Miami Lakes Weighs Lawsuit Over Florida's Blasting Protection Law

For decades, Miami Lakes residents have grappled with large blasts that mirror earthquakes, thanks to the explosions at the nearby rock quarries in northwest Miami-Dade County west of the Florida Turnpike.

As miners extract limestone for construction projects, plates shatter, picture frames fall off the walls, and floors crack. Some homes suffer thousands in property damage.

However, Florida statute blocks property owners and local governments from taking legal action for blast-related property damage. Their only path for compensation is through the Division of Administrative Hearings.

After reform efforts have stalled in the Florida Legislature, Miami Lakes council member Steven Herzberg says the town should consider challenging the constitutionality of the state law. He has put forth an item titled "Authorization to Initiate Legal Action Challenging the Constitutionality of a Florida Statute," which will be up for a vote on Tuesday, June 17.

"The scheme created by Florida Statute 552.36 undermines the constitutional framework that protects both the independence of the judiciary and the integrity of civil justice," he wrote in his recommendation to Miami Lakes. "It sets a dangerous precedent: if left unchallenged, it sends a clear message that any politically connected industry can see insulation from judicial oversight by legislating its way out of accountability. This is not regulation, it is an exclusion."

Herzberg said that, as it currently stands, the town has no other recourse or path forward. He argued that the statute provides "unprecedented protection for the mining industry that no other industry in Florida enjoys."

"Since the creation of the Miami Lakes Blasting Advisory Board in 2018, the town has led the most sustained and comprehensive efforts in the state to address the impacts of lime rock mining," Herzberg's recommendation reads. We have done everything the system tells you to do — we have lobbied in Tallahassee, engaged with regional partners, educated the public, and attempted dialogue with the mining industry. Those efforts have been met with delay, denial, and deflection."

Given the lack of recourse, the town is responsible for the repair, inspection, and mitigation costs of blasting impacts. During a 2024 legislative workshop, the mining industry claimed that the damage is purely cosmetic.

"That financial burden is shifted to taxpayers while the responsible parties are shielded," Herzberg added. "As a property owner with property damage caused by nearby blasting, the town is not asserting the rights of third parties but instead seeks to vindicate its own constitutional protections and institutional interests."

As reported by Florida Politics, White Rock Quarries, the largest mining company in Miami-Dade County, has donated more than $480,000 to state lawmakers since 1996.

The company's Google reviews are full of noise and damage complaints.

"Our elderly are at incredible risk of heart attacks, and the sudden loud blast and shaking is putting them in grave danger," one person wrote.

"No one in the area can live peacefully; it feels like we live in a war zone. The integrity of our homes?" another commented in the reviews.

Herzberg maintained that his recommendation was not an attempt to shut down or "imperil" the mining industry but a call for equal protection under the law.

"This means the ability to protect our public infrastructure, maintain the integrity of our tax base, and access the courts when damage occurs, just as any other property owner would against any other industry," the recommendation reads.