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(Photo by Larry Temple)
Audubon Society has filed its Initial Brief in its appeal to Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal seeking to overturn a vote by Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet to approve a new highway that threatens Everglades Restoration and risks Miami-Dade County drinking water security.
The Cabinet’s Sept. 22, 2021, vote (Attorney General Ashley Moody and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis joined the governor in approving the highway; Agricultural and Consumer Services Commissioner Nikki Fried dissented) reversed a judge’s factual and legal rulings, and if unopposed, would pave the way for Miami-Dade Expressway Authority’s (MDC) proposed extension of the State Road 836 tollway.
If built, the extension would breach the county’s Urban Development Boundary (UDB) and intrude into Everglades Wetlands and the county’s West Wellfield from which the county draws drinking water.
“As South Florida’s Voice of Conservation, filing this appeal, honors Tropical Audubon Society’s legacy of protecting wetlands habitat that birds and other wildlife rely on, and safe-guarding clean drinking water that Miami-Dade County residents rely on,” said Tropical Audubon Society president José Francisco Barros. “The cabinet’s order defies the county’s CDMP and the state’s Everglades Restoration plans. If upheld, it would be a huge loss for our county’s wildlife and human residents.”
The governor and cabinet’s decision, if upheld, would risk the region’s drinking water supply, jeopardize Everglades Restoration and threaten crucial habitat for birds and other wildlife. It would deepen the community’s dependence on single-vehicle commutes, and create insurmountable pressure for more development in West Kendall.
According to MDX’s own data, the new highway, if built, would more than double the congestion on the existing segment of SR 836. Despite these demonstrably adverse impacts, the cabinet rejected Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Suzanne Van Wyk’s March 2020 decision that the proposed 14-mile, six-lane toll road violates state planning law.
Miami-Dade County’s sole justification for the tollway extension — that it would improve congestion — was flatly rejected by the judge based on the evidence, which showed only “meager” positive traffic impacts in some locations, and worse traffic on the existing highway if the tollway is built.
