ENROLLED
       2013 Legislature                                   CS for SB 934
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                                              2013934er
    1  
    2         An act relating to stormwater management permits;
    3         amending s. 373.4131, F.S.; deleting an obsolete
    4         reference; requiring that rules for environmental
    5         resource permitting provide for conceptual permits and
    6         associated general permits for a municipality or
    7         county that creates a stormwater management master
    8         plan for urban infill and redevelopment areas or
    9         community redevelopment areas; specifying requirements
   10         for a conceptual permit; providing an effective date.
   11  
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 373.4131, Florida
   15  Statutes, is amended to read:
   16         373.4131 Statewide environmental resource permitting
   17  rules.—
   18         (1)(a)No later than October 1, 2012, The department shall
   19  initiate rulemaking to adopt, in coordination with the water
   20  management districts, statewide environmental resource
   21  permitting rules governing the construction, alteration,
   22  operation, maintenance, repair, abandonment, and removal of any
   23  stormwater management system, dam, impoundment, reservoir,
   24  appurtenant work, works, or any combination thereof, under this
   25  part.
   26         (a)(b) The rules must shall provide for statewide,
   27  consistent regulation of activities under this part and must
   28  shall include, at a minimum:
   29         1. Criteria and thresholds for requiring permits.
   30         2. Types of permits.
   31         3. Procedures governing the review of applications and
   32  notices, duration and modification of permits, operational
   33  requirements, transfers of permits, provisions for emergencies,
   34  and provisions for abandonment and removal of systems.
   35         4. Exemptions and general permits that do not allow
   36  significant adverse impacts to occur individually or
   37  cumulatively.
   38         5. Conditions for issuance.
   39         6. General permit conditions, including monitoring,
   40  inspection, and reporting requirements.
   41         7. Standardized fee categories for activities under this
   42  part to promote consistency. The department and water management
   43  districts may amend fee rules to reflect the standardized fee
   44  categories but are not required to adopt identical fees for
   45  those categories.
   46         8. Application, notice, and reporting forms. To the maximum
   47  extent practicable, the department and water management
   48  districts shall provide for electronic submittal of forms and
   49  notices.
   50         9. An applicant’s handbook that, at a minimum, contains
   51  general program information, application and review procedures,
   52  a specific discussion of how environmental criteria are
   53  evaluated, and discussion of stormwater quality and quantity
   54  criteria.
   55         (b) The rules must provide for a conceptual permit for a
   56  municipality or county that creates a stormwater management
   57  master plan for urban infill and redevelopment areas or
   58  community redevelopment areas created under chapter 163. Upon
   59  approval by the department or water management district, the
   60  master plan shall become part of the conceptual permit issued by
   61  the department or water management district. The rules must
   62  additionally provide for an associated general permit for the
   63  construction and operation of urban redevelopment projects that
   64  meet the criteria established in the conceptual permit. The
   65  following requirements must also be met:
   66         1. The conceptual permit and associated general permit must
   67  not conflict with the requirements of a federally approved
   68  program pursuant to s. 403.0885 or with the implementation of s.
   69  403.067(7) regarding total maximum daily loads and basin
   70  management action plans.
   71         2. Before a conceptual permit is granted, the municipality
   72  or county must assert that stormwater discharges from the urban
   73  redevelopment area do not cause or contribute to violations of
   74  water quality standards by demonstrating a net improvement in
   75  the quality of the discharged water existing on the date the
   76  conceptual permit is approved.
   77         3. The conceptual permit may not expire for at least 20
   78  years unless a shorter duration is requested, and must include
   79  an option to renew.
   80         4. The conceptual permit must describe the rate and volume
   81  of stormwater discharges from the urban redevelopment area,
   82  including the maximum rate and volume of stormwater discharges
   83  as of the date the conceptual permit is approved.
   84         5. The conceptual permit must contain provisions regarding
   85  the use of stormwater best management practices and must ensure
   86  that stormwater management systems constructed within the urban
   87  redevelopment area are operated and maintained in compliance
   88  with s. 373.416.
   89         (c) The rules must shall rely primarily on the rules of the
   90  department and water management districts in effect immediately
   91  prior to the effective date of this section, except that the
   92  department may:
   93         1. Reconcile differences and conflicts to achieve a
   94  consistent statewide approach.
   95         2. Account for different physical or natural
   96  characteristics, including special basin considerations, of
   97  individual water management districts.
   98         3. Implement additional permit streamlining measures.
   99         (d) The application of the rules must shall continue to be
  100  governed by the first sentence of s. 70.001(12).
  101         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.