Munisport
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Munisport Landfill, known to old-time local Miami, Florida residents as "Munisport Dump," is a closed toxic dump adjacent to a low-income community, a Florida International University campus, Oleta River State Park (a state recreational park), and estuarine Biscayne Bay. For 7 years, waste was dumped into groundwater and piled up to 50 feet high. After heavy rains, contaminated water flowed from the dump, flooding and contaminating the area.
Although Munisport was found to contain very large quantities of extremely toxic chemicals, and documented to have received hospital biohazard waste and drums of toxic chemicals during its operation, heavy political pressure brought on by wealthy developers eventually led to the site being removed from the Superfund list without any of the well documented necessary cleanup. In 2005, this uncleaned former Superfund dump was chosen to be a site for a high-cost condo development. The current developer is under no legal obligation to divulge the toxic nature of this property to future residents.
Location: North Miami, Florida Congressional District: 22
Contents |
[edit] Current Ownership
City of North Miami, Fl
[edit] History
| Year | Action |
|---|---|
| 1970 | City of North Miami purchased 350 acre parcel of land on Biscayne Bay |
| 1972 | City of North Miami leased 291 acres of this land to Munisport, Inc. for development of a golf cource |
| 1974 | Munisport, Inc began operating a landfill to fill in low-lying areas of site. Materials dumped included hospital biohazard waste as well as drums of toxic chemicals. |
| 1980 | Munisport stopped landfill operations |
| 1981 | Florida Department of Environmental Regulation (DER) revoked Munisport, Inc. operating permit |
| 1983 | (EPA) added Munisport Landfill to the (NPL). |
| 1985 | EPA conducted a remedial investigation and found that leachate from this landfill (primarily ammonia) threatens the environmental health of Biscayne Bay |
| 1989 | Dade County Public Health Unit personnel discovered and removed a small pile of hospital waste, including human biopsies, from the landfill |
| 1992 | In the first step to delist Munisport without the expense of a cleanup, a Consent Decree between the property owner, the City of North Miami (principal responsible party [PRP]), and the United States redefined and shrunk the National Priorities List boundaries of Muninsport to exclude the actual dump. Re-defined by the PRP, the new 30-acre Superfund site is in wetlands to the east, away from the dump. |
| 1993 | In Federal cost-recovery litigation, the PRP proved that drums and significant quantities of hazardous substances are buried in the dump. Despite this, ATSDR-recommended soil testing is rejected, as this would interfere with proposals to build an ampitheter at the Munisport site. |
| 1994 | A Public Health Assessment concluded that the dump is of "Indeterminate Health Hazard." Completed exposure pathways include air, contaminated soil, contaminated surface water, and ingestion of fish and oysters from Biscayne Bay. Among contaminants of concern are arsenic, ammonia, benzene, barium, cadmium, carbon disulfide, chromium, chlordane, dieldrin, lead, manganese, PCBs, strontium, and styrene. |
| 1996 | After intense lobying and heavy political pressure from local politicians and developers interested in the Munisport site, the EPA conducted inadequate samples testing designed to minimize the toxicity results and pave the way for delisting the Munisport site to make way for future development for residential and/or recreational uses. Despite protests from those who had examined who had examined the Munisport site and the original scientific findings, including respected scientists , marine biologists, local citizens, and environmental groups, the EPA used these pretextual test results to remove Munisport from the Superfund list. |
| 2005 | Boca Developers, a development group headed by Michael Swerdlow , begins construction of "Biscayne Landing", a $1 billion, 5,000-unit condo project. Workers use bulldozers to move and flatten large quantities of toxic landfill in preparation and construction, without proper safety equipment to deal with such hazardous waste. Developer is under no obligation to disclose to future residents, many families with children, about the toxic nature of the Munisport Dump site. |
[edit] Current status
Inactive. Toxins still present. Original recommended cleanup not performed.
[edit] Location
Munisport is about 2,000 feet northwest of Biscayne Bay. Munisport is bordered on the north by Northeast 151st Street., on the south by N.E. 135th Street on the east by Florida International University, and on the west by Biscayne Blvd.
[edit] Description
Munisport Dump, also known as "Munisport Landfill", comprises of some 291 acres, containing 6.2 million cubic yards of municipal, biohazardous, and industrial waste. It is a registered Superfund site.
There are 4 areas: a 170-acre landfill, 15 acres of uplands, 93 acres of altered wetlands, and 13 acres adjacent to Biscayne Bay that are separated from the rest of the site by the State of Florida mangrove preserve
[edit] Environmental Risks
The Munisport Dump is located about 2000 feet from Biscayne Bay. Natural soils in the landfill/dump area had been removed prior to dumping, increasing risk of pollution seepage, especially into the Biscayne Aquifer, a primary source for drinking water in South Florida. The solid waste was disposed of without the use of a liner and with no leachate control mechanisms, so rainfall percolating through the solid waste has caused the release of elevated levels of ammonia and other toxic pollutants into the underlying groundwater and discharges into adjacent surface water.
The remainder of Munisport site beyond the landfill area unfortunately lies below the mean high water line, further increasing risk. Both inside and outside a dike constructed along the southeastern edge of the property are mangrove swamps. Biscayne Aquifer lies 150 feet below the ground surface. The flow of regional groundwater is southeastward, towards Biscayne Bay, but varies locally due to mounding.
[edit] Documented Contamination
For 7 years, nearby residents have suffered as wastes were dumped into groundwater and piled up to 50 feet high. After heavy rains, contaminated water flows from the dump, flooding and contaminating the area.
The Western portion of Munisport Dump was backfilled with solid waste consisting, among other things, of solid waste consisting of trash and municipal garbage. Before the dump was closed, dump trucks were witnessed dumping 24 hours a day, with no government supervision. Among the non-permitted dumping discovered and documented were 12 drums containing tricresyl phosphate, ethylcyanoacetate, and acetate. On several occasions, illegal dumping of infectious hospital waste was also witnessed.
The contamination in soil, sediments, surface water, and ground water sampled and documented include
[edit] Resident Exposure to Contamination
Contaminated soil and water at Munisport has exposed adjacent Higland Village mobile home park, population est. 1,500, by stormwater run-off and contaminated airborn pollution (by dust). In addition, children have been directly exposed when trespassing on the site. There was a 1990 landfill fire that could have caused additional toxic exposure, although air sampling was not done in time. Fish and oysters in Biscayne bay have been found contaminated with PCB and heavy metals.
In 2005, workers buldozed, moved and flattened large amounts of contaminated fill without wearing any protective gear or being warned of potential hazards. It is unknown at this time if the workers will experience any long-term effects from exposure to the toxins they have been exposed to from the dust generated.
[edit] Documented Complaints from Adjacent Highland Village
The following are documented complaints from Highland Village Residents after dumping began at Munisport Landfill.
- rashes, respiratory illnesses, and infections suffered in the 1970's and 1980's, caused by exposure to dust from landfill.
- toxic smoke from the March/April 1990 landfill fire aggravated existing respiratory conditions
- increased rates of eye irritation and infection from swimming at the Oleta State Recreation Area and in the lagoon adjacent to Florida International University.
- children developed serious skin infections after being cut or scratched.
- inordinately high number of cancers in their neighborhood after dumping began
