Florida Senate - 2015 CS for SB 510
By the Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation;
and Senator Garcia
592-02827-15 2015510c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt
3 Area; amending s. 373.4149, F.S.; requiring amendments
4 to local zoning and subdivision regulations concerning
5 properties located within a certain area to be
6 compatible with limestone mining activities;
7 prohibiting amendments to local zoning and subdivision
8 regulations which would result in an increase in
9 residential density for certain property until there
10 is no mining activity within a certain distance;
11 amending s. 373.41492, F.S.; conforming a cross
12 reference; including water quality monitoring as an
13 environmental purpose for which the per-ton mitigation
14 fee may be applied; decreasing the amount of the per
15 ton mitigation fee for limerock and sand sold after
16 certain dates; imposing an environmentally endangered
17 lands fee; rescinding the water treatment plant
18 upgrade fee; requiring the Department of Revenue to
19 administer, enforce, and collect the environmentally
20 endangered lands fee; adding water quality monitoring
21 to the required uses for mitigation fee proceeds;
22 removing a requirement that such uses be approved by
23 the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Mitigation Committee;
24 requiring the environmentally endangered lands fee to
25 be used solely for purposes related to wetland and
26 threatened forest communities located in Miami-Dade
27 County after proceeds are used for water treatment
28 plant upgrades under certain conditions; reenacting s.
29 373.41495 (1), (2), and (3), F.S., relating to the
30 Lake Belt Mitigation Trust Fund to incorporate the
31 amendment made to s. 373.41492, F.S., in reference
32 thereto; providing an effective date.
33
34 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
35
36 Section 1. Subsection (4) of section 373.4149, Florida
37 Statutes, is amended to read:
38 373.4149 Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Plan.—
39 (4) The identification of the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt
40 Area shall not preempt local land use jurisdiction, planning, or
41 regulatory authority in regard to the use of land by private
42 land owners. When amending local comprehensive plans, or
43 implementing zoning regulations, development regulations, or
44 other local regulations, Miami-Dade County shall strongly
45 consider limestone mining activities and ancillary operations,
46 such as lake excavation, including use of explosives, rock
47 processing, cement, concrete and asphalt products manufacturing,
48 and ancillary activities, within the rock mining supported and
49 allowable areas of the Miami-Dade County Lake Plan adopted by
50 subsection (1); provided, however, that limerock mining
51 activities are consistent with wellfield protection. Rezonings,
52 or amendments to local zoning and subdivision regulations, and
53 amendments to local comprehensive plans concerning properties
54 that are located within 1 mile of the Miami-Dade Lake Belt Area
55 shall be compatible with limestone mining activities. No
56 rezonings, variances, amendments to local zoning and subdivision
57 regulations which would result in an increase in residential
58 density, or amendments to local comprehensive plans for any
59 residential purpose may be approved for any property located in
60 sections 35 and 36 and the east one-half of sections 24 and 25,
61 Township 53 South, Range 39 East until such time as there is no
62 active mining within 2 miles of the property. This section does
63 not preclude residential development that complies with current
64 regulations.
65 Section 2. Section 373.41492, Florida Statutes, is amended
66 to read:
67 373.41492 Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Mitigation Plan;
68 mitigation for mining activities within the Miami-Dade County
69 Lake Belt.—
70 (1) The Legislature finds that the impact of mining within
71 the rock mining supported and allowable areas of the Miami-Dade
72 County Lake Belt Plan adopted by s. 373.4149(1) can best be
73 offset by the implementation of a comprehensive mitigation plan.
74 The Lake Belt Mitigation Plan consists of those provisions
75 contained in subsections (2)-(8) (2)-(9). The per-ton mitigation
76 fee assessed on limestone sold from the Miami-Dade County Lake
77 Belt Area and sections 10, 11, 13, 14, Township 52 South, Range
78 39 East, and sections 24, 25, 35, and 36, Township 53 South,
79 Range 39 East, shall be used for acquiring environmentally
80 sensitive lands and for restoration, water quality monitoring,
81 maintenance, and other environmental purposes. It is the intent
82 of the Legislature that the per-ton mitigation fee not be a
83 revenue source for purposes other than enumerated in this
84 section. Further, the Legislature finds that the public benefit
85 of a sustainable supply of limestone construction materials for
86 public and private projects requires a coordinated approach to
87 permitting activities on wetlands within Miami-Dade County in
88 order to provide the certainty necessary to encourage
89 substantial and continued investment in the limestone processing
90 plant and equipment required to efficiently extract the
91 limestone resource. It is the intent of the Legislature that the
92 Lake Belt Mitigation Plan satisfy all local, state, and federal
93 requirements for mining activity within the rock mining
94 supported and allowable areas.
