Florida Senate - 2020 SB 1618
By Senator Diaz
36-01876A-20 20201618__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to construction materials mining
3 activities; amending s. 552.30, F.S.; providing
4 legislative findings; creating a pilot program within
5 the Division of State Fire Marshal to monitor and
6 report on the use of explosives in construction
7 materials mining activities in Miami-Dade County;
8 requiring the State Fire Marshal to hire or contract
9 with seismologists to monitor and report blasts
10 occurring in connection with construction materials
11 mining activities in Miami-Dade County and to post the
12 reports of the seismologists on the division’s
13 website; providing requirements for such
14 seismologists; requiring a person who engages in
15 construction materials mining activities in Miami-Dade
16 County to submit certain written notice relating to
17 the use of an explosive to the State Fire Marshal;
18 requiring the State Fire Marshal to adopt rules;
19 providing an appropriation; providing an effective
20 date.
21
22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24 Section 1. Section 552.30, Florida Statutes, is amended to
25 read:
26 552.30 Construction materials mining activities.—
27 (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 552.25, the State
28 Fire Marshal shall have the sole and exclusive authority to
29 adopt promulgate standards, limits, and regulations regarding
30 the use of explosives used for in conjunction with construction
31 materials mining activities. Such authority to regulate use
32 shall include, directly or indirectly, the operation, handling,
33 licensure, or permitting of explosives and setting standards or
34 limits, including, but not limited to, ground vibration,
35 frequency, intensity, blast pattern, air blast and time, date,
36 occurrence, and notice restrictions. As used in this section,
37 the term “construction materials mining activities” means the
38 extraction of limestone and sand suitable for production of
39 construction aggregates, sand, cement, and road base materials
40 for shipment offsite by any person or company primarily engaged
41 in the commercial mining of any such natural resources.
42 (2) The State Fire Marshal shall establish statewide ground
43 vibration limits for construction materials mining activities
44 which conform to those limits established in the United States
45 Bureau of Mines, Report of Investigations 8507, Appendix B -
46 Alternative Blasting Level Criteria (Figure B-1). The State Fire
47 Marshal may, at his or her sole discretion, by rule or formal
48 agreement, delegate to the applicable municipality or county,
49 the monitoring and enforcement components of regulations
50 governing the use of explosives, as recognized in this section,
51 by construction materials mining activities. Such delegation may
52 include the assessment and collection of reasonable fees by the
53 municipality or county for the purpose of carrying out the
54 delegated activities.
55 (3) The State Fire Marshal is directed to conduct or
56 contract for a study to review whether the established statewide
57 ground vibration limits for construction materials mining
58 activities are still appropriate and to review any legitimate
59 claims paid for damages caused by such mining activities. The
60 study must include a review of measured vibration amplitudes and
61 frequencies, structure responses, theoretical analyses of
62 material strength and strains, and assessments of home damages.
63 (a) The study shall be funded using the specified portion
64 of revenues received from the water treatment plant upgrade fee
65 pursuant to s. 373.41492.
66 (b) The State Fire Marshal shall submit a report to the
67 Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
68 House of Representatives by December 1, 2016, which contains the
69 findings of the study and any recommendations.
70 (4)(a) The Legislature finds that construction materials
71 mining activities require the use of explosives to fracture the
72 material before excavation. The use of explosives results in
73 physical ground vibrations and air blasts that may affect other
74 property owners in the vicinity of the mining site. It is in the
75 best interest of the public to ensure that blasts resulting from
76 the use of explosives for construction materials mining
77 activities are accurately monitored and reported to ensure the
78 blasts do not exceed physical ground vibration and air blast
79 limits. The Legislature further finds that more permits for
80 construction materials mining activities have been issued to
81 entities operating in Miami-Dade County than any other county in
82 the state.
83 (b) A monitoring and reporting pilot program for the use of
84 explosives is created within the Division of the State Fire
85 Marshal to monitor and report each blast resulting from the use
86 of explosives for construction materials mining activities in
87 Miami-Dade County.
88 (c) The State Fire Marshal shall hire or contract with
89 seismologists to monitor and report each blast resulting from
90 the use of explosives for construction materials mining
91 activities in Miami-Dade County, including, at a minimum,
92 monitoring and reporting the ground vibration, frequency,
93 intensity, air blast, and time and date of the blast. The State
94 Fire Marshal shall post the reports on the division’s website to
95 be available to the public.
96 (d) A seismologist hired or contracted by the State Fire
97 Marshal as required by this subsection may not:
98 1. Be an employee of or under contract with a person who
99 engages in or contracts for construction materials mining
100 activities.
101 2. Have engaged in dishonest practices relating to the
102 collection or analysis of data or information regarding the use
103 of explosives in construction materials mining activities.
104 (e) A person who engages in construction materials mining
105 activities shall provide written notice to the State Fire
106 Marshal of the use of an explosive for construction materials
107 mining activities in Miami-Dade County before the detonation of
108 the explosive.
109 (f) The State Fire Marshal shall adopt rules to implement
110 and enforce this subsection.
111 Section 2. For fiscal year 2020-2021, the recurring sum of
112 $600,000 and the nonrecurring sum of $440,000 are appropriated
113 from the General Revenue Fund to the Division of State Fire
114 Marshal within the Department of Financial Services for the
115 purpose of implementing the monitoring and reporting pilot
116 program for the use of explosives in Miami-Dade County pursuant
117 to s. 552.30(4), Florida Statutes.
118 Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2020.