62-341.417. General Permit for Construction, Alteration, Operation, and Maintenance of Boat Ramp Facilities (Transferred)

(1) A general permit is hereby granted, except in waters that are accessible to manatees within Charlotte, Hillsborough, Levy, Manatee, and Pinellas Counties or the St. Johns River and its tributaries in Lake and Seminole Counties, for construction, alteration, maintenance, and operation of a single boat ramp for the following entities or facilities:

(a) An individual, detached single-family dwelling unit or two adjacent detached single-family dwelling units, provided the ramp is located on the shared property line.

(b) A multi-family dwelling unit, which, for the purpose of this rule, shall include attached multi-family dwelling units, regardless of the legal subdivision of the underlying property.

(c) A commercial entity, provided such ramp is open to the general public for the life of the ramp, with or without a fee and without any membership or qualifying requirements.

(d) A governmental entity, such as a federal, state, county, or municipal agency, or a water management or inland navigation district, provided the boat ramp is open to the general public for the life of the facility, with or without a fee. The following associated facilities are also authorized for governmental entities in accordance with the terms and conditions of this general permit, provided the ramp and associated facilities remain open to the general public for the life of the facility, with or without a fee: ingress and egress traffic lanes, boat trailer parking spaces, an access road, and associated accessory docks.

(2) The boat ramp and associated facilities must meet all of the following conditions:

(a) The work does not qualify for an exemption under Part IV of Chapter 373, F.S., or Part V of Chapter 403, F.S.

(b) The work is not part of a larger plan of development that requires a permit under Part IV of Chapter 373, F.S.

(c) A minimum navigational access of two feet below mean low water in tidal waters or mean annual low water in non-tidal waters must already exist to the proposed ramp. Depth indicators shall be installed at the ramp to identify the controlling depths of the navigational access.

(d) The construction, alteration, or use of the boat ramp, including any accessory docks, shall not adversely impede navigation or create a navigational hazard in the water body.

(e) There shall be no dredging or filling of submerged grassbeds or coral communities.

(f) There shall be no filling of wetlands or other surface waters, other than for construction of the actual boat ramp surface, incidental filling associated with recontouring the land under the ramp to create a smooth grade, and placement of pilings for associated accessory docks.

(g) No part of the accessory docks shall be located over submerged grassbeds or coral communities.

(h) Dredging shall be limited to no more than 100 cubic yards, and in no case shall be more than is necessary to construct the boat ramp surface or restore the ramp to its original configuration and dimension.

(i) All dredged material that results from activities authorized by this general permit shall be deposited in an upland spoil site designed and located to prevent the escape of dredged material into wetlands or other surface waters.

(j) The above-water portion of the boat ramp shall be stabilized to prevent turbidity.

(k) The work shall not cause or contribute to violations of state water quality standards.

(l) Work under this general permit shall not commence until the Department has provided written confirmation that the applicant qualifies to use the general permit.

(m) This general permit is limited to one use per parcel of property and cannot be combined with other noticed general permits or exemptions.

(3) Construction of the boat ramp is limited as follows:

(a) The boat ramp for a single-family or multi-family dwelling unit, pursuant to paragraph (1)(a) or (b), is limited to a single lane and must not exceed a width of 20 feet, including the side slopes, with the boat ramp surface not to exceed a width of 12 feet.

(b) The boat ramp for a commercial or governmental entity pursuant to paragraph (1)(c) or (d) is limited to a maximum of two lanes and must not exceed a width of 60 feet, including the side slopes, with the ramp surface not to exceed a width of 36 feet.

(c) Construction or expansion of a multi-family, commercial, or governmental boat ramp pursuant to paragraph (1)(b), (c), or (d) in waters that are accessible to manatees must meet the following criteria:

1. The proposed boat ramp facility must be consistent with the state approved manatee protection plan in counties required to have a manatee protection plan adopted under Section 379.2431(2), F.S., or counties that have voluntarily completed a state approved manatee protection plan. Documentation of plan consistency must be submitted concurrently with the notice to use the general permit in the form of a letter of consistency concurrence from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

2. The proposed boat ramp facility must have a kiosk or permanent information display board providing information on manatee protection and applicable manatee zones as adopted in Chapter 68C-22, F.A.C., [12-9-09] for that county.