95 (2) To provide for the mitigation of wetland resources lost
96 to mining activities within the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt
97 Plan, effective October 1, 1999, a mitigation fee is imposed on
98 each ton of limerock and sand extracted by any person who
99 engages in the business of extracting limerock or sand from
100 within the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area and the east one
101 half of sections 24 and 25 and all of sections 35 and 36,
102 Township 53 South, Range 39 East. The mitigation fee is imposed
103 for each ton of limerock and sand sold from within the
104 properties where the fee applies in raw, processed, or
105 manufactured form, including, but not limited to, sized
106 aggregate, asphalt, cement, concrete, and other limerock and
107 concrete products. The mitigation fee imposed by this subsection
108 for each ton of limerock and sand sold shall be 25 45 cents per
109 ton, beginning on January 1, 2016; 15 cents per ton beginning on
110 January 1, 2017; and 5 cents per ton beginning on January 1,
111 2018, and thereafter. To pay for Miami-Dade County seepage
112 mitigation projects, an environmentally endangered lands
113 including groundwater and surface water management structures
114 designed to improve wetland habitat and approved by the Lake
115 Belt Mitigation Committee, and to upgrade a water treatment
116 plant that treats water coming from the Northwest Wellfield in
117 Miami-Dade County, a water treatment plant upgrade fee is
118 imposed within the same Lake Belt Area subject to the mitigation
119 fee and upon the same kind of mined limerock and sand subject to
120 the mitigation fee. The environmentally endangered lands water
121 treatment plant upgrade fee imposed by this section subsection
122 for each ton of limerock and sand sold shall be 5 15 cents per
123 ton, and the collection of this fee shall cease once the total
124 amount of proceeds collected for this fee reaches the amount of
125 the actual moneys necessary to design and construct the water
126 treatment plant upgrade, as determined in an open, public
127 solicitation process. Any limerock or sand that is used within
128 the mine from which the limerock or sand is extracted is exempt
129 from the fees. The amount of the mitigation fee and the
130 environmentally endangered lands water treatment plant upgrade
131 fee imposed under this section must be stated separately on the
132 invoice provided to the purchaser of the limerock or sand
133 product from the limerock or sand miner, or its subsidiary or
134 affiliate, for which the fee or fees apply. The limerock or sand
135 miner, or its subsidiary or affiliate, who sells the limerock or
136 sand product shall collect the mitigation fee and the
137 environmentally endangered lands water treatment plant upgrade
138 fee and forward the proceeds of the fees to the Department of
139 Revenue on or before the 20th day of the month following the
140 calendar month in which the sale occurs. The proceeds of a fee
141 imposed by this section include all funds collected and received
142 by the Department of Revenue relating to the fee, including
143 interest and penalties on a delinquent fee. The amount deducted
144 for administrative costs may not exceed 3 percent of the total
145 revenues collected under this section and may equal only those
146 administrative costs reasonably attributable to the fee.
147 (3) The mitigation fee and the environmentally endangered
148 lands water treatment plant upgrade fee imposed by this section
149 must be reported to the Department of Revenue. Payment of the
150 mitigation and the environmentally endangered lands water
151 treatment plant upgrade fees must be accompanied by a form
152 prescribed by the Department of Revenue.
