Florida Senate - 2011                       CS for CS for SB 934
       
       
       
       By the Committees on Community Affairs; and Environmental
       Preservation and Conservation; and Senator Storms
       
       
       
       578-03778-11                                           2011934c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to stormwater management permits;
    3         amending s. 218.075, F.S.; allowing an entity created
    4         by special act, local ordinance, or interlocal
    5         agreement of a county or municipality to receive
    6         certain reduced or waived permit processing fees;
    7         amending s. 373.118, F.S.; requiring that the
    8         Department of Environmental Protection initiate
    9         rulemaking to adopt a general permit for stormwater
   10         management systems serving airside activities at
   11         airports; providing for statewide application of the
   12         general permit; providing for any water management
   13         district or delegated local government to administer
   14         the general permit; providing that the rules are not
   15         subject to any special rulemaking requirements
   16         relating to small business; creating s. 373.4131,
   17         F.S.; authorizing certain municipalities and counties
   18         to adopt stormwater adaptive management plans and
   19         obtain conceptual permits for urban redevelopment
   20         projects; providing requirements for establishment of
   21         such permits by water management districts in
   22         consultation with the Department of Environmental
   23         Protection; providing that certain urban redevelopment
   24         projects qualify for a noticed general permit;
   25         providing an effective date.
   26  
   27  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   28  
   29         Section 1. Section 218.075, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   30  read:
   31         218.075 Reduction or waiver of permit processing fees.
   32  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Department of
   33  Environmental Protection and the water management districts
   34  shall reduce or waive permit processing fees for counties with a
   35  population of 50,000 or fewer less on April 1, 1994, until such
   36  counties exceed a population of 75,000 and municipalities with a
   37  population of 25,000 or fewer; an entity created by special act,
   38  local ordinance, or interlocal agreement of such counties or
   39  municipalities; less, or any county or municipality not included
   40  within a metropolitan statistical area. Fee reductions or
   41  waivers shall be approved on the basis of fiscal hardship or
   42  environmental need for a particular project or activity. The
   43  governing body must certify that the cost of the permit
   44  processing fee is a fiscal hardship due to one of the following
   45  factors:
   46         (1) Per capita taxable value is less than the statewide
   47  average for the current fiscal year;
   48         (2) Percentage of assessed property value that is exempt
   49  from ad valorem taxation is higher than the statewide average
   50  for the current fiscal year;
   51         (3) Any condition specified in s. 218.503(1) which results
   52  in the county or municipality being in a state of financial
   53  emergency;
   54         (4) Ad valorem operating millage rate for the current
   55  fiscal year is greater than 8 mills; or
   56         (5) A financial condition that is documented in annual
   57  financial statements at the end of the current fiscal year and
   58  indicates an inability to pay the permit processing fee during
   59  that fiscal year.
   60  
   61  The permit applicant must be the governing body of a county or
   62  municipality, or a third party under contract with a county or
   63  municipality, or an entity created by special act, local
   64  ordinance, or interlocal agreement and the project for which the
   65  fee reduction or waiver is sought must serve a public purpose.
   66  If a permit processing fee is reduced, the total fee may shall
   67  not exceed $100.
   68         Section 2. Subsection (6) is added to section 373.118,
   69  Florida Statutes, to read:
   70         373.118 General permits; delegation.—
   71         (6) By July 1, 2011, the department shall initiate
   72  rulemaking to adopt a general permit for stormwater management
   73  systems serving airside activities at airports. The general
   74  permit applies statewide and shall be administered by any water
   75  management district or any delegated local government pursuant
   76  to the operating agreements applicable to part IV of this
   77  chapter, with no additional rulemaking required. These rules are
   78  not subject to any special rulemaking requirements related to
   79  small business.
   80         Section 3. Section 373.4131, Florida Statutes, is created
   81  to read:
   82         373.4131 Conceptual permits for urban redevelopment
   83  projects.—
   84         (1) A municipality or county that has created a community
   85  redevelopment area or an urban infill and redevelopment area
   86  pursuant to chapter 163 may adopt a stormwater adaptive
   87  management plan that addresses the quantity and quality of
   88  stormwater discharges for the area and may obtain a conceptual
   89  permit from the water management district or the Department of
   90  Environmental Protection.
   91         (2) The conceptual permit shall be established by a water
   92  management district in consultation with the department and:
   93         (a) Must allow for the rate and volume of stormwater
   94  discharges for stormwater management systems of urban
   95  redevelopment projects located within a community redevelopment
   96  area created under part III of chapter 163 or an urban infill
   97  and redevelopment area designated under s. 163.2517 to continue
   98  up to the maximum rate and volume of stormwater discharges
   99  within the area as of the date the stormwater adaptive
  100  management plan was adopted.
  101         (b) Must presume that stormwater discharges for stormwater
  102  management systems of urban redevelopment projects located
  103  within a community redevelopment area created under part III of
  104  chapter 163 or an urban infill and redevelopment area designated
  105  under s. 163.2517 which demonstrate a net improvement of the
  106  quality of the discharged water that existed as of the date the
  107  stormwater adaptive management plan was adopted for any
  108  applicable pollutants of concern in the receiving water body do
  109  not cause or contribute to violations of water quality criteria.
  110         (c) May not prescribe additional or more stringent
  111  limitations concerning the quantity and quality of stormwater
  112  discharges from stormwater management systems than provided in
  113  this section.
  114         (d) Shall be issued for a duration of 20 years, unless a
  115  shorter duration is requested by the applicant.
  116         (3) Urban redevelopment projects that meet the criteria
  117  established in the conceptual permit pursuant to this section
  118  qualify for a noticed general permit that authorizes
  119  construction and operation for the duration of the conceptual
  120  permit.
  121         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.