Florida Senate - 2025 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 492
Ì145310eÎ145310
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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The Committee on Rules (McClain) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 70 - 277
4 and insert:
5 the credit release schedule set forth in paragraph (a) a
6 schedule for the release of those credits awarded by in the
7 mitigation bank permit. A mitigation credit that has been
8 released may be sold or used to offset adverse impacts from an
9 activity regulated under this part.
10 (a)1. Thirty percent of awarded credits shall be released
11 upon the recordation of the conservation easement and
12 establishment of financial assurances required by the mitigation
13 bank permit. If a preservation-only assessment area is used, 100
14 percent of awarded credits shall be released for the recordation
15 of the conservation easement and establishment of financial
16 assurances required by the mitigation bank permit. The
17 department or the water management district shall allow a
18 portion of the mitigation credits awarded to a mitigation bank
19 to be released for sale or use prior to meeting all of the
20 performance criteria specified in the mitigation bank permit.
21 The department or the water management district shall allow
22 release of all of a mitigation bank’s awarded mitigation credits
23 only after the bank meets the mitigation success criteria
24 specified in the permit.
25 2.(b) Thirty percent of awarded credits shall be released
26 following completion of initial construction activities as
27 established by the mitigation bank permit.
28 3. Twenty percent of awarded credits shall be released in
29 increments as monitoring indicates interim performance criteria
30 established by the mitigation bank permit are being met.
31 4. Twenty percent of awarded credits shall be released upon
32 meeting final success criteria established by the mitigation
33 bank permit The number of credits and schedule for release shall
34 be determined by the department or water management district
35 based upon the performance criteria for the mitigation bank and
36 the success criteria for each mitigation activity. The release
37 schedule for a specific mitigation bank or phase thereof shall
38 be related to the actions required to implement the bank, such
39 as site protection, site preparation, earthwork, removal of
40 wastes, planting, removal or control of nuisance and exotic
41 species, installation of structures, and annual monitoring and
42 management requirements for success. In determining the specific
43 release schedule for a bank, the department or water management
44 district shall consider, at a minimum, the following factors:
45 1. Whether the mitigation consists solely of preservation
46 or includes other types of mitigation.
47 2. The length of time anticipated to be required before a
48 determination of success can be achieved.
49 3. The ecological value to be gained from each action
50 required to implement the bank.
51 4. The financial expenditure required for each action to
52 implement the bank.
53 (b) The mitigation bank applicant may propose an
54 alternative credit release schedule and the department or water
55 management district shall consider the proposed alternative
56 credit release schedule.
57 (c) Upon request by a mitigation bank permittee for
58 modification of the credit release schedule of a permitted
59 mitigation bank, the department or relevant water management
60 district shall modify the credit release schedule to conform it
61 to paragraph (a) if such permitted mitigation bank has not yet
62 had mitigation credits released for the completion of
63 construction activities. The department or water management
64 district may not alter, change, or modify any other provision of
65 the mitigation bank permit unrelated to the credit release
66 schedule.
67 (d)(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, a
68 mitigation no credit may not shall be released for freshwater
69 wetland creation until the success criteria established included
70 in the mitigation bank permit for initial construction
71 activities are met.
72 (e)(d) The withdrawal of mitigation credits from a
73 mitigation bank shall be accomplished as a minor modification of
74 the mitigation bank permit. A processing fee is not shall not be
75 required by the department or water management district for this
76 minor modification.
77 (6) MITIGATION SERVICE AREA.—The department or water
78 management district shall establish a mitigation service area
79 for each mitigation bank permit. The department or water
80 management district shall notify and consider comments received
81 on the proposed mitigation service area from each local
82 government within the proposed mitigation service area. Except
83 as provided in this section herein, mitigation credits may be
84 withdrawn and used only to offset adverse impacts in the
85 mitigation service area. The boundaries of the mitigation
86 service area shall depend upon the geographic area where the
87 mitigation bank could reasonably be expected to offset adverse
88 impacts. Mitigation service areas may overlap, and mitigation
89 service areas for two or more mitigation banks may be approved
90 for a regional watershed.