153 (a) The proceeds of the mitigation fee, less administrative
154 costs, must be transferred by the Department of Revenue to the
155 South Florida Water Management District and deposited into the
156 Lake Belt Mitigation Trust Fund.
157 (b) Beginning July 1, 2015 2012, the proceeds of the water
158 treatment plant upgrade fee previously imposed by this section
159 is rescinded and is no longer imposed on the sale of mined
160 limerock and sand, less administrative costs, must be
161 transferred by the Department of Revenue to the South Florida
162 Water Management District and deposited into the Lake Belt
163 Mitigation Trust Fund until:
164 1. A total of $20 million from the proceeds of the water
165 treatment plant upgrade fee, less administrative costs, is
166 deposited into the Lake Belt Mitigation Trust Fund; or
167 2. The quarterly pathogen sampling conducted as a condition
168 of the permits issued by the department for rock mining
169 activities in the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area demonstrates
170 that the water in any quarry lake in the vicinity of the
171 Northwest Wellfield would be classified as being in Bin 2 or
172 higher as defined in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Long
173 Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule.
174 (c) The proceeds of the environmentally endangered lands
175 fee Upon the earliest occurrence of the criterion under
176 subparagraph (b)1. or subparagraph (b)2., the proceeds of the
177 water treatment plant upgrade fee, less administrative costs,
178 must be transferred by the Department of Revenue to a trust fund
179 established by Miami-Dade County, for the sole purpose
180 authorized by paragraph (6)(a).
181 (4)(a) The Department of Revenue shall administer, collect,
182 and enforce the mitigation and environmentally endangered lands
183 treatment plant upgrade fees authorized under this section in
184 accordance with the procedures used to administer, collect, and
185 enforce the general sales tax imposed under chapter 212. The
186 provisions of chapter 212 with respect to the authority of the
187 Department of Revenue to audit and make assessments, the keeping
188 of books and records, and the interest and penalties imposed on
189 delinquent fees apply to this section. The fees may not be
190 included in computing estimated taxes under s. 212.11, and the
191 dealer’s credit for collecting taxes or fees provided for in s.
192 212.12 does not apply to the fees imposed by this section.
193 (b) In administering this section, the Department of
194 Revenue may employ persons and incur expenses for which funds
195 are appropriated by the Legislature. The Department of Revenue
196 shall adopt rules and prescribe and publish forms necessary to
197 administer this section. The Department of Revenue shall
198 establish audit procedures and may assess delinquent fees.
