The Florida Senate

403.518  Fees; disposition.--

(1)  The department shall charge the applicant the following fees, as appropriate, which shall be paid into the Florida Permit Fee Trust Fund:

(a)  A fee for a notice of intent pursuant to s. 403.5063, in the amount of $2,500, to be submitted to the department at the time of filing of a notice of intent. The notice-of-intent fee shall be used and disbursed in the same manner as the application fee.

(b)  An application fee, which shall not exceed $200,000. The fee shall be fixed by rule on a sliding scale related to the size, type, ultimate site capacity, increase in generating capacity proposed by the application, or the number and size of local governments in whose jurisdiction the electrical power plant is located.

1.  Sixty percent of the fee shall go to the department to cover any costs associated with reviewing and acting upon the application, to cover any field services associated with monitoring construction and operation of the facility, and to cover the costs of the public notices published by the department.

2.  Twenty percent of the fee or $25,000, whichever is greater, shall be transferred to the Administrative Trust Fund of the Division of Administrative Hearings of the Department of Management Services.

3.  Upon written request with proper itemized accounting within 90 days after final agency action by the board or withdrawal of the application, the department shall reimburse the Department of Community Affairs, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and any water management district created pursuant to chapter 373, regional planning council, and local government in the jurisdiction of which the proposed electrical power plant is to be located, and any other agency from which the department requests special studies pursuant to s. 403.507(2)(a)7. Such reimbursement shall be authorized for the preparation of any studies required of the agencies by this act, and for agency travel and per diem to attend any hearing held pursuant to this act, and for local governments to participate in the proceedings. In the event the amount available for allocation is insufficient to provide for complete reimbursement to the agencies, reimbursement shall be on a prorated basis.

4.  If any sums are remaining, the department shall retain them for its use in the same manner as is otherwise authorized by this act; provided, however, that if the certification application is withdrawn, the remaining sums shall be refunded to the applicant within 90 days after withdrawal.

(c)  A certification modification fee, which shall not exceed $30,000. The fee shall be submitted to the department with a formal petition for modification to the department pursuant to s. 403.516 This fee shall be established, disbursed, and processed in the same manner as the application fee in paragraph (b), except that the Division of Administrative Hearings shall not receive a portion of the fee unless the petition for certification modification is referred to the Division of Administrative Hearings for hearing. If the petition is so referred, only $10,000 of the fee shall be transferred to the Administrative Trust Fund of the Division of Administrative Hearings of the Department of Management Services. The fee for a modification by agreement filed pursuant to s. 403.516(1)(b) shall be $10,000 to be paid upon the filing of the request for modification. Any sums remaining after payment of authorized costs shall be refunded to the applicant within 90 days of issuance or denial of the modification or withdrawal of the request for modification.

(d)  A supplemental application fee, not to exceed $75,000, to cover all reasonable expenses and costs of the review, processing, and proceedings of a supplemental application. This fee shall be established, disbursed, and processed in the same manner as the certification application fee in paragraph (b), except that only $20,000 of the fee shall be transferred to the Administrative Trust Fund of the Division of Administrative Hearings of the Department of Management Services.

(e)  An existing site certification application fee, not to exceed $200,000, to cover all reasonable costs and expenses of the review processing and proceedings for certification of an existing power plant site under s. 403.5175 This fee must be established, disbursed, and processed in the same manner as the certification application fee in paragraph (b).

(2)  Effective upon the date commercial operation begins, the operator of an electrical power plant certified under this part is required to pay to the department an annual operation license fee as specified in s. 403.0872(11) to be deposited in the Air Pollution Control Trust Fund.

History.--s. 23, ch. 90-331; s. 11, ch. 92-132; s. 13, ch. 93-94; s. 387, ch. 94-356; s. 65, ch. 96-321; s. 208, ch. 99-245; s. 29, ch. 2000-153.