Senate Bill sb2082c1
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 2082
By the Committee on General Government Appropriations; and
Senator Bennett
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1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to environmental permitting;
3 amending s. 373.4132, F.S.; authorizing certain
4 dry slip storage to be constructed under
5 specified conditions; amending s. 373.414,
6 F.S.; providing that certain lands added to a
7 conceptual reclamation plan are exempt from
8 specified rules; amending s. 373.4144, F.S.;
9 providing legislative intent relating to
10 seeking permits from the United States Army
11 Corps of Engineers; revising provisions
12 requiring the Department of Environmental
13 Protection to develop and consolidate federal
14 and state wetland permitting programs;
15 authorizing implementation of a state
16 programmatic general permit or regional general
17 permits by the department and water management
18 districts for certain dredge and fill
19 activities; specifying conditions applicable to
20 such permit or permits; creating s. 373.4212,
21 F.S.; ratifying changes to department rule
22 relating to facultative plants; postponing the
23 effect of the rule until state and federal
24 wetland delineation methodologies are aligned;
25 providing for permit modification under certain
26 circumstances; providing for certain
27 declaratory statements from the department;
28 providing exemptions for certain permit
29 petitions and applications relating to
30 specified activities; amending ss. 161.041,
31 373.4141, and 403.087, F.S.; requiring the
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1 department and water management districts to
2 provide applicants with written notice of
3 permit denial; providing criteria for such
4 notice; providing a directive to the Division
5 of Statutory Revision; providing an effective
6 date.
7
8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
9
10 Section 1. Section 373.4132, Florida Statutes, is
11 amended to read:
12 373.4132 Dry storage facility permitting.--The
13 governing board or the department shall require a permit under
14 this part, including s. 373.4145, for the construction,
15 alteration, operation, maintenance, abandonment, or removal of
16 a dry storage facility for 10 or more vessels that is
17 functionally associated with a boat launching area; however,
18 developments of regional impact for which a development order
19 has been issued under chapter 380, before July 1,1995,
20 authorizing a dry slip storage that has yet to be constructed,
21 is entitled to the number of dry slips approved under the
22 development order subject to the condition that no more than
23 15 percent of the watercraft from the dry slip storage may
24 access the water each day. As part of an applicant's
25 demonstration that such a facility will not be harmful to the
26 water resources and will not be inconsistent with the overall
27 objectives of the district, the governing board or department
28 shall require the applicant to provide reasonable assurance
29 that the secondary impacts from the facility will not cause
30 adverse impacts to the functions of wetlands and surface
31 waters, including violations of state water quality standards
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1 applicable to waters as defined in s. 403.031(13), and will
2 meet the public interest test of s. 373.414(1)(a), including
3 the potential adverse impacts to manatees. Nothing in This
4 section does not shall affect the authority of the governing
5 board or the department to regulate such secondary impacts
6 under this part for other regulated activities.
7 Section 2. Subsection (15) of section 373.414, Florida
8 Statutes, is amended to read:
9 373.414 Additional criteria for activities in surface
10 waters and wetlands.--
11 (15) Activities associated with mining operations as
12 defined by and subject to ss. 378.201-378.212 and
13 378.701-378.703 and included in a conceptual reclamation plan
14 or modification application submitted prior to July 1, 1996,
15 shall continue to be reviewed under the rules of the
16 department adopted pursuant to ss. 403.91-403.929, 1984
17 Supplement to the Florida Statutes 1983, as amended, the rules
18 of the water management districts under this part, and
19 interagency agreements, in effect on January 1, 1993. Such
20 activities are shall be exempt from rules adopted under
21 pursuant to subsection (9) and the statewide methodology
22 ratified under pursuant to s. 373.4211. As of January 1, 1994,
23 such activities may be issued permits authorizing construction
24 for the life of the mine. Lands added to a conceptual
25 reclamation plan subject to this subsection through a
26 modification submitted after July 1, 1996, which are
27 contiguous to the conceptual reclamation plan area are exempt
28 from rules adopted under subsection (9) if the total acreage
29 of the conceptual reclamation plan is not increased through
30 the modification and the cumulative acreage added does not
31 exceed 3 percent of the conceptual reclamation plan area.
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1 Lands that have been mined or disturbed by mining activities,
2 lands subject to a conservation easement under which the
3 grantee is a state or federal regulatory agency, and lands
4 otherwise preserved as a part of a permitting review may not
5 be removed from the conceptual reclamation plan area under
6 this subsection.