91 (a) In determining the boundaries of the mitigation service
92 area, the department or the water management district shall
93 consider the characteristics, size, and location of the
94 mitigation bank and, at a minimum, the extent to which the
95 mitigation bank:
96 1. Contributes to a regional integrated ecological network;
97 2. Will significantly enhance the water quality or
98 restoration of an offsite receiving water body that is
99 designated as an Outstanding Florida Water, a Wild and Scenic
100 River, an aquatic preserve, a water body designated in a plan
101 approved pursuant to the Surface Water Improvement and
102 Management Act, or a nationally designated estuarine preserve;
103 3. Will provide for the long-term viability of endangered
104 or threatened species or species of special concern;
105 4. Is consistent with the objectives of a regional
106 management plan adopted or endorsed by the department or water
107 management districts; and
108 5. Can reasonably be expected to offset specific types of
109 wetland impacts within a specific geographic area. A mitigation
110 bank need not be able to offset all expected impacts within its
111 service area.
112 (b) The department and water management districts shall use
113 regional watersheds to guide the establishment of mitigation
114 service areas. Drainage basins established pursuant to s.
115 373.414(8) may be used as regional watersheds when they are
116 established based on the hydrological or ecological
117 characteristics of the basin. A mitigation service area may
118 extend beyond the regional watershed in which the bank is
119 located into all or part of other regional watersheds when the
120 mitigation bank has the ability to offset adverse impacts
121 outside that regional watershed. Similarly, a mitigation service
122 area may be smaller than the regional watershed in which the
123 mitigation bank is located when adverse impacts throughout the
124 regional watershed cannot reasonably be expected to be offset by
125 the mitigation bank because of local ecological or hydrological
126 conditions.
127 (c) Once a mitigation bank service area has been
128 established by the department or a water management district for
129 a mitigation bank, such mitigation bank shall be deemed to
130 implement a plan that provides regional ecological value; such
131 service area shall be accepted by all water management
132 districts, local governments, and the department; and the use of
133 credits from such mitigation bank to offset impacts within that
134 bank’s service area shall be considered to have met the
135 cumulative impact requirements of s. 373.414(8)(a).
136 (d) If the requirements in provisions of s. 373.414(1)(b)
137 and (8) are met, the following projects or activities regulated
138 under this part shall be eligible to use a mitigation bank,
139 regardless of whether they are located within the mitigation
140 service area:
141 1. Projects with adverse impacts partially located within
142 the mitigation service area.
143 2. Linear projects, such as roadways, transmission lines,
144 distribution lines, pipelines, railways, or seaports listed in
145 s. 311.09(1).
146 3. Projects with total adverse impacts of less than 1 acre
147 in size. and an insufficient number or type of credits from
148 banks whose permitted service area overlays in whole or in part
149 the regional watershed in which the impacts occur, the permit
150 applicant is entitled to a one-time use of credits released from
151 a mitigation bank outside the mitigation bank service area to
152 offset impacts pursuant to s. 373.414(1)(b), as established by
153 the procedure in paragraph (f). The department or water
154 management district must have determined that the mitigation
155 service area lacked the appropriate credit type and the
156 implementation of permittee-responsible mitigation was not
157 sufficient offset impacts associated with the proposed project.
158 Priority must be given to mitigation banks whose permitted
159 service area fully includes the impacted site. If the number of
160 released credits within a mitigation service area only partially
161 offsets the impacts associated with a proposed project in the
162 mitigation service area, the permit applicant may only use out
163 of-service-area credits to account for the difference between
164 the released credits available in the mitigation bank service
165 area and the credits required to offset the impacts associated
166 with the proposed project. In implementing this subsection, the
167 department and water management districts shall apply a
168 proximity factor to determine adequate compensatory mitigation
169 as follows:
170 1. A 1.0 multiplier shall be applied for use of in-kind
171 credits within the service area.
172 2. A 1.0 multiplier shall be applied for use of in-kind and
173 out-of-service-area credits when the service area overlays part
174 of the same regional watershed as the proposed impacts only
175 after credit-deficiency has been established by the procedure
176 set forth in paragraph (f).
177 3. A 1.2 multiplier shall be applied for use of in-kind and
178 out-of-service-area credits located within a regional watershed
179 immediately adjacent to the regional watershed overlain by a
180 bank service area in which proposed impacts are located only
181 after credit-deficiency has been established by the procedure
182 set forth in paragraph (f).
183 4. When in-kind credits are not available to offset impacts
184 in the regional watershed immediately adjacent to the regional
185 watershed overlain by a mitigation bank service area in which
186 the proposed impacts are located, an additional 0.25 multiplier
187 shall be applied for each additional regional watershed boundary
188 crossed only after credit-deficiency has been established by the
189 procedure set forth in paragraph (f).
