Florida Senate - 2012 SB 1240 By Senator Hays 20-01251-12 20121240__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to freshwater rivers and lakes; 3 amending s. 403.813, F.S.; exempting from permit 4 requirements certain projects that provide for removal 5 of detrital material from certain freshwater rivers or 6 lakes if a governmental agency sponsors or 7 participates in the project and certain additional 8 conditions are met; requiring that the district office 9 of the Department of Environmental Protection be 10 notified before work commences; providing for 11 information that must be given in the notice; 12 requiring that the department receive written 13 certification of compliance; prohibiting the 14 department from charging a fee for detrital material 15 that is removed; authorizing the use of sovereignty 16 submerged lands for the purposes authorized by the 17 act; providing an effective date. 18 19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 20 21 Section 1. Subsection (4) is added to section 403.813, 22 Florida Statutes, to read: 23 403.813 Permits issued at district centers; exceptions.— 24 (4) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary under 25 chapter 253, chapter 369, chapter 373, chapter 61-691, Laws of 26 Florida, or chapter 25214 or chapter 25270, 1949, Laws of 27 Florida, or this chapter, a permit or other authorization is not 28 required for a project to maintain, restore, or enhance 29 navigational, environmental, or aquatic habitat and which 30 provides for the removal of organic detrital material from a 31 freshwater river or lake that has a natural sand or rocky 32 substrate, if a governmental agency sponsors or participates in 33 the project, through funding or otherwise, and if the following 34 conditions are met: 35 (a) The organic detrital material and plant material that 36 is removed must be deposited in an upland site in a manner that 37 will not cause a water quality violation or must be redirected 38 to a alternative beneficial reuse. 39 (b) A mixing zone for turbidity must be granted within a 40 150-meter radius from the point of dredging while the dredging 41 is ongoing. 42 (c) The return water, which may contain flocculants, 43 resulting from dewatering of the dredge material or from the 44 site used for the disposal or storage of dredged material must 45 be allowed to return to the water body from which the material 46 is dredged. If the return water is discharged into a mixing 47 zone, it must be discharged within a radius not to exceed 1,000 48 meters from the point of discharge into the receiving waters 49 during and immediately after the dredging. The mixing zone may 50 not extend into wetland areas. The return water discharged into 51 mixing zones must be of sufficient dilution so that the return 52 water is diluted to such an extent in the mixing zone as to 53 avoid materially altering the natural state of the water outside 54 the mixing zone. 55 (d) The applicable district office of the department must 56 be notified in writing at least 30 days before work is 57 commenced. The notice must include a plan for the removal of 58 organic detrital material, a plan for the disposal of material, 59 if applicable, and notification of intent to pursue alternative 60 beneficial reuse of the material, if applicable. 61 (e) The department must be provided written certification 62 of compliance with the terms and conditions of this subsection 63 within 30 days after completion of any activity occurring under 64 this exemption. 65 (f) The department may not charge a fee for the removal of 66 detrital material pursuant to this subsection. 67 (g) Sovereignty submerged lands may be used for the 68 purposes authorized in this subsection. 69 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.