| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the planned east coast buffer water |
| 3 | resources management plan of the South Florida Water |
| 4 | Management District; amending s. 373.4149, F.S.; revising |
| 5 | the geographic boundaries of the Miami-Dade County Lake |
| 6 | Belt Area; amending s. 373.41492, F.S.; revising the |
| 7 | geographic boundaries for mining areas subject to |
| 8 | mitigation fees under the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt |
| 9 | Mitigation Plan; providing for mitigation fee increases |
| 10 | and imposing a water treatment plant upgrade fee; |
| 11 | authorizing proceeds of mitigation fees to be allocated to |
| 12 | the South Florida Water Management District and Miami-Dade |
| 13 | County for specific purposes; authorizing the proceeds of |
| 14 | the water treatment plant upgrade fee to be used for |
| 15 | updating a water treatment plant near the Lake Belt Area; |
| 16 | revising the reporting requirements for the interagency |
| 17 | committee; designating the Site 1 Impoundment project of |
| 18 | the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan sponsored by |
| 19 | the South Florida Water Management District as the Fran |
| 20 | Reich Preserve; directing the South Florida Water |
| 21 | Management District to erect suitable markers; providing |
| 22 | an effective date. |
| 23 |
|
| 24 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 25 |
|
| 26 | Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 373.4149, Florida |
| 27 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 28 | 373.4149 Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Plan.-- |
| 29 | (3) The Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area is that area |
| 30 | bounded by the Ronald Reagan Turnpike to the east, the |
| 31 | Miami-Dade-Broward County line to the north, Krome Avenue to the |
| 32 | west and Tamiami Trail to the south together with the land south |
| 33 | of Tamiami Trail in sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 17, and 18, Township 54 |
| 34 | South, Range 39 East, sections 24, 25, and 36, Township 54 |
| 35 | South, Range 38 East, less those portions of section 3, Township |
| 36 | 52 South, Range 39 East south of Krome Avenue and west of U.S. |
| 37 | Highway 27, section 10, except the west one-half, section 11, |
| 38 | except the northeast one-quarter and the east one-half of the |
| 39 | northwest one-quarter, and tracts 38 through 41, and tracts 49 |
| 40 | through 64 inclusive, section 13, except tracts 17 through 35 |
| 41 | and tracts 46 through 48, of Florida Fruit Lands Company |
| 42 | Subdivision No. 1 according to the plat thereof as recorded in |
| 43 | plat book 2, page 17, public records of Miami-Dade County, and |
| 44 | section 14, except the west three quarters, Township 52 South, |
| 45 | Range 39 East, lying north of the Miami Canal, and less sections |
| 46 | 35 and 36 and the east one-half of sections 24 and 25, Township |
| 47 | 53 South, Range 39 East and Government Lots 1 and 2, lying |
| 48 | between Townships 53 and 54 South, Range 39 East and those |
| 49 | portions of sections 1 and 2, Township 54 South, Range 39 East, |
| 50 | lying north of Tamiami Trail. |
| 51 | Section 2. Subsections (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), and (7) |
| 52 | and paragraph (b) of subsection (9) of section 373.41492, |
| 53 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 54 | 373.41492 Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Mitigation Plan; |
| 55 | mitigation for mining activities within the Miami-Dade County |
| 56 | Lake Belt.-- |
| 57 | (2) To provide for the mitigation of wetland resources |
| 58 | lost to mining activities within the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt |
| 59 | Plan, effective October 1, 1999, a mitigation fee is imposed on |
| 60 | each ton of limerock and sand extracted by any person who |
| 61 | engages in the business of extracting limerock or sand from |
| 62 | within the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area and sections 10, 11, |
| 63 | 13, 14, Township 52 South, Range 39 East, and the east one-half |
| 64 | of sections 24 and, 25 and all of sections, 35, and 36, Township |
| 65 | 53 South, Range 39 East. The mitigation fee is imposed at the |
| 66 | rate of 5 cents for each ton of limerock and sand sold from |
| 67 | within the properties where the fee applies in raw, processed, |
| 68 | or manufactured form, including, but not limited to, sized |
| 69 | aggregate, asphalt, cement, concrete, and other limerock and |
| 70 | concrete products. The mitigation fee imposed by this subsection |
| 71 | for each ton of limerock and sand sold shall be 12 cents per ton |
| 72 | beginning January 1, 2007, 18 cents per ton beginning January 1, |
| 73 | 2008, and 24 cents per ton beginning January 1, 2009. To upgrade |
