Florida Senate - 2012 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 758
Barcode 349990
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
01/11/2012 .
.
.
.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
The Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation
(Jones) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Section 161.041, Florida Statutes, is amended to
6 read:
7 161.041 Permits required.—
8 (1) If a any person, firm, corporation, county,
9 municipality, township, special district, or any public agency
10 desires to make any coastal construction or reconstruction or
11 change of existing structures, or any construction or physical
12 activity undertaken specifically for shore protection purposes,
13 or other structures and physical activity including groins,
14 jetties, moles, breakwaters, seawalls, revetments, artificial
15 nourishment, inlet sediment bypassing, excavation or maintenance
16 dredging of inlet channels, or other deposition or removal of
17 beach material, or construction of other structures if of a
18 solid or highly impermeable design, upon state sovereignty lands
19 of Florida, below the mean high-water line of any tidal water of
20 the state, a coastal construction permit must be obtained from
21 the department before prior to the commencement of such work.
22 The department may exempt interior tidal waters of the state
23 from the permit requirements of this section. No such
24 development shall interfere,
25 (a) Except during construction, such development may not
26 interfere with the public use by the public of any area of a
27 beach seaward of the mean high-water line unless the department
28 determines that the such interference is unavoidable for
29 purposes of protecting the beach or an any endangered upland
30 structure. The department may require, As a condition of to
31 granting permits under this section, the department may require
32 the provision of alternative access if when interference with
33 public access along the beach is unavoidable. The width of such
34 alternate access may not be required to exceed the width of the
35 access that will be obstructed as a result of the permit being
36 granted. Application for coastal construction permits as defined
37 above shall be made to the department upon such terms and
38 conditions as set forth by rule of the department.
39 (b) Except for the deepwater ports identified in s.
40 403.021(9)(b), the department shall not issue a any permit for
41 the construction of a coastal inlet jetty or the excavation or
42 maintenance of such an inlet if the activity authorized by the
43 permit will have a significant adverse impact on the sandy
44 beaches of this state without a mitigation program approved by
45 the department. In evaluating the mitigation program, the
46 department shall consider take into consideration the benefits
47 of the long-term sand management plan of the permittee and the
48 overall public benefits of the inlet activity.
49 (2) The department may authorize an excavation or erection
50 of a structure at any coastal location upon receipt of an
51 application from a property or riparian owner and upon
52 consideration of facts and circumstances, including:
53 (a) Adequate engineering data concerning inlet and
54 shoreline stability and storm tides related to shoreline
55 topography;
56 (b) Design features of the proposed structures or
57 activities; and
58 (c) Potential effects impacts of the location of such
59 structures or activities, including potential cumulative effects
60 of any proposed structures or activities upon such beach-dune
61 system or coastal inlet, which, in the opinion of the
62 department, clearly justify such a permit.
63 (3) The department may require such engineer certifications
64 as necessary to assure the adequacy of the design and
65 construction of permitted projects. Reasonable assurance is
66 demonstrated if the permit applicant provides competent
67 substantial evidence based on plans, studies, and credible
68 expertise that accounts for naturally occurring variables that
69 might reasonably be expected.
70 (4) The department may, as a condition to the granting of a
71 permit under this section, require mitigation, financial, or
72 other assurances acceptable to the department as may be
73 necessary to assure performance of the conditions of a permit or
74 enter into contractual agreements to best assure compliance with
75 any permit conditions. Biological and environmental monitoring
76 conditions included in the permit must shall be based upon
77 clearly defined scientific principles. The department may also
78 require notice of the required permit conditions required and
79 the contractual agreements entered into pursuant to the
80 provisions of this subsection to be filed in the public records
81 of the county in which the permitted activity is located.
82 (5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
83 department may issue permits pursuant to this part in advance of
84 the issuance of an incidental take authorization provided under
85 the Endangered Species Act and its implementing regulations if
86 the permits and authorizations include a condition that requires
87 that such authorized activities not begin until the incidental
88 take authorization is issued.
89 (6) The department shall adopt rules to address standard
90 mixing zone criteria and antidegradation requirements for
91 turbidity generation for beach management and inlet bypassing
92 permits that involve the excavation and placement of sediment in
93 order to reduce or eliminate the need for variances. In
94 processing variance requests, the department must consider the
95 legislative declaration that, pursuant to s. 161.088, beach
96 nourishment projects are in the public interest.
97 (7) Application for permits shall be made to the department
98 upon such terms and conditions as set forth by rule.
99 (a) If, as part of the permit process, the department
100 requests additional information, it must cite applicable
101 statutory and rule provisions that justify any item listed in a
102 request for additional information.
103 (b) The department may not issue guidelines that are
104 enforceable as standards for beach management, inlet management,
105 and other erosion control projects without adopting such
106 guidelines by rule.