7 Section 3. Section 373.4144, Florida Statutes, is
8 amended to read:
9 373.4144 Federal environmental permitting.--
10 (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to:
11 (a) Facilitate coordination and a more efficient
12 process of implementing regulatory duties and functions
13 between the Department of Environmental Protection, the water
14 management districts, the United States Army Corps of
15 Engineers, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the
16 National Marine Fisheries Service, the United States
17 Environmental Protection Agency, the Fish and Wildlife
18 Conservation Commission, and other relevant federal and state
19 agencies.
20 (b) Authorize the Department of Environmental
21 Protection to obtain from the United States Army Corps of
22 Engineers, under state and federal law and as set forth in
23 this section, an expanded state programmatic general permit,
24 or a series of regional general permits, for categories of
25 activities conducted in waters of the United States governed
26 by the Clean Water Act and in navigable waters under the
27 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 which are similar in nature,
28 which will cause only minimal adverse environmental effects
29 when performed separately, and which will have only minimal
30 cumulative adverse effects on the environment.
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1 (c) Use a state general permit or regional general
2 permits to eliminate overlapping federal and state regulations
3 that relate to the same resource and to avoid duplication of
4 permitting between the United States Army Corps of Engineers
5 and the department for minor work located in waters of the
6 United States, including navigable waters, thus eliminating,
7 if appropriate, the need for separate approval from the United
8 States Army Corps of Engineers while ensuring the most
9 stringent protection of wetland resources.
10 (d) Direct the department to not seek issuance of or
11 take any action pursuant to obtaining a general permit or
12 regional general permits unless conditions are at least as
13 protective of the environment and natural resources as
14 existing state law under this part and federal law under the
15 Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899.
16 (e) Add slash pine and gallberry to the state list of
17 facultative species as an incentive for and contingent upon
18 the alignment of federal and state wetland jurisdictional
19 delineation, so that the alignment eliminates an impediment to
20 obtaining authorization from the United States Army Corps of
21 Engineers for a state programmatic general permit or regional
22 general permits. The department is directed to develop, on or
23 before October 1, 2005, a mechanism or plan to consolidate, to
24 the maximum extent practicable, the federal and state wetland
25 permitting programs. It is the intent of the Legislature that
26 all dredge and fill activities impacting 10 acres or less of
27 wetlands or waters, including navigable waters, be processed
28 by the state as part of the environmental resource permitting
29 program implemented by the department and the water management
30 districts. The resulting mechanism or plan shall analyze and
31 propose the development of an expanded state programmatic
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1 general permit program in conjunction with the United States
2 Army Corps of Engineers pursuant to s. 404 of the Clean Water
3 Act, Pub. L. No. 92-500, as amended, 33 U.S.C. ss. 1251 et
4 seq., and s. 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899.
5 Alternatively, or in combination with an expanded state
6 programmatic general permit, the mechanism or plan may propose
7 the creation of a series of regional general permits issued by
8 the United States Army Corps of Engineers pursuant to the
9 referenced statutes. All of the regional general permits must
10 be administered by the department or the water management
11 districts or their designees.
12 (2) In order to effectuate efficient wetland
13 permitting and avoid duplication, the department and water
14 management districts are authorized to implement a voluntary
15 state programmatic general permit for all dredge and fill
16 activities impacting 5 acres or less of wetlands or other
17 surface waters, including navigable waters, subject to
18 agreement with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, if
19 the general permit is at least as protective of the
20 environment and natural resources as existing state law under
21 this part and federal law under the Clean Water Act and the
22 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. The department is directed to
23 file with the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the
24 President of the Senate a report proposing any required
25 federal and state statutory changes that would be necessary to
26 accomplish the directives listed in this section and to
27 coordinate with the Florida Congressional Delegation on any
28 necessary changes to federal law to implement the directives.
29 (3) Nothing in This section does not shall be
30 construed to preclude the department from pursuing a series of
31 regional general permits for construction activities in
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1 wetlands or surface waters or complete assumption of federal
2 permitting programs regulating the discharge of dredged or
3 fill material pursuant to s. 404 of the Clean Water Act, Pub.
4 L. No. 92-500, as amended, 33 U.S.C. ss. 1251 et seq., and s.
5 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899., so long as The
6 assumption of federal permitting programs must encompass
7 encompasses all dredge and fill activities in, on, or over
8 jurisdictional wetlands or waters, including navigable waters,
9 within the state.
10 (4) The department shall report annually to the
11 Legislature on its efforts to eliminate impediments to
12 achieving greater efficiencies through expansion of a state
13 programmatic general permit or of regional general permits.
14 Section 4. Section 373.4212, Florida Statutes, is
15 created to read:
16 373.4212 Ratification of department rule; facultative
17 plants.--Pursuant to s. 373.421 and subject to the conditions
18 described in this section, the Legislature ratifies the change
19 to rule 62-340.450(3), Florida Administrative Code, approved
20 on February 23, 2006, by the Environmental Regulation
21 Commission which adds Pinus elliottii, and Ilex glabra to the
22 list of facultative plants. This ratification and the rule
23 revision may not take effect until state and federal wetland
24 jurisdictional delineation methodologies are aligned.
