The 1997 Miami River Quality Action Team identified the single greatest problem of enforcement as limitations of agency resources in staff and funding. A creative combination of continued efforts, new initiatives and proposed future measures are planned to cover existing shortfalls.

On-Going Efforts

PROBLEM: "Impromptu facilities" and waterfront facility safety.

Numerous waterfront facility operators on the Miami River serve as the gateway for the export of general cargo, vehicles, food products, fuel and hazardous materials. Because of the transient nature of many of these facilities, noncompliance with federal, state, and local regulations has historically been a problem. In 1997, several property owners began receiving ships and cargo at properties which were marginally developed and could only loosely be described as marine terminals. Occasionally ocean-going vessels could be seen moored to nothing more than a tree. These "impromptu facilities" were not fully in compliance with federal, state and local safety and permitting requirements.

SOLUTION: Multi-agency inspection activities. Several impromptu facilities were the targets of joint multi-agency inspections and compliance audits by the Coast Guard, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Dade County Environmental Resource Management, City of Miami Downtown NET, and local police and fire departments. Multi-agency inspections offer a streamlined, unified approach that benefit waterfront facility operators and regulatory agencies alike.

Illegal Drugs, Aliens and Merchandise Cocaine : 4,425 lbs. (9 Arrests) Stolen Cars: 58 Recovered Illegal Aliens : 421 Public information seizures by one agency alone, U.S. Customs, for 1996-97.

From a regulator's standpoint, they result in increased interagency cooperation, cross training, and efficiency by serving as a force multiplier for scarce enforcement resources. Facility operators benefit from the unified, consistent enforcement by federal, state and local agencies with sometimes concurrent jurisdiction. As in the past, using equal doses of education and enforcement, the QAT has continued to achieve great success in bringing waterfront facilities into compliance with federal and local regulations.

The State Attorney's Crime Stoppers Program

Described in greater detail on page 7 of this report, the Crime Stoppers program encourages citizen reporting of environmental crimes by establishing rewards for the arrest and filing of charges against perpetrators. The Crime Stoppers number is 471-TIPS.

New Innovations

PROBLEM: Riverside security and jurisdictional issues involving enforcement and regulatory agencies.

The Miami River has long been an area of inbound smuggling of narcotics from vessels which visit from the Caribbean and Central and South America. In addition to the inbound threat, the river is affected by a significant outbound threat. The illegal shipments of stolen vehicles and cargo from the river to the Caribbean and the Americas represents a significant problem. While there have been enforcement operations, some fairly significant in scope, they have been single jurisdictional for the most part.

SOLUTION: U.S. Customs intiative, the Miami River Project.

The Miami River project is a multijurisdictional consortium of law enforcement agencies working in coordination with federal, state and local regulatory agencies to conduct combined enforcement operations that will address crime and the quality of life issues affecting South Florida and the Miami River. Begun in the Fall of 1997, the Project allows enforcement entities to share intelligence and resolve or refer jurisdictional issues instantly, thus enhancing law enforcement capabilities. Two operations conducted in October and December of 1997 netted impressive results in recovering stolen cars and the discovery of illegal drugs and immigrants hidden among bulk cargo.

Participants in the Miami River Project include U.S. Customs Service Offices of Investigations and Field Operations; U.S. Immigration Service; U.S. Border Patrol; Miami-Dade Police Department's Multi-Agency Auto Theft Task Force and Miami-Dade Police Cargo Theft Investigations; and the City of Miami Police Department.

Participating agencies maintain communication with the Miami River Quality Action Team and the Miami River Enforcement Group to enlarge the community's involvement in river enforcement activities. Health and safety issues are referred to the U.S. Coast Guard's Office of Marine Safety, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Florida Marine Patrol, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Miami-Dade's Department of Environmental Resources Management. The newly created Miami River Hotline will assist in referral of these calls.

Phone: (305) 637-7977
Fax: (305) 637-7949
Email: [email protected]