Senate Bill 1138e1

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    SB 1138                                  First Engrossed (ntc)



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Lake Region Lakes

  3         Management District, Polk County; amending

  4         chapter 8378, Laws of Florida, 1919, as

  5         amended; exempting the district from certain

  6         permitting requirements; providing an effective

  7         date.

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  9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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11         Section 1.  Section 3 of chapter 8378, Laws of Florida,

12  1919, as amended by section 1 of chapter 90-499, Laws of

13  Florida, as amended by section 3 of chapter 97-344, Laws of

14  Florida, is amended to read:

15         Section 3.  General Powers and Authority.--

16         (1)  The Board of Commissioners is authorized and

17  empowered:

18         (c)  To purchase, lease, sell, exchange or otherwise

19  acquire or dispose of real property and rights-of-way and to

20  construct, reconstruct, improve, extend, enlarge, relocate,

21  equip, operate, repair and maintain such public canals and

22  drainage canals, dams, locks, canal banks, lake shores, water

23  control structures, stormwater control and treatment

24  facilities and other facilities necessary or proper to further

25  the purposes of this act. However, any such stormwater control

26  or treatment facility project shall be undertaken only with

27  the concurrence of the governing body having jurisdiction over

28  the area involved.

29         (d)  To beautify and maintain the rights-of-way, canal

30  banks and berms, lakes, public lake shores and other property

31  of the district as may enhance the appearance thereof and be


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    SB 1138                                  First Engrossed (ntc)



  1  beneficial to the property of the district.  To the extent

  2  this work takes place on property owned by private entities or

  3  other public agencies, the prior permissions of such entities

  4  or agencies shall be required.

  5         (f)  To take those measures necessary for the control

  6  of undesirable aquatic and canal bank plants or pests as

  7  determined by the Board of Commissioners, using best

  8  management practices.

  9         (2)  The construction and maintenance of canals

10  connecting and managing the lakes, the development and

11  maintenance of areas adjoining the lakes and canals within the

12  district, the construction of stormwater control and treatment

13  facilities, the construction and operation of water control

14  structures as needed within canals affecting lakes within the

15  district, and other works of the district in connection

16  therewith, are hereby found to be of great importance, benefit

17  and utility to the inhabitants of the district.  The district

18  is specifically authorized and empowered to exercise the

19  powers granted under this section outside the geographical

20  limits of the district, but within the drainage basins

21  containing the lakes within the district, when such exercise

22  is necessary or convenient to further the purposes of the

23  district and upon the concurrence of the governing body having

24  jurisdiction over the area involved.

25         (3)  In furtherance of the purposes provided in

26  subsections (1) and (2), the district is exempt from the

27  permitting requirements of chapter 373, part IV, Florida

28  Statutes, to the extent described in this subsection. The

29  district is not required to obtain a permit to:

30         (a)  Install for lake-level-management purposes up to

31  two 24-inch pipes or their equivalent, which are incorporated


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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    SB 1138                                  First Engrossed (ntc)



  1  with a water control structure, and are operated based on a

  2  water management district's adopted lake-levels program which

  3  was created pursuant to chapter 373, F.S.

  4         (b)  Remove pipes, crossovers, or other restrictions

  5  located within a ditch if such items are too small for or

  6  restrict the flow of water in a ditch.

  7         (c)  Add pipes or change the inverts of pipes located

  8  in ditch crossovers when existing crossovers restrict the flow

  9  of water in an existing ditch.

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11  The Lake Region Lakes Management District shall notify the

12  Southwest Florida Water Management District when it undertakes

13  project activities which qualify for an exemption pursuant to

14  this subsection. The area within the Lake Region Lakes

15  Management District that falls under the jurisdiction of the

16  St. John's River Water Management District is not subject to

17  the exemption provided in this subsection.

18         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

19  law.

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