HB 691

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to beach management; amending s.
3161.041, F.S.; specifying that demonstration to the
4Department of Environmental Protection of the adequacy
5of a project's design and construction is supported by
6certain evidence; requiring the permit applicant and
7the department to negotiate in good faith; authorizing
8the department to issue permits for an incidental take
9authorization under certain circumstances; requiring
10the department to adopt certain rules involving the
11excavation and placement of sediment; requiring the
12department to justify items listed in a request for
13additional information; requiring the department to
14adopt guidelines by rule; providing legislative intent
15with regard to permitting for periodic maintenance of
16certain beach nourishment and inlet management
17projects; requiring the department to amend specified
18rules to streamline such permitting; creating s.
19161.0413, F.S.; providing for joint coastal permits
20for certain beach-related projects; providing for the
21permit life of joint permits; amending s. 161.101,
22F.S.; requiring the department to maintain certain
23beach management project information on its website;
24requiring the department to notify the Governor's
25Office and the Legislature concerning any significant
26changes in project funding levels; amending s.
27373.406, F.S.; providing a permit exemption for
28certain specified exploratory activities relating to
29beach restoration and nourishment projects and inlet
30management activities; requiring a department
31determination of a de minimis permit exemption to be
32provided within a certain time; providing an effective
33date.
34
35Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
36
37     Section 1.  Section 161.041, Florida Statutes, is amended
38to read:
39     161.041  Permits required.-
40     (1)  If a any person, firm, corporation, county,
41municipality, township, special district, or any public agency
42desires to make any coastal construction or reconstruction or
43change of existing structures, or any construction or physical
44activity undertaken specifically for shore protection purposes,
45or other structures and physical activity including groins,
46jetties, moles, breakwaters, seawalls, revetments, artificial
47nourishment, inlet sediment bypassing, excavation or maintenance
48dredging of inlet channels, or other deposition or removal of
49beach material, or construction of other structures if of a
50solid or highly impermeable design, upon state sovereignty lands
51of Florida, below the mean high-water line of any tidal water of
52the state, a coastal construction permit must be obtained from
53the department before prior to the commencement of such work.
54The department may exempt interior tidal waters of the state
55from the permit requirements of this section. No such
56development shall interfere,
57     (a)  Except during construction, such development may not
58interfere with the public use by the public of any area of a
59beach seaward of the mean high-water line unless the department
60determines that the such interference is unavoidable for
61purposes of protecting the beach or an any endangered upland
62structure. The department may require, As a condition of to
63granting permits under this section, the department may require
64the provision of alternative access if when interference with
65public access along the beach is unavoidable. The width of such
66alternate access may not be required to exceed the width of the
67access that will be obstructed as a result of the permit being
68granted. Application for coastal construction permits as defined
69above shall be made to the department upon such terms and
70conditions as set forth by rule of the department.
71     (b)  Except for the deepwater ports identified in s.
72403.021(9)(b), the department may shall not issue a any permit
73for the construction of a coastal inlet jetty or the excavation
74or maintenance of such an inlet if the activity authorized by
75the permit will have a significant adverse impact on the sandy
76beaches of this state without a mitigation program approved by
77the department. In evaluating the mitigation program, the
78department shall consider take into consideration the benefits
79of the long-term sand management plan of the permittee and the
80overall public benefits of the inlet activity.
81     (2)  The department may authorize an excavation or erection
82of a structure at any coastal location upon receipt of an
83application from a property or riparian owner and upon
84consideration of facts and circumstances, including:
85     (a)  Adequate engineering data concerning inlet and
86shoreline stability and storm tides related to shoreline
87topography;
88     (b)  Design features of the proposed structures or
89activities; and
90     (c)  Potential effects impacts of the location of such
91structures or activities, including potential cumulative effects
92of any proposed structures or activities upon such beach-dune
93system or coastal inlet, which, in the opinion of the
94department, clearly justify such a permit.
95     (3)  The department may require such engineer
96certifications as necessary to assure the adequacy of the design
97and construction of permitted projects. Reasonable assurance is
98demonstrated if the permit applicant provides competent
99substantial evidence that is based on plans, studies, and
100credible expertise that accounts for naturally occurring
101variables that might reasonably be expected.
102     (4)  The department may, as a condition to the granting of
103a permit under this section, require mitigation, financial, or
104other assurances acceptable to the department as may be
105necessary to assure performance of the conditions of a permit or
106enter into contractual agreements to best assure compliance with
107any permit conditions. Biological and environmental monitoring
108conditions included in the permit must shall be based upon
109clearly defined scientific principles. The department may also
110require notice of the required permit conditions required and
111the contractual agreements entered into pursuant to the
112provisions of this subsection to be filed in the public records
113of the county in which the permitted activity is located.
114     (5)  Department-proposed permit conditions as well as
115specific provisions and requirements associated with requisite
116monitoring and mitigation plans must be negotiated in good faith
117by the agency and the applicant before the issuance of the
118notice of intent and transmittal of the permit. The subsequent
119time period between the applicant receiving a notice of intent
120and the final notice to proceed may not be used to circumvent
121the time limits in chapter 120 or the Legislature's expressed
122intent to simplify and expedite the regulatory process for beach
123nourishment and inlet management projects pursuant to s.
124161.0413 when they are declared to be in the public interest
125pursuant to s. 161.088.
126     (6)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
127department may issue permits pursuant to this part in advance of
128the issuance of an incidental take authorization provided under
129the Endangered Species Act and its implementing regulations if
130the permits and authorizations include a condition that requires
131that such authorized activities not begin until the incidental
132take authorization is issued.
133     (7)  The department shall adopt rules to address standard
134mixing zone criteria and antidegradation requirements for
135turbidity generation for permits that involve the excavation and
136placement of sediment in order to eliminate the need for
137variances, except within Outstanding Florida Waters and aquatic
138preserves, and to reduce the need for other variances issued
139pursuant to s. 373.414 or s. 403.201. In processing variance
140requests, the department must consider the legislative
141declaration that, pursuant to s. 161.088, beach nourishment
142projects are in the public interest.
143     (8)  Application for permits shall be made to the
144department upon such terms and conditions as set forth by rule.
145     (a)  If, as part of the permit process, the department
146requests additional information, it must cite applicable
147statutory and rule provisions that justify any item listed in a
148request for additional information.
149     (b)  The department may not issue guidelines that are
150enforceable as standards for beach management, inlet management,
151and other erosion control projects without adopting such
152guidelines by rule.
153     (9)  The Legislature intends to simplify the permitting
154process for the periodic maintenance of previously permitted and
155constructed beach nourishment and inlet management projects
156under the joint coastal permit process. A detailed review of a
157previously permitted project is not required if there have been
158no substantial changes in project scope and past performance of
159the project indicates that it has performed according to design
160expectations. The department shall amend chapters 62B-41 and
16162B-49 of the Florida Administrative Code to streamline the
162permitting process for periodic beach maintenance projects and
163inlet sand bypassing activities.
164     Section 2.  Section 161.0413, Florida Statutes, is created
165to read:
166     161.0413  Joint coastal permits.-
167     (1)  The department is authorized to issue a joint coastal
168permit for activities falling under both s. 161.041 and part IV
169of chapter 373.
170     (2)  Joint coastal permits must allow for two maintenance
171or dredging disposal events or a permit life of 15 years,
172whichever is greater.
173     Section 3.  Subsection (20) of section 161.101, Florida
174Statutes, is amended to read:
175     161.101  State and local participation in authorized
176projects and studies relating to beach management and erosion
177control.-
178     (20)  The department shall maintain active a current
179project listings on its website by fiscal year in order to
180provide transparency regarding those projects receiving funding
181and the funding amounts, and to facilitate legislative reporting
182and oversight. In consideration of this intent: listing and may,
183in its discretion and dependent upon the availability of local
184resources and changes in the criteria listed in subsection (14),
185revise the project listing.
186     (a)  The department shall notify the Executive Office of
187the Governor and the Legislature regarding any significant
188changes in the funding levels of a given project as initially
189requested in the department's budget submission and subsequently
190included in approved annual funding allocations. The term
191"significant" means those changes exceeding 25 percent of a
192project's original allocation. If there is surplus funding,
193notification shall be provided to the Executive Office of the
194Governor and the Legislature to indicate whether additional
195dollars are intended to be used for inlet management pursuant to
196s. 161.143, offered for reversion as part of the next
197appropriations process, or used for other specified priority
198projects on active project lists.
199     (b)  A summary of specific project activities for the
200current fiscal year, funding status, and changes to annual
201project lists shall be prepared by the department and included
202with the department's submission of its annual legislative
203budget request.
204     (c)  A local project sponsor may at any time release, in
205whole or in part, appropriated project dollars by formal
206notification to the department, which shall notify the Executive
207Office of the Governor and the Legislature. Notification must
208indicate how the project dollars are intended to be used.
209     Section 4.  Subsection (13) is added to section 373.406,
210Florida Statutes, to read:
211     373.406  Exemptions.-The following exemptions shall apply:
212     (13)  Notwithstanding subsection (6) and s. 403.813, this
213section, and any rule or order adopted pursuant thereto, may not
214require a permit for the following de minimis exploratory
215activities associated with beach restoration and nourishment
216projects and inlet management activities:
217     (a)  The collection of geotechnical, geophysical, and
218cultural resource data, including surveys, mapping, acoustic
219soundings, benthic and other biologic sampling, and coring.
220     (b)  Oceanographic instrument deployment, including
221temporary installation on the seabed of coastal and
222oceanographic data collection equipment.
223     (c)  Incidental excavation associated with any of the
224activities listed under paragraph (a) or paragraph (b).
225
226A determination of whether any other activity is de minimis and
227therefore exempt from the permitting process must be made by the
228department within 30 days after receipt of the request unless
229the applicant requests additional time.
230     Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.


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