Florida Senate - 2009 CS for SB 1004
By the Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation;
and Senator Constantine
592-03356-09 20091004c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to coral reefs; amending s. 380.0558,
3 F.S.; revising definitions; providing that moneys in
4 the Ecosystem Management and Restoration Trust Fund
5 within the Department of Environmental Protection
6 received from damages recovered for injury to coral
7 reefs are expended to pay for alternative projects
8 selected by the department as staff to the Board of
9 Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund;
10 creating s. 380.29, F.S.; providing a short title;
11 providing definitions; providing legislative intent;
12 requiring responsible parties to notify the department
13 if their vessel runs aground or damages a coral reef;
14 requiring the responsible party to remove the vessel;
15 requiring the responsible party to cooperate with the
16 department to assess the damage and restore the coral
17 reef; authorizing the department to recover damages
18 from the responsible party; authorizing the department
19 to use a certain method to calculate compensation for
20 damage of coral reefs; authorizing the department to
21 assess civil penalties; authorizing the department to
22 enter into delegation agreements; authorizing the
23 department to adopt rules; amending s. 403.1651, F.S.;
24 authorizing the department to enter into settlement
25 agreements that require responsible parties to pay
26 another government entity or nonprofit organization to
27 fund projects consistent with the conservation or
28 protection of coral reefs; repealing s. 253.04, F.S.,
29 relating to the duty of Board of Trustees of the
30 Internal Improvement Trust Fund to protect state
31 lands; providing an effective date.
32
33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
34
35 Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (d) of subsection (1) and
36 paragraph (c) of subsection (5) of section 380.0558, Florida
37 Statutes, are amended to read:
38 380.0558 Coral reef restoration.—
39 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
40 (a) “Coral reefs” means:
41 1. Limestone structures composed in whole or in part of
42 living stony corals, their skeletal remains, or both, and
43 hosting other coral, associated benthic invertebrates, and
44 plants; or
45 2. Hard-bottom communities, also known as live bottom
46 habitat or colonized pavement, characterized by the presence of
47 stony coral and associated reef organisms or worm reefs created
48 by the Phragmatopoma species the assemblage of corals and other
49 organisms that are actively building three-dimensional reef
50 structures off the southern coast of Florida.
51 (d) “Natural resources” means land, air, water,
52 groundwater, drinking water supplies, fish and their habitats,
53 wildlife and their habitats, biota, and other such resources
54 belonging to, managed by, held in trust by, appertaining to, or
55 otherwise controlled by the state State of Florida and situated
56 in an area of critical state concern or offshore from an area of
57 critical state concern.
58 (5) TRUST FUND EXPENDITURES.—Moneys in the fund received
59 from damages recovered for injury to, or destruction of, coral
60 reefs or natural resources shall be expended only for the
61 following purposes:
62 (c) To pay for alternative projects selected by the
63 Department of Environmental Protection as staff to the Board of
64 Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. Any such
65 project shall be selected on the basis of its anticipated
66 benefits to the residents of this state who used the injured or
67 destroyed coral reefs or other natural resources or will benefit
68 from the alternative project.
69 Section 2. Section 380.29, Florida Statutes, is created to
70 read:
71 380.29 Coral reef protection.—
72 (1) This section may be cited as the “Florida Coral Reef
73 Protection Act.”
74 (2) As used in this section, the term:
75 (a) “Aggravating circumstances” means operating, anchoring,
76 or mooring a vessel in a reckless or wanton manner; under the
77 influence of drugs or alcohol; or otherwise with disregard for
78 boating regulations concerning speed, navigation, or safe
79 operation.
80 (b) “Coral” means species of the phylum Cnidaria found in
81 state waters including:
82 1. Class Anthozoa, including the subclass Octocorallia,
83 commonly known as gorgonians, soft corals, and telestaceans; and
84 2. Orders Scleractinia, commonly known as stony corals;
85 Stolonifera, including, among others, the organisms commonly
86 known as organ-pipe corals; Antipatharia, commonly known as
87 black corals; and Hydrozoa, including the family Millaporidae
88 and family Stylasteridae, commonly known as hydrocoral.
89 (c) “Coral reefs” mean:
90 1. Limestone structures composed wholly or partially of
91 living stony corals, their skeletal remains, or both, and
92 hosting other coral, associated benthic invertebrates, and
93 plants; or
94 2. Hard-bottom communities, also known as live bottom
95 habitat or colonized pavement, characterized by the presence of
96 stony coral and associated reef organisms or worm reefs created
97 by the Phragmatopoma species.
98 (d) “Damages” means moneys paid by any person or entity,
99 whether voluntarily or as a result of administrative or judicial
100 action, to the state as compensation, restitution, penalty, or
101 mitigation for causing injury to or destruction of coral reefs.
102 (e) “Department” means the Department of Environmental
103 Protection.
104 (f) “Responsible party” means the owner, operator, manager,
105 or insurer of any vessel.
106 (3) The Legislature finds that coral reefs are valuable
107 natural resources that contribute ecologically, aesthetically,
108 and economically to the state. Therefore, the Legislature
109 declares it is in the best interest of the state to clarify the
110 department’s powers and authority to protect coral reefs through
111 timely and efficient recovery of monetary damages resulting from
112 vessel groundings and anchoring-related injuries. It is the
113 intent of the Legislature that the department, as staff to the
114 Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund and by
115 virtue of its own regulatory powers, be recognized as the
116 state’s lead trustee for coral reef resources associated with
117 sovereignty submerged lands unless preempted by federal law.
