Environmental Hypocrisy? Higgins Talks Green but Voted to Empower Developers

“[Developers] finally get their gift-wrapped present: a neutered watchdog,” said prolific writer Elaine De Valle.

Former Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins boasts that she is a progressive problem-solver and environmental defender. She touts that her record of public service includes tree-planting initiatives, tougher fertilizer rules, and protection for Biscayne Bay. 

But her record, specifically on environmental issues, has been called into question on numerous occasions. Critics allege that Higgins is a developer’s ally who, while talking green, has voted in ways that loosen environmental oversight and speed projects that favor industry above all else.

Critics took particular issue with Higgins’ vote, as part of a budget hearing, to strip the county’s Division of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) of its permitting authority. Experts had warned that, “without the ability to enforce its department regulations, DERM would essentially be sidelined, writing reports to persuade others to do the enforcing,” which itself “could cripple the county’s ability to protect waters and wilderness.” 

Last month, during a debate between Mayoral candidates, Higgins was questioned about this by an attendee who said that she was “profoundly concerned about the recent budget cuts to take the teeth out of DERM.” 

After Higgins defended her position, former Member of the Miami City Commission Ken Russell—also a Democrat—chimed in to say that it was “a horrible vote of the County Commission” and remind the audience that “Commissioner Higgins was a part of it.”

“All of the environmental organizations that care about this and tried to raise this alarm went straight to the Mayor and begged her—and she said: ‘The votes are already done. They’re there.’ And what this did is it took the permitting power of DERM away over to development. This is not good,” Russell continued. “[DERM is] a very strong organization and they have been weakened, but it was positioned to look like we strengthened them to make them a standalone. This was a horrible environmental decision and Commissioner Higgins voted for it.”

Higgins then nodded, as evidenced by a video Russell posted to Instagram.

“All Miami elected officials should hold developers to the highest standards,” said Floridian Jacqueline Kena Gross Kellogg, who appears to oppose the lessening of regulatory authority that has been imposed on DERM. “Miami should be the leader in green infrastructure, no compromises, no short cuts. Our water quality is too important!'

Russell has also posted screenshots of an alleged internal memo by the (Builders Association of South Florida which reads: “Finally, BASF’s recent support of DERM fee increases was predicated on a promise of more streamlined and integrated approach to regulatory review. Let’s stay on the smart course: KEEP ALL DERM REGULATORY STAFF UNDER RER, LIKE THEY ARE NOW!”

“This internal memo… shows that they were not only supportive of this measure, but that they told their folks to stand down on the DERM changes because they got everything they wanted,” said Russell.

Similar sentiments were shared by Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Elaine De Valle: “Now, when everyone is distracted with the budget crisis, [developers] finally get their gift-wrapped present: a neutered watchdog. Is this about efficiency? Or is it about clearing a path for the bulldozers?” 

She warned that “if commissioners rubber-stamp it on Thursday, don’t be surprised when more wetlands, mangroves and pine rocklands—the second most endangered habitat in the world—disappear under asphalt.”

It was rubber-stamped, with help from Higgins. 

Higgins has also faced criticism for her role in approving the nation’s largest garbage incinerator —a $1.5 billion plan—despite urging from around 60 environmental groups that doing so would have catastrophic consequences. The facility, which allegedly will process 4,000 tons of garbage per day, would result in massive carbon dioxide emissions and could—depending on its final location—disproportionately impact the living conditions of majority-minority communities, according to humanitarian groups.

“Historically, communities of color have suffered the impacts of toxic plants near our cities, affecting our health and well-being,” said Elisha Moultrie, Miami-Dade NAACP committee leader. “[It is] environmental injustice and racial injustice.”

The lead bidder on the county contract for the incinerator is Florida Power and Light (FPL), Florida's largest private utility provider who, in 2024, reported a profit margin of over $4 billion. FPL recently proposed a $7 billion rate increase, which was approved by Florida’s Public Service Commission yesterday. This marks the largest rate hike in the state’s history.

“Floridians already struggling to make ends meet will now face a further burden imposed solely to enrich FPL shareholders’ pockets,” reads a statement by left-wing activist group Florida Rising. 

“Once the watchdog loses its teeth, the foxes will run wild in the henhouse,” De Valle said.