62-330.494. General Permit for Temporary Dragline Crossings of Waterways

(1) A general permit is provided for any person engaged in or proposing to engage in the mining of a phosphatic ore for the construction of temporary dragline crossings within certain wetlands and other surface waters, except in Outstanding Florida Waters, Aquatic Preserves, Outstanding National Resource Waters, Class I waters, Class II waters, or waters approved, conditionally approved, restricted, or conditionally restricted by the Department for shellfish harvesting, provided:

(a) The crossing is of a ditch or artificially channelized portion of any wetland or other surface water or at a documented location of a previously existing dragline crossing within the preceding five years, of any wetland or other surface water, and is not a navigable surface waterbody. The term navigable, for the purpose of this permit, means the surface waterbody is capable of use by small craft;

(b) Only clean sand fill or temporary mats shall be used to construct the crossing;

(c) When demucking or removal of topsoil is necessary for the construction of the crossing, the muck and topsoil shall be retained at a nearby upland location and returned to the crossing site for the restoration activities;

(d) Culverts are installed to maintain the natural and seasonal volume and flow of water;

(e) The top width of the fill shall not exceed 150 feet and the toe to toe width of the fill shall not exceed 200 feet and the side slopes shall be no steeper than three horizontal to one vertical, and the lateral limits of disturbance of the wetlands shall be no more than 20 feet on each side of the fill;

(f) The crossing shall not remain in place for more than one year, unless the crossing is for a one-way access in which case it shall not remain in place for more than six months; and

(g) The area must be restored to original topographic contours within 60 days of the abandonment of the dragline crossing, which shall be after the dragline has crossed the wetland or other surface water.

(2) This general permit shall be subject to the following specific conditions:

(a) Upon restoration of original topographic contours at a temporary dragline crossing site, the permittee shall at the end of the first growing season provide the opportunity for inspection of the site by staff of the Department office that received notice of the general permit. If satisfactory revegetation of the site has not occurred, the permittee shall initiate, conduct and maintain revegetation and maintenance of the wetland until satisfactory revegetation has been achieved. Revegetation of the site shall be with native wetland species in similar composition to those species which were present at the site or in the contiguous wetland prior to the temporary dragline crossing. For the purpose of this general permit, “satisfactory revegetation” means that the herbaceous wetlands that are disturbed under this general permit shall have achieved not less than 33 percent cover of planted or naturally reestablished herbaceous wetland species within one growing season following disturbance of the site, and the forested wetlands that are disturbed under this general permit shall be achieving a survival and growth of not less than 400 wetland trees per acre within one growing season following disturbance of the site, and a maintenance plan has been developed and is being implemented to ensure the survival of the planted or naturally reestablishing wetland species. The restored sites shall be maintained free of any new growth of Schinus terebinthifolius (Brazilian pepper), Melaleuca quinquenervia (punk tree), and Casuarina spp. (Australian pine). The restored site shall also be managed in a manner which precludes Typha spp. (cattails) from manifesting vegetative dominance; and

(b) A person wishing to use this general permit shall submit to the Department office to which the original notice was given, an annual schedule of proposed temporary dragline crossing areas including location maps, aerial photographs with proposed temporary dragline crossings, typical drawings, and approximate commencement and completion dates for the activities planned. Additionally, the plans shall include proposed restoration procedures for each temporary dragline crossing. The annual schedule, or modifications to the annual schedule, must be submitted, together with the required documentation, at least thirty days prior to the commencement of the proposed activity. Where practicable, the annual schedule and documentation should be filed with the Department no later than June 1 for the fiscal year July 1 through June 30.

Rulemaking Authority 373.026(7), 373.043, 373.118(1), 373.406(5), 373.4131, 373.414(9), 373.418, 403.805(1) FS. Law Implemented 373.118(1), 373.406(5), 373.413, 373.4131, 373.414(9), 373.416, 373.418, 373.426, 403.814(1) FS. History–New 10-3-95, Formerly 62-341.611, Amended 10-1-13.