199 (5) Each January 1, beginning January 1, 2010, through
200 December 31, 2011, the per-ton mitigation fee shall be increased
201 by 2.1 percentage points, plus a cost growth index. The cost
202 growth index shall be the percentage change in the weighted
203 average of the Employment Cost Index for All Civilian Workers
204 (ecu 10001I), issued by the United States Department of Labor
205 for the most recent 12-month period ending on September 30, and
206 the percentage change in the Producer Price Index for All
207 Commodities (WPU 00000000), issued by the United States
208 Department of Labor for the most recent 12-month period ending
209 on September 30, compared to the weighted average of these
210 indices for the previous year. The weighted average shall be
211 calculated as 0.6 times the percentage change in the Employment
212 Cost Index for All Civilian Workers (ecu 10001I), plus 0.4 times
213 the percentage change in the Producer Price Index for All
214 Commodities (WPU 00000000). If either index is discontinued, it
215 shall be replaced by its successor index, as identified by the
216 United States Department of Labor.
217 (6)(a) The proceeds of the mitigation fee must be used to
218 conduct mitigation activities that are appropriate to offset the
219 loss of the value and functions of wetlands as a result of
220 mining activities and to conduct water quality monitoring to
221 ensure the protection of water resources within the Lake Belt
222 Area and be approved by the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt
223 Mitigation Committee. Such mitigation may include the purchase,
224 enhancement, restoration, and management of wetlands and uplands
225 in the Everglades watershed, the purchase of mitigation credit
226 from a permitted mitigation bank, and any structural
227 modifications to the existing drainage system to enhance the
228 hydrology of the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area or the
229 Everglades watershed. Funds may also be used to reimburse other
230 funding sources, including the Save Our Rivers Land Acquisition
231 Program, the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, the South Florida
232 Water Management District, and Miami-Dade County, for the
233 purchase of lands that were acquired in areas appropriate for
234 mitigation due to rock mining and to reimburse governmental
235 agencies that exchanged land under s. 373.4149 for mitigation
236 due to rock mining. The proceeds of the water treatment plant
237 upgrade fee deposited into the Lake Belt Mitigation Trust Fund
238 shall be used solely to pay for seepage mitigation projects,
239 including groundwater or surface water management structures
240 designed to improve wetland habitat and approved by the Lake
241 Belt Mitigation Committee. The proceeds of the environmentally
242 endangered lands water treatment plant upgrade fee which are
243 transmitted to a trust fund established by Miami-Dade County
244 shall be used solely for the acquisition, preservation,
245 enhancement, restoration, conservation, and maintenance of
246 wetland and threatened forest communities located to upgrade a
247 water treatment plant that treats water coming from the
248 Northwest Wellfield in Miami-Dade County. However, the proceeds
249 of the environmentally endangered lands fee must first be used
250 to upgrade a water treatment plant that treats water coming from
251 the Northwest Wellfield in Miami-Dade County if, following a
252 formal determination by the department that, due to the direct
253 or indirect result of rock mining activities within the Lake
254 Belt Area, the quarterly pathogen sampling conducted as a
255 condition of the permits issued by the department for rock
256 mining activities in the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area
257 demonstrates that the water in any quarry lake monitored
258 pursuant to the monitoring plan would be classified as being in
259 Bin 2 or higher as defined in the United States Environmental
260 Protection Agency’s Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment
261 Rule. As used in this section, the terms “upgrade a water
262 treatment plant” or “treatment plant upgrade” mean those works
263 necessary to treat or filter a surface water source or supply or
264 both.
265 (b) Expenditures of the mitigation fee must be approved by
266 an interagency committee consisting of representatives from each
267 of the following: the Miami-Dade County Department of
268 Environmental Resource Management, the Department of
269 Environmental Protection, the South Florida Water Management
270 District, and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. In
271 addition, the limerock mining industry shall select a
272 representative to serve as a nonvoting member of the interagency
273 committee. At the discretion of the committee, additional
274 members may be added to represent federal regulatory,
275 environmental, and fish and wildlife agencies.
276 (7) Payment of the mitigation fee imposed by this section
277 satisfies the mitigation requirements imposed under ss. 373.403
278 373.439 and any applicable county ordinance for loss of the
279 value and functions from mining of the wetlands identified as
280 rock mining supported and allowable areas of the Miami-Dade
281 County Lake Plan adopted by s. 373.4149(1). In addition, it is
282 the intent of the Legislature that the payment of the mitigation
283 fee imposed by this section satisfy all federal mitigation
284 requirements for the wetlands mined.
285 (8) If a general permit by the United States Army Corps of
286 Engineers, or an appropriate long-term permit for mining,
287 consistent with the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Plan, this
288 section, and ss. 373.4149, 373.4415, and 378.4115 is not issued
289 on or before September 30, 2000, the fee imposed by this section
290 is suspended until revived by the Legislature.
291 (8)(9)(a) The interagency committee established in this
292 section shall annually prepare and submit to the governing board
293 of the South Florida Water Management District a report
294 evaluating the mitigation costs and revenues generated by the
295 mitigation fee.
296 (b) No sooner than January 31, 2010, and no more frequently
297 than every 2 years thereafter, the interagency committee shall
298 submit to the Legislature a report recommending any needed
299 adjustments to the mitigation fee, including the annual
300 escalator provided for in subsection (5), to ensure that the
301 revenue generated reflects the actual costs of the mitigation.
302 Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
303 made by this act to section 373.41492, Florida Statutes, in a
304 reference thereto, subsections (1), (2), and (3) of section
305 373.41495, Florida Statutes, are reenacted to read:
306 373.41495 Lake Belt Mitigation Trust Fund; bonds.—
307 (1) The Lake Belt Mitigation Trust Fund is hereby created,
308 to be administered by the South Florida Water Management
309 District. Funds shall be credited to the trust fund as provided
310 in s. 373.41492, to be used for the purposes set forth therein.
311 (2) The South Florida Water Management District may issue
312 revenue bonds pursuant to s. 373.584, payable from revenues from
313 the Lake Belt Mitigation fee imposed under s. 373.41492.
314 (3) Net proceeds from the Lake Belt Mitigation fee and any
315 revenue bonds issued under subsection (2) shall be deposited
316 into the trust fund and, together with any interest earned on
317 such moneys, shall be applied to Lake Belt mitigation projects
318 as provided in s. 373.41492.
319 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.