28-22.400. Partial Removal of Lands Designated within the Apalachicola Bay Area of Critical State Concern (ACSC)

Pursuant to Section 380.0555(4), F.S. (1993), the Administration Commission hereby determines that the City of Carrabelle’s and Franklin County’s local land development regulations and local comprehensive plans, and the administration of such regulations and plans, are adequate to protect the Apalachicola Bay Area, continue to carry out the legislative intent set forth in Section 380.0555(2), F.S., and are in compliance with the principles for guiding development set forth in Section 380.0555(8), F.S. Accordingly, the City of Carrabelle and other lands within Franklin County as described in Section 380.0555(3), F.S., with the exception of the City of Apalachicola, are hereby removed from the area of critical state concern designation, subject to the following conditions: 1) the Apalachicola Bay Area Resource Planning and Management Committee shall remain in place, and shall meet at least quarterly to monitor the administration of the comprehensive plans and land development regulations by Franklin County and the City of Carrabelle; 2) for one year following the effective date of this rule, Franklin County and the City of Carrabelle shall continue to render within five days after issuance all development orders and building permits to the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for review; 3) DCA shall continue to review development orders and building permits, conduct on-site inspections, and prepare semi-annual status reports to the Administration Commission to ensure continued compliance by Franklin County and the City of Carrabelle with the approved comprehensive plans and land development regulations; and 4) at the end of the one year monitoring period, DCA shall prepare a final report to the Administration Commission with a recommendation as to whether any further action by the Commission is necessary.

The City of Apalachicola will remain designated as the Apalachicola Bay ACSC for at least two years from the effective date of this rule, subject to the following conditions: 1) the City of Apalachicola must complete a wastewater treatment plant design and submit it to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for approval; 2) the City of Apalachicola must submit a construction permit application for approval to DEP to upgrade and/or eliminate the existing discharge from the City’s wastewater treatment plant; 3) the City of Apalachicola must submit an application for a wastewater treatment system operations permit to DEP for approval; and, 4) the City of Apalachicola must develop and adopt a rate structure that is sufficient to cover operation, maintenance, and replacement costs of the wastewater treatment system. The rate structure should be calculated in a manner comparable to the user charge system required by the State revolving loan program. In addition, the Department of Community Affairs must submit semi-annual reports to the Administration Commission on the City’s status of accomplishing the above tasks. The Department will continue to receive and review development permits issued by the City of Apalachicola and will continue to submit land development regulations and comprehensive plan amendments to the Administration Commission for approval by rule with respect to the City of Apalachicola, and the Resource Planning and Management Committee shall continue to carry out all of its responsibilities pursuant to Section 380.0555(7), F.S.

Rulemaking Authority 380.0555(4) FS. Law Implemented 380.0555, 380.0555(8), (12) FS. History–New 9-13-93.