Miami-Dade County is seeking more than $750 million from the companies that operated its former waste-to-energy facility in Doral, alleging that years of neglected fire-safety problems allowed a small fire to spread and destroy much of the plant.
The County filed the lawsuit against Reworld Dade LLC and its parent company, Reworld Holding Corporation, previously known as Covanta.
According to the complaint, Reworld received approximately $60 million annually to operate and maintain the facility but failed to correct problems with sprinkler systems, pumps and shut-off valves.
According to the County, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue issued six notices of violation for fire-code problems at the facility between October 2019 and September 2022. Other inspectors also reportedly raised concerns.
The complaint states that at least five fire-protection systems in the garbage-processing area were impaired when the fire began Feb. 12, 2023.
The blaze burned or smoldered for nearly three weeks, filling the surrounding area with smoke as hundreds of firefighters worked to bring it under control. Some Doral residents reported headaches, coughing and other symptoms during the fire. The County maintains their monitoring did not show elevated levels of toxic chemicals and local hospitals did not record an increase in related visits.
The plant processed nearly half of Miami-Dade’s municipal solid waste – about 1 million tons annually – and generated electricity for the County, Florida Power & Light and several municipalities. Its loss forced the County to redirect garbage to landfills and consider costly long-term alternatives. Previous estimates indicated that replacing the facility could cost more than $1 billion and take about a decade.
“The destruction of this facility has had enormous consequences for Miami-Dade,” Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. “We are taking this action to recover the damages our County has suffered and protect our taxpayers.”
The lawsuit includes nine claims, including breach of contract, gross negligence, fraud in the inducement and violations of the County’s False Claims Ordinance.
Miami-Dade has requested a jury trial.
The allegations have not been proven in court. The County’s announcement did not include a response from Reworld.
County alleges operator ignored years of fire-safety warnings before the 2023 blaze.