House Bill 349: Water Resources Management

GENERAL BILL by Environment, Agriculture and Flooding Subcommittee ; Sirois ; Overdorf

An act relating to water resources management; amending s. 253.03, F.S.; authorizing the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund to grant easements on sovereignty submerged lands for specified mitigation banks under certain conditions; providing construction; directing the Department of Environmental Protection to create and modify specified rules; providing requirements for such rulemaking; amending s. 403.813, F.S.; exempting certain docks on recorded easements from certain permit and verification requirements; granting certain docks authorization to use submerged lands upon approval of the board; providing that specified structures associated with a dock create a presumption of compliance with certain environmental impact requirements; providing a definition; providing an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  Section 1. Subsection (17) is added to section 253.03, Florida Statutes, to read:

253.03 Board of trustees to administer state lands; lands enumerated.—

(17) The board of trustees may grant easements on sovereignty submerged lands for mitigation banks that are permitted under s. 373.4136 to ensure the protection and restoration of natural resources and to offset the unavoidable impacts of projects when mitigation banks meet the public interest criteria under chapters 253 and 258. This subsection does not prohibit mitigation to offset impacts to seagrass or other habitats on sovereignty submerged lands, upon meeting the public interest criteria under chapters 253 and 258.
    Section 2. The Department of Environmental Protection shall adopt and modify rules adopted pursuant to ss. 373.4136 and 373.414 to ensure that required financial assurances are equivalent and sufficient to provide for the long-term management of mitigation permitted under ss. 373.4136 and 373.414. The department, in consultation with the water management districts, shall include the rulemaking required by this section in existing active rulemaking, or shall complete  rule development by June 30, 2023.
    Section 3. Paragraphs (b) and (s) of subsection (1) of section 403.813, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

    403.813 Permits issued at district centers; exceptions.—
    (1) A permit is not required under this chapter, chapter 373, chapter 61-691, Laws of Florida, or chapter 25214 or chapter 25270, 1949, Laws of Florida, and a local government may not require a person claiming this exception to provide further department verification, for activities associated with the following types of projects; however, except as otherwise provided in this subsection, this subsection does not relieve an applicant from any requirement to obtain permission to use or occupy lands owned by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund or a water management district in its governmental or proprietary capacity or from complying with applicable local pollution control programs authorized under this chapter or other requirements of county and municipal governments: 

    (b) The installation and repair of mooring pilings and dolphins associated with private docking facilities or piers and the installation of private docks, piers, and recreational docking facilities, or piers and recreational docking facilities of local governmental entities when the local governmental entity’s activities will not take place in any manatee habitat, any of which docks:
    1. Has 500 square feet or less of over-water surface area for a dock located in an area designated as Outstanding Florida Waters or 1,000 square feet or less of over-water surface area for a dock located in an area that is not designated as Outstanding Florida Waters;
    2. Is constructed on or held in place by pilings or is a floating dock constructed so as not to involve filling or dredging other than that necessary to install the pilings;
    3. May not substantially impede the flow of water or create a navigational hazard;
    4. Is used for recreational, noncommercial activities associated with the mooring or storage of boats and boat paraphernalia; and
   5. Is the sole dock constructed pursuant to this exemption as measured along the shoreline for a distance of 65 feet, unless the parcel of land, recorded easement, or individual lot as platted is less than 65 feet in length along the shoreline, in which case one exempt dock may be allowed per parcel, easement, or lot. Such docks shall be granted authorization for the use of submerged lands upon approval by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund.

This paragraph does not prohibit the department from taking appropriate enforcement action pursuant to this chapter to abate or prohibit any activity otherwise exempt from permitting pursuant to this paragraph if the department can demonstrate that the exempted activity has caused water pollution in violation of this chapter.
    (s) The construction, installation, operation, or maintenance of floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts, provided that such structures:

     1. Float at all times in the water for the sole purpose of supporting a vessel so that the vessel is out of the water when not in use;
    2. Are wholly contained within a boat slip previously permitted under ss. 403.91-403.929, 1984 Supplement to the Florida Statutes 1983, as amended, or part IV of chapter 373, or do not exceed a combined total of 500 square feet, or 200 square feet in an Outstanding Florida Water, when associated with a dock that is exempt under this subsection or associated with a permitted dock with no defined boat slip or attached to a bulkhead on a parcel of land where there is no other docking structure;
    3. Are not used for any commercial purpose or for mooring vessels that remain in the water when not in use, and do not substantially impede the flow of water, create a navigational hazard, or unreasonably infringe upon the riparian rights of adjacent property owners, as defined in s. 253.141;
    4. Are constructed and used so as to minimize adverse impacts to submerged lands, wetlands, shellfish areas, aquatic plant and animal species, and other biological communities, including locating such structures in areas where seagrasses are least dense adjacent to the dock or bulkhead; and
    5. Are not constructed in areas specifically prohibited for boat mooring under conditions of a permit issued in accordance with ss. 403.91-403.929, 1984 Supplement to the Florida Statutes 1983, as amended, or part IV of chapter 373, or other form of authorization issued by a local government.

Structures that qualify for this exemption are relieved from any requirement to obtain permission to use or occupy lands owned by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund and, with the exception of those structures attached to a bulkhead on a parcel of land where there is no docking structure, are not subject to any more stringent permitting requirements, registration requirements, or other regulation by any local government. Structures associated with a dock on a parcel of land under subparagraph 2. which comply with this subsection create a presumption of compliance with any requirement to minimize adverse environmental impacts. A local government may require a permit or one-time registration of floating vessel platforms to be attached to a bulkhead on a parcel of land where there is no other docking structure as necessary to ensure compliance with local ordinances, codes, or regulations. A local government may require either permitting or one-time registration of all other floating vessel platforms as necessary to ensure compliance with the exemption criteria in this section; to ensure compliance with local ordinances, codes, or regulations relating to building or zoning, which are no more stringent than the exemption criteria in this section or address subjects other than subjects addressed by the exemption criteria in this section; and to ensure proper installation, maintenance, and precautionary or evacuation action following a tropical storm or hurricane watch of a floating vessel platform or floating boat lift that is proposed to be attached to a bulkhead or parcel of land where there is no other docking structure. The exemption provided in this paragraph is in addition to the exemption provided in paragraph (b). The department shall adopt a general permit by rule for the construction, installation, operation, or maintenance of those floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts that do not qualify for the exemption provided in this paragraph but do not cause significant adverse impacts to occur individually or cumulatively. The issuance of such general permit also constitutes permission to use or occupy lands owned by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. A local government may not impose a more stringent regulation, permitting requirement, registration requirement, or other regulation covered by such general permit. A local government  may require either permitting or one-time registration of floating vessel platforms as necessary to ensure compliance with the general permit in this section; to ensure compliance with local ordinances, codes, or regulations relating to building or zoning that are no more stringent than the general permit in this section; and to ensure proper installation and maintenance of a floating vessel platform or floating boat lift that is proposed to be attached to a bulkhead or parcel of land where there is no other docking structure. As used in this paragraph, the term “local government” includes a charter county, a county that is required to implement a manatee protection plan pursuant to s. 379.2431(2)(t), or a county or municipality that establishes and administers a local pollution control program under s. 403.182.

Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.