Munisport
Munisport Landfill Location: North Miami, Florida
Current Ownership
City of North Miami, Fl
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 | |
| 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 | |
| 1993 | PRP proved Federal cost-recovery litigation that drums and significant quantities of hazardous substances are buried in the dump. | - |
Current Status
Inactive
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.
Description
Munisport Dump, also known as "Munispor 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
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 contamination in soil, sediments, surface water, and ground water include
- ammonia
- benzene
- cadmium
- carbon disulfide
- chloromethane
- coliform bacteria
- dieldrin
- lead
- methylene chloride
- pentachlorophenol
- polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- styrene
- vanadium
- zinc
- di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate
Resident Exposure to Contamination
Highland Village mobile home park southwest of the site was exposed, population approx. 1,500 people. Contaminated soil and water at Munisport has exposed adjacent Higland Village mobile home park, population est. 1,500, have been exposed 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 oystersin Biscayne bay have been found contaminated with PCB and heavy metals.