| 74 | a water treatment plant that treats water coming from the |
| 75 | Northwest Wellfield in Miami-Dade County, a water treatment |
| 76 | plant upgrade fee is imposed within the same Lake Belt Area |
| 77 | subject to the mitigation fee and upon the same kind of mined |
| 78 | limerock and sand subject to the mitigation fee. The water |
| 79 | treatment plant upgrade fee imposed by this subsection for each |
| 80 | ton of limerock and sand sold shall be 15 cents per ton |
| 81 | beginning on January 1, 2007, and the collection of this fee |
| 82 | shall cease once the total amount of proceeds collected for this |
| 83 | fee reaches the amount of the actual moneys necessary to design |
| 84 | and construct the water treatment plant upgrade, as determined |
| 85 | in an open, public solicitation process. Any limerock or sand |
| 86 | that is used within the mine from which the limerock or sand is |
| 87 | extracted is exempt from the fees fee. The amount of the |
| 88 | mitigation fee and the water treatment plant upgrade fee imposed |
| 89 | under this section must be stated separately on the invoice |
| 90 | provided to the purchaser of the limerock or sand product from |
| 91 | the limerock or sand miner, or its subsidiary or affiliate, for |
| 92 | which the mitigation fee or fees apply applies. The limerock or |
| 93 | sand miner, or its subsidiary or affiliate, who sells the |
| 94 | limerock or sand product shall collect the mitigation fee and |
| 95 | the water treatment plant upgrade fee and forward the proceeds |
| 96 | of the fees fee to the Department of Revenue on or before the |
| 97 | 20th day of the month following the calendar month in which the |
| 98 | sale occurs. |
| 99 | (3) The mitigation fee and the water treatment plant |
| 100 | upgrade fee imposed by this section must be reported to the |
| 101 | Department of Revenue. Payment of the mitigation and the water |
| 102 | treatment plant upgrade fees fee must be accompanied by a form |
| 103 | prescribed by the Department of Revenue. The proceeds of the |
| 104 | mitigation fee, less administrative costs, must be transferred |
| 105 | by the Department of Revenue to the South Florida Water |
| 106 | Management District and deposited into the Lake Belt Mitigation |
| 107 | Trust Fund. The proceeds of the treatment plant upgrade fee, |
| 108 | less administrative costs, must be transferred by the Department |
| 109 | of Revenue to a trust fund established by Miami-Dade County, for |
| 110 | the sole purpose authorized by paragraph (6)(a). As used in this |
| 111 | section, the term "proceeds of the fee" means all funds |
| 112 | collected and received by the Department of Revenue under this |
| 113 | section, including interest and penalties on delinquent |
| 114 | mitigation fees. The amount deducted for administrative costs |
| 115 | may not exceed 3 percent of the total revenues collected under |
| 116 | this section and may equal only those administrative costs |
| 117 | reasonably attributable to the fees mitigation fee. |
| 118 | (4)(a) The Department of Revenue shall administer, |
| 119 | collect, and enforce the mitigation and treatment plant upgrade |
| 120 | fees fee authorized under this section in accordance with the |
| 121 | procedures used to administer, collect, and enforce the general |
| 122 | sales tax imposed under chapter 212. The provisions of chapter |
| 123 | 212 with respect to the authority of the Department of Revenue |
| 124 | to audit and make assessments, the keeping of books and records, |
| 125 | and the interest and penalties imposed on delinquent fees apply |
| 126 | to this section. The fees fee may not be included in computing |
| 127 | estimated taxes under s. 212.11, and the dealer's credit for |
| 128 | collecting taxes or fees provided for in s. 212.12 does not |
| 129 | apply to the fees mitigation fee imposed by this section. |
| 130 | (b) In administering this section, the Department of |
| 131 | Revenue may employ persons and incur expenses for which funds |
| 132 | are appropriated by the Legislature. The Department of Revenue |
| 133 | shall adopt rules and prescribe and publish forms necessary to |
| 134 | administer this section. The Department of Revenue shall |
| 135 | establish audit procedures and may assess delinquent fees. |
| 136 | (5) Beginning January 1, 2010 2001, and each January 1 |
| 137 | thereafter, the per-ton mitigation fee shall be increased by 2.1 |
| 138 | percentage points, plus a cost growth index. The cost growth |
| 139 | index shall be the percentage change in the weighted average of |
| 140 | the Employment Cost Index for All Civilian Workers (ecu 10001I), |
| 141 | issued by the United States Department of Labor for the most |
| 142 | recent 12-month period ending on September 30, and the |
| 143 | percentage change in the Producer Price Index for All |