25 (1) Surface water and wetland delineations identified
26 and approved by a permit issued under rules adopted under this
27 part before the effective date of this act remain valid until
28 the expiration of the permit, notwithstanding the change to
29 rule 62-340.450(3). For purposes of this section, the term
30 "identified and approved" means:
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1 (a) The delineation was field-verified by the
2 permitting agency and the verification was surveyed as part of
3 the application review process for the permit; or
4 (b) The delineation was field-verified by the
5 permitting agency and approved pursuant to the permit.
6 (2) Where surface water and wetland delineations were
7 not identified and approved under the permit issued under
8 rules adopted under this part, delineations within the
9 geographical area to which the permit applies shall be
10 determined pursuant to the rules applicable at the time the
11 permit was issued, notwithstanding the change to rule
12 62-340.450(3). This section also applies to any modification
13 of the permit issued under rules adopted under this part which
14 do not constitute a substantial modification within the
15 geographical area to which the permit applies.
16 (3) Any declaratory statement issued by the department
17 under s. 403.914, 1984 Supplement to the Florida Statutes
18 1983, as amended, pursuant to rules adopted thereunder, or by
19 the department or a water management district under s.
20 373.421, in response to a petition filed on or before the
21 effective date of this act shall continue to be valid for the
22 duration of such declaratory statement. Any petition pending
23 on or before the effective date of this act shall be exempt
24 from the change to rule 62-340.450(3) and shall be subject to
25 the provisions of chapter 62-340, Florida Administrative Code,
26 in effect prior to such change. Activities proposed within the
27 boundaries of a valid declaratory statement issued pursuant to
28 a petition submitted to either the department or the relevant
29 water management district on or before the effective date of
30 this act, or are validated jurisdictional determination prior
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1 to its expiration, shall continue thereafter to be exempt from
2 the change to rule 62-340.450(3).
3 (4) A permit application under this part for dredging
4 and filling or other activity that is pending on or before the
5 effective date of this act is exempt from the change to rule
6 62-340.450(3).
7 (5) Activities associated with mining operations as
8 defined by and subject to ss. 378.201-378.212 and
9 378.701-378.703 and included in a conceptual reclamation plan
10 or modification application submitted on or before the
11 effective date of this act is exempt from change to rule
12 62-340.450(3).
13 Section 5. Subsection (5) is added to section 161.041,
14 Florida Statutes, to read:
15 161.041 Permits required.--
16 (5) When the department denies an application for a
17 permit, the department shall provide written notice to the
18 applicant. The notice must include legal authority for the
19 denial of the permit and a citation to the applicable portions
20 of an ordinance, rule, or statute.
21 Section 6. Subsection (2) of section 373.4141, Florida
22 Statutes, is amended to read:
23 373.4141 Permits; processing.--
24 (2) A permit shall be approved or denied within 90
25 days after receipt of the original application, the last item
26 of timely requested additional material, or the applicant's
27 written request to begin processing the permit application.
28 When the department or the district denies an application for
29 a permit, the department or the district shall provide written
30 notice to the applicant. The notice must include legal
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1 authority for the denial of the permit and a citation to the
2 applicable portions of an ordinance, rule, or statute.
3 Section 7. Present subsection (9) of section 403.087,
4 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (10), and a
5 new subsection (9) is added to that section, to read:
6 403.087 Permits; general issuance; denial; revocation;
7 prohibition; penalty.--
8 (9) When the department denies an application for a
9 permit, the department shall provide written notice to the
10 applicant. The notice must include legal authority for the
11 denial of the permit and a citation to the applicable portions
12 of an ordinance, rule, or statute.
13 Section 8. The Division of Statutory Revision is
14 directed to substitute the date on which this act takes effect
15 for the phrase "the effective date of this act" wherever it
16 occurs in provisions of s. 373.4212, Florida Statutes, as
17 amended by this act, when preparing that section for
18 publication in the next edition of the Florida Statutes.
19 Section 9. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
20 law.
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22 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
23 Senate Bill 2082
24
25 Amends s. 373.4132, F.S., to allow a dry slip storage facility
whose development order was issued prior to July 1, 1995, to
26 be built with certain restrictions.
27 Amends s. 373.414, F.S., to allow phosphate mining operations
to complete reclamation activities under a life-of-the-mine
28 permit, based on specific criteria.
29 Requires the Department of Environmental Protection to provide
notice when an applicant is denied a permit.
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