Civil Rights Complaint against the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Environmental Injustices in Doral and Statewide from Incinerator Permitting

The document is a formal complaint alleging that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) discriminates against people of color, persons with limited English proficiency (LEP), women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. The core of the complaint focuses on the DEP's permitting of waste incinerators—which are disproportionately located in marginalized communities—and the agency's failure to provide Spanish-language interpretation and accessible meeting formats during the permit renewal process for the Miami-Dade County Resources Recovery Facility in Doral.

• The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is alleged to have violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 by failing to consider environmental justice in its permitting actions and failing to accommodate LEP persons and those with disabilities.
• Waste incinerators in Florida are disproportionately located in communities of color and linguistically isolated areas; 70% of the state's municipal incinerators are in such communities.
• The Doral incinerator (Miami-Dade County Resources Recovery Facility) is identified as a stark outlier for disparate impact, with 93% of the surrounding community being people of color and 28% being linguistically isolated, compared to state averages of 46% and 7% respectively.
• DEP failed to provide meaningful access for Spanish speakers during the Doral incinerator permit renewal process by publishing notices in English only and initially refusing to provide a certified Spanish-language interpreter for a public meeting.
• The complaint argues that incinerators disproportionately harm women's reproductive health and the health of children and the elderly, yet DEP does not account for these demographic factors in its permitting.
• DEP's use of virtual-only meetings via Microsoft Teams is alleged to create barriers for people with disabilities, the elderly, and LEP persons due to complex registration requirements and a lack of hybrid options.
• DEP officials allegedly claimed that federal nondiscrimination laws and guidance do not apply to its Title V program because that specific program does not rely on federal funding, a claim the complainant disputes because DEP as an agency receives EPA funds.
• The complainant requests that the EPA require DEP to develop a formal LEP program, revise the Florida Administrative Code to require multilingual notices, and mandate that public meetings be held in hybrid formats using accessible platforms like Zoom.

APA

Earthjustice (2022). Civil Rights Complaint against the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Environmental Injustices in Doral and Statewide from Incinerator Permitting. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/civil_rights_complaint_against_fdep_florida_rising.pdf

Chicago

Earthjustice. Civil Rights Complaint against the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Environmental Injustices in Doral and Statewide from Incinerator Permitting. 2022. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/civil_rights_complaint_against_fdep_florida_rising.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Earthjustice |title=Civil Rights Complaint against the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Environmental Injustices in Doral and Statewide from Incinerator Permitting |date=31 March 2022 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/civil_rights_complaint_against_fdep_florida_rising.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{earthjustice2022civil, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{Civil Rights Complaint against the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Environmental Injustices in Doral and Statewide from Incinerator Permitting}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/civil_rights_complaint_against_fdep_florida_rising.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }