Florida Senate - 2012 CS for CS for CS for SB 602
By the Committees on Budget Subcommittee on General Government
Appropriations; Transportation; and Community Affairs; and
Senator Storms
601-04259A-12 2012602c3
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to stormwater management permits;
3 amending s. 218.075, F.S.; allowing an entity created
4 by special act, local ordinance, or interlocal
5 agreement of a county or municipality to receive
6 certain reduced or waived permit processing fees;
7 amending s. 373.118, F.S.; requiring that the
8 Department of Environmental Protection initiate
9 rulemaking to adopt a general permit for stormwater
10 management systems serving airside activities at
11 airports; providing for statewide application of the
12 general permit; providing for any water management
13 district or delegated local government to administer
14 the general permit; providing that the rules are not
15 subject to any special rulemaking requirements
16 relating to small business; creating s. 373.4131,
17 F.S.; authorizing certain municipalities and counties
18 to adopt stormwater adaptive management plans and
19 obtain conceptual permits for urban redevelopment
20 projects; providing requirements for establishment of
21 such permits by water management districts in
22 consultation with the Department of Environmental
23 Protection; providing that certain urban redevelopment
24 projects qualify for a noticed general permit;
25 providing that provisions may not conflict with
26 existing federally delegated pollution reduction
27 programs; requiring a challenge to a consolidated
28 environmental resource permit or associated variance
29 or any sovereign submerged lands authorization
30 proposed or issued by the Department of Environmental
31 Protection in connection with specified deepwater
32 ports to be conducted pursuant to specified summary
33 hearing provisions and within a certain timeframe;
34 providing that the administrative law judge’s decision
35 is a recommended order and does not constitute final
36 agency action of the department; requiring the
37 department to issue the final order within a certain
38 timeframe; providing applicability; providing
39 effective dates.
40
41 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
42
43 Section 1. Section 218.075, Florida Statutes, is amended to
44 read:
45 218.075 Reduction or waiver of permit processing fees.
46 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Department of
47 Environmental Protection and the water management districts
48 shall reduce or waive permit processing fees for counties with a
49 population of 50,000 or fewer less on April 1, 1994, until such
50 counties exceed a population of 75,000 and municipalities with a
51 population of 25,000 or fewer; an entity created by special act,
52 local ordinance, or interlocal agreement of such counties or
53 municipalities; less, or any county or municipality not included
54 within a metropolitan statistical area. Fee reductions or
55 waivers shall be approved on the basis of fiscal hardship or
56 environmental need for a particular project or activity. The
57 governing body must certify that the cost of the permit
58 processing fee is a fiscal hardship due to one of the following
59 factors:
60 (1) Per capita taxable value is less than the statewide
61 average for the current fiscal year;
62 (2) Percentage of assessed property value that is exempt
63 from ad valorem taxation is higher than the statewide average
64 for the current fiscal year;
65 (3) Any condition specified in s. 218.503(1) which results
66 in the county or municipality being in a state of financial
67 emergency;
68 (4) Ad valorem operating millage rate for the current
69 fiscal year is greater than 8 mills; or
70 (5) A financial condition that is documented in annual
71 financial statements at the end of the current fiscal year and
72 indicates an inability to pay the permit processing fee during
73 that fiscal year.
74
75 The permit applicant must be the governing body of a county or
76 municipality, or a third party under contract with a county or
77 municipality, or an entity created by special act, local
78 ordinance, or interlocal agreement and the project for which the
79 fee reduction or waiver is sought must serve a public purpose.
80 If a permit processing fee is reduced, the total fee may shall
81 not exceed $100.
82 Section 2. Subsection (6) is added to section 373.118,
83 Florida Statutes, to read:
84 373.118 General permits; delegation.—
85 (6) By July 1, 2012, the department shall initiate
86 rulemaking to adopt a general permit for stormwater management
87 systems serving airside activities at airports. The general
88 permit applies statewide and shall be administered by any water
89 management district or any delegated local government pursuant
90 to the operating agreements applicable to part IV of this
91 chapter, with no additional rulemaking required. These rules are
92 not subject to any special rulemaking requirements related to
93 small business.
94 Section 3. Section 373.4131, Florida Statutes, is created
95 to read:
96 373.4131 Conceptual permits for urban redevelopment
97 projects.—
98 (1) A municipality or county that has created a community
99 redevelopment area or an urban infill and redevelopment area
100 pursuant to chapter 163 may adopt a stormwater adaptive
101 management plan that addresses the quantity and quality of
102 stormwater discharges for the area and may obtain a conceptual
103 permit from a water management district or the Department of
104 Environmental Protection.
105 (2) The conceptual permit shall be established by a water
106 management district in consultation with the department and:
107 (a) Must allow for the rate and volume of stormwater
108 discharges for stormwater management systems of urban
109 redevelopment projects located within a community redevelopment
110 area created under part III of chapter 163 or an urban infill
111 and redevelopment area designated under s. 163.2517 to continue
112 up to the maximum rate and volume of stormwater discharges
113 within the area as of the date the stormwater adaptive
114 management plan was adopted.
115 (b) Must presume that stormwater discharges for stormwater
116 management systems of urban redevelopment projects located
117 within a community redevelopment area created under part III of
118 chapter 163 or an urban infill and redevelopment area designated
119 under s. 163.2517 which demonstrate a net improvement of the
120 quality of the discharged water that existed as of the date the
121 stormwater adaptive management plan was adopted for any
122 applicable pollutants of concern in the receiving water body do
123 not cause or contribute to violations of water quality criteria.
124 (c) May not prescribe additional or more stringent
125 limitations concerning the quantity and quality of stormwater
126 discharges from stormwater management systems than provided in
127 this section.
128 (d) Shall be issued for a duration of at least 20 years and
129 may be renewed, unless a shorter duration is requested by the
130 applicant.
131 (3) Urban redevelopment projects that meet the criteria
132 established in the conceptual permit pursuant to this section
133 qualify for a noticed general permit that authorizes
134 construction and operation for the duration of the conceptual
135 permit.
136 (4) Notwithstanding subsections (1)-(3), permits issued
137 pursuant to this section may not conflict with the requirements
138 of a federally approved program pursuant to s. 403.0885 or with
139 the implementation of s. 403.067(7) regarding total maximum
140 daily loads and basin management plans.
141 Section 4. Notwithstanding s. 120.569, s. 120.57, or s.
142 373.427, Florida Statutes, or any other provision of law to the
143 contrary, a challenge to a consolidated environmental resource
144 permit or any associated variance or any sovereign submerged
145 lands authorization proposed or issued by the Department of
146 Environmental Protection in connection with the state’s
147 deepwater ports, as listed in s. 403.021(9), Florida Statutes,
148 shall be conducted pursuant to the summary hearing provisions of
149 s. 120.574, Florida Statutes. However, the summary proceeding
150 shall be conducted within 30 days after a party files a motion
151 for a summary hearing, regardless of whether the parties agree
152 to the summary proceeding, and the administrative law judge’s
153 decision shall be in the form of a recommended order and does
154 not constitute final agency action of the department. The
155 department shall issue the final order within 45 working days
156 after receipt of the administrative law judge’s recommended
157 order. The summary hearing provisions of this section apply to
158 pending administrative proceedings. However, the provisions of
159 s. 120.574(1)(b) and (d), Florida Statutes, do not apply to
160 pending administrative proceedings. This section shall take
161 effect upon this act becoming a law.
162 Section 5. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
163 act and except for this section, which shall take effect upon
164 this act becoming a law, this act shall take effect July 1,
165 2012.