of the Department of Pollution Control contained in Exhibit 5 will be complied with. Siltation barriers will be installed while work is in progress to reduce turbidity during construction. Exhibits 2 and 3 are photographs showing the flooding condition of Biscayne Blvd. in the vicinity of 15th Street.

   
   

4. By increasing the size of the outfall line it is proposed to reduce the rate of flow of surface drainage water into Biscayne Bay. This will facilitate better filtration, and sumps will be used in all manholes and catch basins.

5. Exhibit 6, a letter from the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission dated August 23, 1974 was admitted into evidence without objection. In this letter the Commission recommends the selection of an appropriate upland retention area to which the surface water should be removed rather than allowed to flow into Biscayne Bay. The applicant investigated this proposal of the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission; and, due to the additional cost of pumping and the energy required to carry out this type of project, plus the expense involved in providing conduits for the water to be removed to distant areas, concluded that the proposal of the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission was not feasible.

   
   

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

6. Section 258.165(5), Florida Statutes, provides

   
   

   "Neither the establishment nor the management of the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve shall operate to infringe upon the riparian rights

   of upland property owners adjacent to or within the preserve. Reasonable improvement for ingress and egress, mosquito control, shore protection, public utility expansion, and similar purposes may be permitted by the board of trustees or Department of Pollution Control, subject to the provisions of any other applicable laws under the jurisdiction of other agencies."

   
   

7. Surface drainage in the vicinity of 15th Street and Biscayne Blvd. is required by the public interest and would appear to be a reasonable purpose as contemplated by the above quoted provision of the statutes. The only testimony pertaining to the feasibility of removing the surface water to an upland site was to the effect that such removal was not a feasible solution to the problem. With the known energy shortage and the absence of any testimony respecting a location to which this water could be removed it is concluded that the solution suggested by the Fame and Fresh Water Fish Commission is not feasible.

   
   

8. From the foregoing, the hearing officer concludes that the proposed project is required in the public interest and will not adversely affect the water quality of Biscayne Bay. It is therefore,

RECOMMENDED that the application of the City of Miami (Public Works Department) for a permit be approved so as to authorize the installation of a 54" outfall through the bulkhead adjacent to Venetian Causeway Bridge Abutment, in accordance with the application and subject to the restrictions imposed by the Department of Pollution Control.

ENTERED this 28th day of July, 1975 in Tallahassee, Florida.

K. N. AYERS, Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings Room 530, Carlton Building Tallahassee, Florida 32304

(904) 488-9675

COPIES FURNISHED:

Michael Anderson

65 SW First Street Miami, Florida

Steve Barber Brock Building

Tallahassee, Florida 32304

Docket for Case No: 75-000451

Orders for Case No: 75-000451