190 5. An additional 0.50 multiplier shall be applied after any
191 multipliers required in subparagraphs 1.-4., if the mitigation
192 used to offset impacts entails out-of-kind replacement.
193 (e) Use of the multipliers in subparagraphs (d)2., 3., 4.,
194 and 5. meets the requirements of s. 373.414(8)(a) for addressing
195 cumulative impacts.
196 (f) Once the amount of mitigation required to offset
197 impacts has been determined, and the department or water
198 management district determines that out-of-service-area or out
199 of-kind mitigation is necessary , the department or water
200 management district shall contact all mitigation banks with a
201 mitigation service area encompassing the location of the
202 proposed impacts within 7 business days after receipt of the
203 request from the permit applicant and request an accounting of
204 available credits, including out-of-kind credits. The accounting
205 may not include credits reserved for other permit applicants.
206 The mitigation banks contacted by the department or water
207 management district shall be allowed 15 business days after
208 receipt of the request by the department or water management
209 district to reply to such request. If one or more mitigation
210 banks replying to the request notifies the department or the
211 water management district that out-of-kind credits are available
212 to offset the proposed impact and the department or a water
213 management district determines that such out-of-kind credits are
214 appropriate to offset all or part of the proposed impact, the
215 department or the water management district shall notify the
216 permit applicant that sufficient credits are available within
217 that bank’s service area to offset the proposed impacts and the
218 use of credits from another mitigation bank outside of that
219 other mitigation bank’s service area may not occur until use of
220 all of the out-of-kind credits occurs as allowed by the
221 department or water management district. If a mitigation bank
222 does not reply within the 15 business day timeframe, it is
223 presumed credits are not available. Upon receipt of the
224 accounting from the mitigation banks, the department or water
225 management district shall determine if sufficient credits are
226 available to offset impacts associated with the proposed project
227 and notify the permit applicant of such determination within 15
228 business days. The permit applicant, and no other entity, may
229 rely on the determination from the department or water
230 management district for a period of six months beginning on the
231 date the department or water management district notifies the
232 permit applicant of such determination, but only for purposes
233 relating to the pending application producing such determination
234 and not any extensions, nor renewals, nor modifications of any
235 permit issued pursuant to that pending application, nor for any
236 other permit application.
237
238 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
239 And the title is amended as follows:
240 Delete lines 2 - 33
241 and insert:
242 An act relating to land development; amending s.
243 373.4136, F.S.; beginning on a specified date,
244 revising the schedule for credit release upon issuance
245 of a mitigation bank credit permit; providing
246 specifications for such schedule; authorizing a
247 mitigation bank applicant to propose an alternative
248 credit release schedule and requiring the Department
249 of Environmental Protection or water management
250 district to consider such credit release schedule;
251 requiring the department or water management district
252 to modify an existing permitted credit release
253 schedule upon the request of the mitigation bank
254 permittee under certain circumstances; prohibiting the
255 department from altering, changing, or modifying other
256 provisions of the mitigation bank permit that are
257 unrelated to the credit release schedule; prohibiting
258 a mitigation credit from being released for freshwater
259 wetland creation until certain conditions are met;
260 revising the results of the establishment of a
261 mitigation bank service area; revising the projects or
262 activities eligible to use credits released from a
263 mitigation bank for certain purposes; authorizing a
264 permit applicant to receive a one-time use of certain
265 credits in certain circumstances; providing
266 requirements for a permit applicant if the number of
267 released credits within a mitigation service area only
268 partially offsets certain impacts; requiring the
269 department and water management districts to apply a
270 proximity factor in a specified manner to make a
271 certain determination; specifying multipliers for such
272 proximity factor; specifying that the use of certain
273 multipliers meets certain requirements; requiring the
274 department or water management district to contact
275 certain mitigation banks and request a certain
276 accounting within a specified timeframe after
277 receiving a certain request from the applicant;
278 prohibiting such accounting from including certain
279 credits; providing that mitigation banks contacted by
280 the department or water management district are
281 allowed a specified timeframe to reply to such
282 request; requiring the department or water management
283 district to notify the permit applicant of certain
284 information if the department or water management
285 district is notified that out-of-kind credits are
286 available to offset the proposed impact and the
287 department or water management district makes a
288 certain determination; providing a presumption if a
289 mitigation bank