107 (8) The Legislature intends to simplify and expedite the
108 permitting process for the periodic maintenance of previously
109 permitted and constructed beach nourishment and inlet management
110 projects under the joint coastal permit process. A detailed
111 review of a previously permitted project is not required if
112 there have been no substantial changes in project scope and past
113 performance of the project indicates that the project has
114 performed according to design expectations. The department shall
115 amend chapters 62B-41 and 62B-49, Florida Administrative Code,
116 to streamline the permitting process for periodic beach
117 maintenance projects and inlet sand bypassing activities.
118 (9) Joint coastal permits issued for activities falling
119 under this section and part IV of chapter 373 must allow for two
120 maintenance or dredging disposal events or a permit life of 15
121 years, whichever is greater.
122 Section 2. Subsection (20) of section 161.101, Florida
123 Statutes, is amended to read:
124 161.101 State and local participation in authorized
125 projects and studies relating to beach management and erosion
126 control.—
127 (20) The department shall maintain active a current project
128 listings on its website by fiscal year in order to provide
129 transparency regarding those projects receiving funding and the
130 funding amounts, and to facilitate legislative reporting and
131 oversight. In consideration of this intent: listing and may, in
132 its discretion and dependent upon the availability of local
133 resources and changes in the criteria listed in subsection (14),
134 revise the project listing.
135 (a) The department shall notify the Executive Office of the
136 Governor and the Legislature regarding any significant changes
137 in the funding levels of a given project as initially requested
138 in the department’s budget submission and subsequently included
139 in approved annual funding allocations. The term “significant
140 change” means those changes exceeding 25 percent of a project’s
141 original allocation. If there is surplus funding, notification
142 shall be provided to the Executive Office of the Governor and
143 the Legislature to indicate whether additional dollars are
144 intended to be used for inlet management pursuant to s. 161.143,
145 offered for reversion as part of the next appropriations
146 process, or used for other specified priority projects on active
147 project lists.
148 (b) A summary of specific project activities for the
149 current fiscal year, funding status, and changes to annual
150 project lists shall be prepared by the department and included
151 with the department’s submission of its annual legislative
152 budget request.
153 (c) A local project sponsor may at any time release, in
154 whole or in part, appropriated project dollars by formal
155 notification to the department, which shall notify the Executive
156 Office of the Governor and the Legislature. Notification must
157 indicate how the project dollars are intended to be used.
158 Section 3. Paragraph (v) is added to subsection (1) of
159 section 403.813, Florida Statutes, to read:
160 403.813 Permits issued at district centers; exceptions.—
161 (1) A permit is not required under this chapter, chapter
162 373, chapter 61-691, Laws of Florida, or chapter 25214 or
163 chapter 25270, 1949, Laws of Florida, for activities associated
164 with the following types of projects; however, except as
165 otherwise provided in this subsection, nothing in this
166 subsection relieves an applicant from any requirement to obtain
167 permission to use or occupy lands owned by the Board of Trustees
168 of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund or any water management
169 district in its governmental or proprietary capacity or from
170 complying with applicable local pollution control programs
171 authorized under this chapter or other requirements of county
172 and municipal governments:
173 (v) Notwithstanding any other provision in this chapter,
174 chapter 373, or chapter 161, a permit or other authorization is
175 not required for the following exploratory activities associated
176 with beach restoration and nourishment projects and inlet
177 management activities:
178 1. The collection of geotechnical, geophysical, and
179 cultural resource data, including surveys, mapping, acoustic
180 soundings, benthic and other biologic sampling, and coring.
181 2. Oceanographic instrument deployment, including temporary
182 installation on the seabed of coastal and oceanographic data
183 collection equipment.
184 3. Incidental excavation associated with any of the
185 activities listed under paragraph (a) or paragraph (b).
186 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.
187
188 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
189 And the title is amended as follows:
190 Delete everything before the enacting clause
191 and insert:
192 A bill to be entitled
193 An act relating to beach management; amending s.
194 161.041, F.S.; specifying that demonstration to the
195 Department of Environmental Protection of the adequacy
196 of a project’s design and construction is supported by
197 certain evidence; authorizing the department to issue
198 permits for an incidental take authorization under
199 certain circumstances; requiring the department to
200 adopt certain rules involving the excavation and
201 placement of sediment; requiring the Department of
202 Environmental Protection to justify items listed in a
203 request for additional information; providing
204 legislative intent; exempting certain previously
205 permitted projects from detailed review; requiring
206 that the department amend certain rules to streamline
207 the permitting process for certain projects and
208 activities; providing for the permit life of joint
209 coastal permits; amending s. 161.101, F.S.; requiring
210 the department to maintain certain beach management
211 project information on its website; defining the term
212 “significant change”; requiring the department to
213 notify the Governor’s Office and the Legislature
214 concerning any significant changes in project funding
215 levels; amending s. 403.813, F.S.; providing a permit
216 exemption for certain specified exploratory activities
217 relating to beach restoration and nourishment projects
218 and inlet management activities; providing an
219 effective date.