62-344.500. Criteria for Review

(1) The environmental resource permit program requested by the local government shall be delegated only if the Department determines that delegation would further the goal of providing an efficient, effective and streamlined permitting system; the local government has the financial, technical, and administrative capabilities to effectively and efficiently implement and enforce the program; and protection of environmental resources will be maintained. This determination shall be made using the provisions of subsections 62-344.500(2) through (6), F.A.C.

(2) In determining whether delegation would further the goal of providing an efficient, effective and streamlined permitting system as required by subsection 62-344.500(1), F.A.C., the Department shall determine all of the following:

(a) Whether the delegation would preclude the establishment or operation of a consistent state-wide joint coastal permit program, as provided in Sections 161.055 and 373.427, F.S., by resulting in the environmental resource permit and the coastal construction permit for the same activity being processed by separate entities.

(b) Whether the delegation would preclude the establishment or operation of consistent state-wide concurrent processing of applications for environmental resource permits and applications for approval to use sovereign submerged lands owned by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, as provided in Sections 253.77 and 373.427, F.S., by resulting in the environmental resource permit and the approval to use sovereign submerged lands for the same activity being processed by separate entities.

(c) Whether the delegation would adversely affect the assumption of the Federal dredge and fill permitting program by the State, or establishment of a State Programmatic General Permit, pursuant to section 404 of the Federal Clean Water Act, for the remainder of the State outside the territory of the local government, or whether the delegation is prohibited by the terms of the federal assumption or State Programmatic General Permit in place when delegation is requested.

(d) For petitions requesting delegation of environmental resource permitting responsibility for solid waste management facilities, except those facilities that qualify for a general permit pursuant to Rules 62-701.801 (Solid Waste Transfer Station), 62-701.802 (Land Application of Grade II Domestic Sludge), 62-701.803 (Off-site Disposal of Construction and Demolition Debris), 62-709.800 (Composting Facilities), 62-710.800 (Used Oil Recycling Facilities), 62-711.801 (Mobile Waste Tire Processing Equipment), and 62-712.800 (Biomedical Waste Storage Facilities), F.A.C., whether the local government has received delegation of corresponding solid waste permitting responsibilities, or will receive delegation of corresponding solid waste permitting responsibilities at the time of delegation.

(e) For petitions requesting delegation of environmental resource permitting responsibility for hazardous waste facilities required to obtain a permit pursuant to Chapter 62-730, F.A.C., except when the storage of hazardous waste is merely an incidental component of a project for which the Department does not review and take final action on permit applications under the terms of the Operating Agreement between the Department and the applicable District referenced in subsection 62-344.100(1), F.A.C., whether the local government has received delegation of corresponding hazardous waste permitting responsibilities or will receive delegation of corresponding hazardous waste permitting responsibilities at the time of delegation.

(f) For petitions requesting delegation of environmental resource permitting responsibility for domestic wastewater treatment facilities, including effluent disposal sites, whether the local government has received delegation of corresponding domestic wastewater permitting responsibilities or will receive delegation of corresponding domestic wastewater permitting responsibilities.

(g) For petitions requesting delegation of environmental resource permitting responsibility for industrial wastewater treatment facilities required to obtain a permit pursuant to Chapter 62-660 or 62-670, F.A.C., except those facilities that qualify for a general permit pursuant to Rules 62-660.801 (Laundromat Wastewater Disposal Systems), 62-660.802 (Pesticide Waste Degradation Systems), 62-660.803 (Car Wash Recycle Systems), 62-660.805 (Tomato Wash Water Disposal), or 62-660.820 (Fish Farms), F.A.C., whether the local government has received delegation of corresponding industrial wastewater treatment permitting responsibilities, or will receive delegation of corresponding industrial wastewater treatment permitting responsibilities.

(h) For petitions requesting delegation of environmental resource permitting responsibility for mining projects, whether the local government has received delegation of corresponding mine reclamation approval responsibilities or will receive delegation of corresponding mine reclamation approval responsibilities at the time of delegation.

(i) Whether the delegation would impair the effective operation of any regulatory, resource planning, land management or land acquisition program which the Department or District is authorized or required to administer.

