"VIRGINIA KEY, Fla. -- The wastewater plant on this barrier island sits tucked in a northern corner, away from the wading birds, views of Miami Beach and grassy vegetation providing prime picnic spots."
"If not for the perfumed mist sprayed from metal pipes to camouflage the odor, it could be any blocky warehouse of white buildings. Past a dirt road, one white building links to an orange-tinged pipe, curved like the hook of a fattened umbrella.
Nondescript as it is, the pipe is at the center of one of the biggest fights over climate change in the country. It carries millions of tons of partially treated sewage daily -- after it is piped underwater from Miami Beach -- miles out to the ocean. Environmentalists fear a direct hit from a strong storm could knock out the plant and the pipe for long periods of time, sending raw sewage into Biscayne Bay."
Christa Marshall reports for ClimateWire September 3, 2013.
