Florida Senate - 2020                                    SB 1618
       
       
        
       By Senator Diaz
       
       
       
       
       
       36-01876A-20                                          20201618__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to construction materials mining
    3         activities; amending s. 552.30, F.S.; providing
    4         legislative findings; creating a pilot program within
    5         the Division of State Fire Marshal to monitor and
    6         report on the use of explosives in construction
    7         materials mining activities in Miami-Dade County;
    8         requiring the State Fire Marshal to hire or contract
    9         with seismologists to monitor and report blasts
   10         occurring in connection with construction materials
   11         mining activities in Miami-Dade County and to post the
   12         reports of the seismologists on the division’s
   13         website; providing requirements for such
   14         seismologists; requiring a person who engages in
   15         construction materials mining activities in Miami-Dade
   16         County to submit certain written notice relating to
   17         the use of an explosive to the State Fire Marshal;
   18         requiring the State Fire Marshal to adopt rules;
   19         providing an appropriation; providing an effective
   20         date.
   21          
   22  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   23  
   24         Section 1. Section 552.30, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   25  read:
   26         552.30 Construction materials mining activities.—
   27         (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 552.25, the State
   28  Fire Marshal shall have the sole and exclusive authority to
   29  adopt promulgate standards, limits, and regulations regarding
   30  the use of explosives used for in conjunction with construction
   31  materials mining activities. Such authority to regulate use
   32  shall include, directly or indirectly, the operation, handling,
   33  licensure, or permitting of explosives and setting standards or
   34  limits, including, but not limited to, ground vibration,
   35  frequency, intensity, blast pattern, air blast and time, date,
   36  occurrence, and notice restrictions. As used in this section,
   37  the term “construction materials mining activities” means the
   38  extraction of limestone and sand suitable for production of
   39  construction aggregates, sand, cement, and road base materials
   40  for shipment offsite by any person or company primarily engaged
   41  in the commercial mining of any such natural resources.
   42         (2) The State Fire Marshal shall establish statewide ground
   43  vibration limits for construction materials mining activities
   44  which conform to those limits established in the United States
   45  Bureau of Mines, Report of Investigations 8507, Appendix B -
   46  Alternative Blasting Level Criteria (Figure B-1). The State Fire
   47  Marshal may, at his or her sole discretion, by rule or formal
   48  agreement, delegate to the applicable municipality or county,
   49  the monitoring and enforcement components of regulations
   50  governing the use of explosives, as recognized in this section,
   51  by construction materials mining activities. Such delegation may
   52  include the assessment and collection of reasonable fees by the
   53  municipality or county for the purpose of carrying out the
   54  delegated activities.
   55         (3) The State Fire Marshal is directed to conduct or
   56  contract for a study to review whether the established statewide
   57  ground vibration limits for construction materials mining
   58  activities are still appropriate and to review any legitimate
   59  claims paid for damages caused by such mining activities. The
   60  study must include a review of measured vibration amplitudes and
   61  frequencies, structure responses, theoretical analyses of
   62  material strength and strains, and assessments of home damages.
   63         (a) The study shall be funded using the specified portion
   64  of revenues received from the water treatment plant upgrade fee
   65  pursuant to s. 373.41492.
   66         (b) The State Fire Marshal shall submit a report to the
   67  Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
   68  House of Representatives by December 1, 2016, which contains the
   69  findings of the study and any recommendations.
   70         (4)(a)The Legislature finds that construction materials
   71  mining activities require the use of explosives to fracture the
   72  material before excavation. The use of explosives results in
   73  physical ground vibrations and air blasts that may affect other
   74  property owners in the vicinity of the mining site. It is in the
   75  best interest of the public to ensure that blasts resulting from
   76  the use of explosives for construction materials mining
   77  activities are accurately monitored and reported to ensure the
   78  blasts do not exceed physical ground vibration and air blast
   79  limits. The Legislature further finds that more permits for
   80  construction materials mining activities have been issued to
   81  entities operating in Miami-Dade County than any other county in
   82  the state.
   83         (b)A monitoring and reporting pilot program for the use of
   84  explosives is created within the Division of the State Fire
   85  Marshal to monitor and report each blast resulting from the use
   86  of explosives for construction materials mining activities in
   87  Miami-Dade County.
   88         (c)The State Fire Marshal shall hire or contract with
   89  seismologists to monitor and report each blast resulting from
   90  the use of explosives for construction materials mining
   91  activities in Miami-Dade County, including, at a minimum,
   92  monitoring and reporting the ground vibration, frequency,
   93  intensity, air blast, and time and date of the blast. The State
   94  Fire Marshal shall post the reports on the division’s website to
   95  be available to the public.
   96         (d)A seismologist hired or contracted by the State Fire
   97  Marshal as required by this subsection may not:
   98         1.Be an employee of or under contract with a person who
   99  engages in or contracts for construction materials mining
  100  activities.
  101         2.Have engaged in dishonest practices relating to the
  102  collection or analysis of data or information regarding the use
  103  of explosives in construction materials mining activities.
  104         (e)A person who engages in construction materials mining
  105  activities shall provide written notice to the State Fire
  106  Marshal of the use of an explosive for construction materials
  107  mining activities in Miami-Dade County before the detonation of
  108  the explosive.
  109         (f)The State Fire Marshal shall adopt rules to implement
  110  and enforce this subsection.
  111         Section 2. For fiscal year 2020-2021, the recurring sum of
  112  $600,000 and the nonrecurring sum of $440,000 are appropriated
  113  from the General Revenue Fund to the Division of State Fire
  114  Marshal within the Department of Financial Services for the
  115  purpose of implementing the monitoring and reporting pilot
  116  program for the use of explosives in Miami-Dade County pursuant
  117  to s. 552.30(4), Florida Statutes.
  118         Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2020.