(3) To ensure that local government has the financial, technical, and administrative capabilities to effectively and efficiently implement and enforce the portion of the environmental resource permit program for which delegation is requested, and whether protection of environmental resources will be maintained, as required by subsection 62-344.500(1), F.A.C., the local government shall:

(a) Adopt verbatim the rules of the Department, and District as applicable, that will be used to implement the requested delegation. Such rules may be adopted either within the body of the local government’s controlling regulations or by incorporating those rules by reference within their regulations. Stricter standards of the local government, if any, shall also apply in addition to the applicable environmental resource permit program rules, as provided in Rule 62-344.600, F.A.C. Delegated local governments shall not apply local standards that are less protective than the corresponding standards in the environmental resource permit program of the Department and District.

(b) Be governed by the provisions of Sections 120.52, 120.53, 120.532, 120.533, 120.565, 120.57, 120.58, 120.59, 120.60, 120.61, 120.62, 120.66, 120.68, 120.69, 120.71, 373.114(1), and 373.413(3), F.S., and any notice or other procedural requirements that apply to activities reviewed under Part IV, Chapter 373, F.S.

(c) Have and maintain administrative organization, adequate staff, financial and technical resources, and equipment to effectively and efficiently implement the requested portion of the environmental resource permit program.

(d) Have and maintain sufficient equipment and procedures to effectively and efficiently track permit, compliance, and enforcement data, exchange such data with the Department and District, as applicable, to enable effective oversight by the Department. At a minimum, the local government shall either utilize the existing telecommunications systems of the Department and District, as applicable, to enter data directly into the existing tracking system of the Department and District, as applicable, or the local government shall use an alternate data exchange procedure using a standardized format developed and agreed upon by the Department and District, as applicable.

(e) Operate in accordance with the quality assurance rule of the Department, Chapter 62-160, F.A.C.

(f) Establish procedures by which the local government shall not deem an application for an environmental resource permit complete until the permit applicant has documented that the proposed activity is consistent with the land use designation or classification contained in the local government’s approved future land use map.

(4) The Department shall not delegate the environmental resource permit program for the following:

(a) Activities for which the permit applicant is the local government, including compliance and enforcement over such activities.

(b) Activities, exclusive of mitigation, which will occur, in part, outside of the jurisdictional territory of the local government or activities that are part of a phased project that can reasonably be expected to occur in part outside of the jurisdictional territory of the local government.

(c) Mitigation banks.

(d) Activities proposed by the Florida Department of Transportation, inland navigation districts as established and authorized by Chapters 12026 (1927), 14723 (1931), 23370 (1947) and 65-900, Laws of Florida, and Chapter 374, F.S., or ocurring within the deepwater ports listed in Section 403.061(26)(b), F.S.

(e) Activities proposed by the U.S. Coast Guard or the Department of Defense.

(f) Permitting actions as they are required for the Central Florida Beltway, pursuant to Section 338.250, F.S.

(g) Electrical distribution and transmission lines and other facilities related to the production, transmission and distribution of electricity that require certification under Sections 403.501 through 403.539, F.S. This shall not preclude the delegation of review and agency action on electrical distribution lines that are serving and located within a larger plan of development for which review and agency action is otherwise delegated to the local government.

(h) Natural gas or petroleum exploration, production, transmission, or distribution activities, including pipelines, associated facilities, and product pipelines, except those natural gas distribution lines serving and located within a larger plan of development for which review and agency action is otherwise delegated to the local government.

(i) Activities located within the Wekiva River Hydrologic Basin, the Econlockhatchee River Hydrologic Basin, and the Sensitive Karst Areas Basin, as set forth in Chapter 40C-41, F.A.C., except for applications for noticed general environmental resource permits.

(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 62-344.500(4), F.A.C., the Department may delegate to a local government the responsibility and authority to: perform formal determinations of wetlands and surface waters; perform compliance inspections and monitoring for activities subject to regulation under Part IV of Chapter 373, F.S.; and enforce orders and rules, including environmental resource permits issued or adopted by the Department or District pursuant to the authority of Part IV of Chapter 373, F.S.

(6) Department approval of a local government pursuant to Section 403.182, F.S., shall not constitute authorization to, or be used to determine whether a local government can, receive delegation under this chapter, or Section 373.441, F.S.

Rulemaking Authority 373.441(1) FS. Law Implemented 373.441 FS. History–New 8-29-95, Amended 8-7-12.