118 This section does not divest other state agencies and political
119 subdivisions of the state of their interests in protecting coral
120 reefs.
121 (4) The responsible party who knows or should know that
122 their vessel has run aground, struck, or otherwise damaged coral
123 reefs must notify the department of such an event within 24
124 hours after its occurrence. Unless otherwise prohibited or
125 restricted by the United States Coast Guard, the responsible
126 party shall remove or cause the removal of the grounded or
127 anchored vessel within 72 hours after the initial grounding or
128 anchoring absent extenuating circumstances, such as weather, sea
129 state, or hazards that would prevent safe removal of the vessel.
130 The responsible party shall remove or cause the removal of the
131 vessel or its anchor in a manner that avoids further damage to
132 coral reefs and shall consult with the department to accomplish
133 this task. The responsible party shall cooperate with the
134 department to undertake damage assessment and primary
135 restoration of the coral reef in a timely fashion.
136 (5) In any action or suit initiated pursuant to chapter 253
137 or chapter 403 for damage to coral reefs, the department, acting
138 on its own behalf or on the behalf of the Board of Trustees of
139 the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, as appropriate, may recover
140 all damages from the responsible party, including, but not
141 limited to:
142 (a) Compensation for the cost of replacing, restoring, or
143 acquiring the equivalent of the coral reef injured and the value
144 of the lost use and services of the coral reef pending its
145 restoration, replacement or acquisition of the equivalent coral
146 reef, or the value of the coral reef if the coral reef cannot be
147 restored or replaced or if the equivalent cannot be acquired.
148 (b) The cost of damage assessments, including staff time.
149 (c) The cost of activities undertaken by or at the request
150 of the department to minimize or prevent further injury to coral
151 or coral reefs pending restoration, replacement, or acquisition
152 of an equivalent.
153 (d) The reasonable cost of monitoring the injured,
154 restored, or replaced coral reef for at least 10 years.
155 (e) The cost of enforcement actions undertaken in response
156 to the destruction or loss of or injury to a coral reef,
157 including court costs, attorney’s fees, and expert witness fees.
158 (6) The department may use habitat equivalency analysis as
159 the method by which the compensation described in subsection (5)
160 is calculated. The parameters for calculation by this method may
161 be prescribed by rule adopted by the department.
162 (7) In addition to the compensation described in subsection
163 (5), the department may assess, per occurrence, civil penalties
164 according the following schedule:
165 (a) For failure to notify the department in accordance with
166 subsection (4), $500.
167 (b) For any anchoring of a vessel on a coral reef on
168 sovereignty submerged lands or for any other damage to a coral
169 reef totaling less than or equal to an area of 1 square meter,
170 $150; with aggravating circumstances, an additional $150;
171 occurring within a state park or aquatic preserve, an additional
172 $150.
173 (c) For damage totaling more than an area of 1 square meter
174 but less than or equal to an area of 10 square meters, $300 per
175 square meter; with aggravating circumstances, an additional $300
176 per square meter; occurring within a state park or aquatic
177 preserve, an additional $300 per square meter.
178 (d) For damage exceeding an area of 10 square meters,
179 $1,000 per square meter; with aggravating circumstances, an
180 additional $1,000 per square meter; occurring within a state
181 park or aquatic preserve, an additional $1,000 per square meter.
182 (e) For a second violation, the total penalty may be
183 doubled.
184 (f) For a third violation, the total penalty may be
185 tripled.
186 (g) For any violation after a third violation, the total
187 penalty may be quadrupled.
188 (h) The total of penalties levied may not exceed $250,000
189 per occurrence.
190 (8) To carry out the intent of this section, the department
191 may enter into delegation agreements with another state agency
192 or any coastal county with coral reefs within its jurisdiction.
193 In deciding to execute such agreements, the department must
194 consider the ability of the potential delegee to adequately and
195 competently perform the duties required to fulfill the intent of
196 this section. When such agreements are executed by the parties
197 and incorporated in department rule, the delegee shall have all
198 rights accorded the department by this section. Nothing herein
199 shall be construed to require the department, another state
200 agency, or a coastal county to enter into such an agreement.
201 (9) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent
202 the department or other state agencies from entering into
203 agreements with federal authorities related to the
204 administration of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
205 (10) The department may adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536
206 and 120.54 to administer this section.
207 Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
208 403.1651, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
209 403.1651 Ecosystem Management and Restoration Trust Fund.—
210 (2) The trust fund shall be used for the deposit of all
211 moneys recovered by the state:
212 (b) For injury to or destruction of coral reefs, which
213 moneys would otherwise be deposited into the General Revenue
214 Fund or the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. The department may
215 enter into settlement agreements that require responsible
216 parties to pay a third party to fund projects related to the
217 restoration of a coral reef, to accomplish mitigation for injury
218 to a coral reef, or to support the activities of law enforcement
219 agencies related to coral reef injury response, investigation
220 and assessment. Participation of a law enforcement agency in the
221 receipt of funds through this mechanism shall be at the law
222 enforcement agency’s discretion
223 Section 4. Subsection (3) of section 253.04, Florida
224 Statutes, is repealed.
225 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.