HB 4123

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to federal environmental permitting;
3	amending s. 373.4144, F.S.; repealing provisions
4	directing the Department of Environmental Protection
5	to file specified reports with the Speaker of the
6	House of Representatives and the President of the
7	Senate and to coordinate with the Florida
8	Congressional Delegation on certain matters; providing
9	an effective date.
10
11	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13	Section 1.  Section 373.4144, Florida Statutes, is amended
14	to read:
15	373.4144  Federal environmental permitting.-
16	(1)  The department is directed to develop, on or before
17	October 1, 2005, a mechanism or plan to consolidate, to the
18	maximum extent practicable, the federal and state wetland
19	permitting programs. It is the intent of the Legislature that
20	all dredge and fill activities impacting 10 acres or less of
21	wetlands or waters, including navigable waters, be processed by
22	the state as part of the environmental resource permitting
23	program implemented by the department and the water management
24	districts. The resulting mechanism or plan shall analyze and
25	propose the development of an expanded state programmatic
26	general permit program in conjunction with the United States
27	Army Corps of Engineers pursuant to s. 404 of the Clean Water
28	Act, Pub. L. No. 92-500, as amended, 33 U.S.C. ss. 1251 et seq.,
29	and s. 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. Alternatively,
30	or in combination with an expanded state programmatic general
31	permit, the mechanism or plan may propose the creation of a
32	series of regional general permits issued by the United States
33	Army Corps of Engineers pursuant to the referenced statutes. All
34	of the regional general permits must be administered by the
35	department or the water management districts or their designees.
36	(2)  The department is directed to file with the Speaker of
37	the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate a
38	report proposing any required federal and state statutory
39	changes that would be necessary to accomplish the directives
40	listed in this section and to coordinate with the Florida
41	Congressional Delegation on any necessary changes to federal law
42	to implement the directives.
43	(2)(3)  Nothing in This section does not shall be construed
44	to preclude the department from pursuing complete assumption of
45	federal permitting programs regulating the discharge of dredged
46	or fill material pursuant to s. 404 of the Clean Water Act, Pub.
47	L. No. 92-500, as amended, 33 U.S.C. ss. 1251 et seq., and s. 10
48	of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, so long as the assumption
49	encompasses all dredge and fill activities in, on, or over
50	jurisdictional wetlands or waters, including navigable waters,
51	within the state.
52	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.