| 144 | Commodities (WPU 00000000), issued by the United States |
| 145 | Department of Labor for the most recent 12-month period ending |
| 146 | on September 30, compared to the weighted average of these |
| 147 | indices for the previous year. The weighted average shall be |
| 148 | calculated as 0.6 times the percentage change in the Employment |
| 149 | Cost Index for All Civilian Workers (ecu 10001I), plus 0.4 times |
| 150 | the percentage change in the Producer Price Index for All |
| 151 | Commodities (WPU 00000000). If either index is discontinued, it |
| 152 | shall be replaced by its successor index, as identified by the |
| 153 | United States Department of Labor. |
| 154 | (6)(a) The proceeds of the mitigation fee must be used to |
| 155 | conduct mitigation activities that are appropriate to offset the |
| 156 | loss of the value and functions of wetlands as a result of |
| 157 | mining activities and must be used in a manner consistent with |
| 158 | the recommendations contained in the reports submitted to the |
| 159 | Legislature by the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Plan |
| 160 | Implementation Committee and adopted under s. 373.4149. Such |
| 161 | mitigation may include the purchase, enhancement, restoration, |
| 162 | and management of wetlands and uplands, the purchase of |
| 163 | mitigation credit from a permitted mitigation bank, and any |
| 164 | structural modifications to the existing drainage system to |
| 165 | enhance the hydrology of the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area. |
| 166 | Funds may also be used to reimburse other funding sources, |
| 167 | including the Save Our Rivers Land Acquisition Program, and the |
| 168 | Internal Improvement Trust Fund, the South Florida Water |
| 169 | Management District, and Miami-Dade County, for the purchase of |
| 170 | lands that were acquired in areas appropriate for mitigation due |
| 171 | to rock mining and to reimburse governmental agencies that |
| 172 | exchanged land under s. 373.4149 for mitigation due to rock |
| 173 | mining rockmining. The proceeds of the water treatment plant |
| 174 | upgrade fee shall be used solely to upgrade a water treatment |
| 175 | plant that treats water coming from the Northwest Wellfield in |
| 176 | Miami-Dade County. As used in this section, the terms "upgrade a |
| 177 | water treatment plant" or "treatment plant upgrade" means those |
| 178 | works necessary to treat or filter a surface water source or |
| 179 | supply or both. |
| 180 | (b) Expenditures of the mitigation fee must be approved by |
| 181 | an interagency committee consisting of representatives from each |
| 182 | of the following: the Miami-Dade County Department of |
| 183 | Environmental Resource Management, the Department of |
| 184 | Environmental Protection, the South Florida Water Management |
| 185 | District, and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. In |
| 186 | addition, the limerock mining industry shall select a |
| 187 | representative to serve as a nonvoting member of the interagency |
| 188 | committee. At the discretion of the committee, additional |
| 189 | members may be added to represent federal regulatory, |
| 190 | environmental, and fish and wildlife agencies. |
| 191 | (7) Payment of the mitigation fee imposed by this section |
| 192 | satisfies the mitigation requirements imposed under ss. 373.403- |
| 193 | 373.439 and any applicable county ordinance for loss of the |
| 194 | value and functions from mining of the wetlands identified as |
| 195 | rock mining rockmining supported and allowable areas of the |
| 196 | Miami-Dade County Lake Plan adopted by s. 373.4149(1). In |
| 197 | addition, it is the intent of the Legislature that the payment |
| 198 | of the mitigation fee imposed by this section satisfy all |
| 199 | federal mitigation requirements for the wetlands mined. |
| 200 | (9) |
| 201 | (b) No sooner than January 31, 2010, and no more |
| 202 | frequently than every 5 10 years thereafter, the interagency |
| 203 | committee shall submit to the Legislature a report recommending |
| 204 | any needed adjustments to the mitigation fee to ensure that the |
| 205 | revenue generated reflects the actual costs of the mitigation. |
| 206 | Section 3. Fran Reich Preserve designated; South Florida |
| 207 | Water Management District to erect suitable markers.-- |
| 208 | (1) The Site 1 Impoundment project of the Comprehensive |
| 209 | Everglades Restoration Plan sponsored by the South Florida Water |
| 210 | Management District is designated the "Fran Reich Preserve." |
| 211 | (2) The South Florida Water Management District is |
| 212 | directed to erect suitable markers designating the Fran Reich |
| 213 | Preserve as described in subsection (1). |
| 214 | Section 4. This act shall take effect January 1, 2007. |