CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.House Bill 0785
Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 785
By Representative Putnam
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to environmental protection;
3 amending s. 253.03, F.S.; prohibiting the
4 control, regulation, permitting, or imposition
5 of charges on certain severed materials;
6 amending s. 369.20, F.S.; authorizing certain
7 riparian owners to remove aquatic plants
8 without certain permits under certain
9 circumstances; authorizing the Department of
10 Environmental Protection to issue certain
11 permits; providing criteria; providing
12 construction; exempting such permits from
13 certain water pollution operation permit
14 requirements; amending s. 403.813, F.S.;
15 exempting installation and repair of certain
16 piers and docking facilities from certain
17 permitting requirements; providing an effective
18 date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Subsection (16) is added to section 253.03,
23 Florida Statutes, 1996 Supplement, to read:
24 253.03 Board of trustees to administer state lands;
25 lands enumerated.--
26 (16) The Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement
27 Trust Fund, and the state through its agencies, may not
28 control, regulate, permit, or charge for any severed materials
29 which are removed from the area adjacent to an intake or
30 discharge structure pursuant to an exemption authorized in s.
31 403.813(2)(f).
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1 Section 2. Subsections (8), (9), (10), and (11) are
2 added to section 369.20, Florida Statutes, 1996 Supplement, to
3 read:
4 369.20 Florida Aquatic Weed Control Act.--
5 (8) As an exemption to all permitting requirements in
6 this section and ss. 369.22 and 369.25, in all freshwater
7 bodies, except aquatic preserves designated under chapter 258
8 and Outstanding Florida Waters designated under chapter 403, a
9 riparian owner may physically or mechanically remove aquatic
10 plants within an area delimited by up to 50 percent of the
11 property owner's frontage or 50 feet, whichever is less, and
12 by a sufficient length waterward from, and perpendicular to,
13 the riparian owner's shoreline to create a corridor to allow
14 access for a boat or swimmer to reach open water. All
15 unvegetated areas shall be cumulatively considered when
16 determining the width of the exempt corridor. Physical or
17 mechanical removal does not include the use of any chemicals
18 or any activity that requires a permit pursuant to part IV of
19 chapter 373.
20 (9) The department is authorized to issue an aquatic
21 plant control general permit for the removal of aquatic
22 plants, the removal of tussocks, the associated replanting of
23 indigenous aquatic plants, or the associated removal from
24 freshwater bodies of organic detrital material that exists on
25 the surface of natural mineral soil that is necessary to
26 accomplish such plant removal or replanting, or the removal of
27 aquatic plants for aquatic plant management, including
28 associated incidental removal of sediment attached to plant
29 roots.
30 (a) The activities permitted pursuant to this
31 subsection are exempt from the requirement to obtain a permit
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Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 785
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1 pursuant to part IV of chapter 373 and no fee shall be
2 required.
3 (b) Organic detrital material that exists on the
4 surface of natural mineral soil shall be permitted to be
5 removed to a depth of 3 feet or to the natural mineral soils,
6 whichever is less.
7 (c) All organic material shall be deposited in an
8 upland site except when spoil material is permitted to be used
9 to create wildlife islands in freshwater bodies of the state
10 when a governmental entity is permitted pursuant to this
11 section to create such islands as a part of a restoration or
12 enhancement project.
13 (d) All activities shall be performed in a manner to
14 prevent violations of state water quality standards.
15 (e) The department is not authorized to adopt
16 implementing rules for this subsection, notwithstanding any
17 other provision of law.
18 (10) A permit issued pursuant to this section to
19 control, eradicate, remove, or replant aquatic plants, to
20 remove tussocks, or to remove organic detrital material on
21 sovereign submerged lands or other state lands constitutes
22 consent of use and authorization required pursuant to chapter
23 253 for such activities.
24 (11) A permit issued pursuant to this section for the
25 application of herbicides to waters in the state for the
26 control of aquatic plants, algae, or invasive exotic plants is
27 exempt from the requirement to obtain a water pollution
28 operation permit pursuant to s. 403.088.
29 Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
30 403.813, Florida Statutes, 1996 Supplement, is amended to
31 read:
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1 403.813 Permits issued at district centers;
2 exceptions.--
3 (2) No permit under this chapter, chapter 373, chapter
4 61-691, Laws of Florida, or chapter 25214 or chapter 25270,
5 Laws of Florida, 1949, shall be required for activities
6 associated with the following types of projects; however,
7 nothing in this subsection relieves an applicant from any
8 requirement to obtain permission to use or occupy lands owned
9 by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust
10 Fund or any water management district in its governmental or
11 proprietary capacity or from complying with applicable local
12 pollution control programs authorized under this chapter or
13 other requirements of county and municipal governments:
14 (b) The installation and repair of mooring pilings and
15 dolphins associated with private docking facilities or piers
16 and the installation of private docks, or piers and
17 recreational docking facilities or piers of local governmental
18 entities, any of which structures docks:
19 1. Has 500 square feet or less of over-water surface
20 area for a dock which is located in an area designated as
21 Outstanding Florida Waters or 1,000 square feet or less of
22 over-water surface area for a dock which is located in an area
23 which is not designated as Outstanding Florida Waters;
24 2. Is constructed on or held in place by pilings or is
25 a floating dock which is constructed so as not to involve
26 filling or dredging other than that necessary to install the
27 pilings;
28 3. Shall not substantially impede the flow of water or
29 create a navigational hazard;
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1 4. Is used for recreational, noncommercial activities
2 associated with the mooring or storage of boats and boat
3 paraphernalia; and
4 5. Is the sole dock constructed pursuant to this
5 exemption as measured along the shoreline for a distance of 65
6 feet, unless the parcel of land or individual lot as platted
7 is less than 65 feet in length along the shoreline, in which
8 case there may be one exempt dock allowed per parcel or lot.
9
10 Nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit the department from
11 taking appropriate enforcement action pursuant to this chapter
12 to abate or prohibit any activity otherwise exempt from
13 permitting pursuant to this paragraph if the department can
14 demonstrate that the exempted activity has caused water
15 pollution in violation of this chapter.
16 Section 4. This act shall take effect October 1, 1997.
17
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19 HOUSE SUMMARY
20
Prohibits the control, regulation, permitting, or
21 imposition of charges on materials severed from areas
around intake or discharge structures. Authorizes
22 freshwater riparian owners to remove aquatic plants
without permits to create an access corridor from land to
23 open water. Authorizes the Department of Environmental
Protection to issue permits to remove or replant aquatic
24 plants. Exempts installation and repair of piers and the
installation of private piers and recreational docking
25 facilities and piers of local governmental entities from
permitting requirements. See bill for details.
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