3. The owner of the boat ramp shall be responsible for ensuring that all construction of the boat ramp complies with the following:

a. All personnel associated with the project shall be instructed about the presence of manatees and manatee speed zones, and the need to avoid collisions with and injury to manatees. The permittee shall advise all construction personnel that there are civil and criminal penalties for harming, harassing, or killing manatees which are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act.

b. All vessels associated with the construction project shall operate at “Idle Speed/No Wake” at all times while in the immediate area and while in water where the draft of the vessel provides less than a four-foot clearance from the bottom. All vessels will follow routes of deep water whenever possible.

c. Siltation or turbidity barriers shall be made of material in which manatees cannot become entangled, shall be properly secured, and shall be regularly monitored to avoid manatee entanglement or entrapment. Barriers must not impede manatee movement.

d. All on-site project personnel are responsible for observing water-related activities for the presence of manatee(s). All in-water operations, including vessels, must be shutdown if a manatee(s) comes within 50 feet of the operation. Activities will not resume until the manatee(s) has moved beyond the 50-foot radius of the project operation, or until 30 minutes elapses if the manatee(s) has not reappeared within 50 feet of the operation. Animals must not be herded away or harassed into leaving.

e. Any collision with or injury to a manatee shall be reported immediately to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Hotline at (1(888)404-FWCC.  Collision and/or injury should also be reported to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Jacksonville 1(904)731-3336) for north Florida or Vero Beach (1(772)562-3909) for south Florida.

f. Temporary signs concerning manatees shall be posted prior to and during all in-water project activities: one a “Caution: Boaters” sign and another a “Caution: Shutdown” sign each following the format, size, and placement requirements shown on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website: http://www.myfwc.com/docs/WildlifeHabitats/Manatee_EducationalSign.pdf.

(d) A boat ramp for a multi-family residence or for commercial or governmental entities pursuant to paragraph (1)(b), (c), or (d) can have a maximum of two accessory docks, abutting either one or both sides of the boat ramp, provided that the cumulative square footage of accessory docks over wetlands or other surface waters does not exceed 500 square feet in Outstanding Florida Waters or 1,000 square feet outside Outstanding Florida Waters. In addition, the accessory docks shall not be used for overnight mooring.

(4) Any new construction of upland parking or other impervious surface associated with boat ramps for single-family, multi-family, and commercial entities pursuant to paragraph (1)(a), (b), or (c) is subject to the permitting requirements and criteria in Chapters 40B-4, 40B-400, 40C-4, 40C-40, 40C-42, 40D-4, 40D-40, 40E-4, 40E-40, 62-330, or 62-346, F.A.C.

(5) The total impervious surface in uplands that is subject to vehicular traffic associated with a boat ramp for a governmental entity pursuant to paragraph (1)(d) shall not exceed 1.2 acres. Before operating any portion of such a boat ramp facility that contains 4,000 square feet or more impervious surface subject to vehicular traffic, a stormwater management system meeting all of the following requirements must be constructed and fully operational.

(a) Each system must be designed by a registered professional in accordance with Chapter 471, 472, 481, or 492, F.S., as applicable, and must be constructed, operated, and maintained to serve the total project area of the boat ramp facility.

(b) No system shall accept or treat offsite runoff.

(c) The system must provide treatment for a minimum stormwater retention volume of one-half inch of runoff. Recovery of the specified retention volume must occur within 72 hours by percolation through the sides and bottom of the retention basin.

(d) Impervious traffic lanes and parking areas must be graded such that runoff is directed to the stormwater treatment system.

(e) The system must include a continuous vegetated buffer strip adjacent to the downstream side of impervious areas subject to stormwater treatment. The buffer strip must be at least 25 feet wide and stabilized by well-established natural vegetation.

(f) The permittee must maintain the integrity of the treatment system and buffer strips at all times for the life of the system.

(g) Upon completing construction of the stormwater management system, the system must be operated and maintained by the permittee in accordance with the terms of this general permit for the life of the system. The permittee shall perform routine inspections of the buffer to check for development of concentrated flow through it, gully erosion, or loss of vegetation, and must repair the buffer as soon as practical to restore shallow overland flow conditions and prevent further concentration of flow and damage to the buffer.

(h) The duration of the general permit for the activities authorized in this subsection is (5) five years for construction or alteration, and permanent for operation and maintenance of the surface water management system.

(6) Commercial or governmental entities proposing to construct a boat ramp pursuant to paragraph (1)(c) or (d) shall execute and record in the public land records of the county in which the boat ramp is located a fully executed binding agreement. Commercial entities shall execute and record the Agreement to Maintain Public Access, 12-9-09, incorporated herein as Form 62-341.417(1), ensuring the facility will remain open to the general public for the life of the facility. Governmental entities shall execute and record the Agreement to Maintain Public Access and Operate Stormwater System, 12-9-09, incorporated herein as Form 62-341.417(2), ensuring the facility will remain open to the general public for the life of the facility and to ensure that the stormwater management system associated with the boat ramp will be operated and maintained for the life of the system.

(7) The construction or alteration of a boat ramp or accessory docks does not obligate the Department to approve any subsequent request to dredge for navigational access.

Rulemaking Authority 373.026(7), 373.043, 373.118(1), 373.406(5), 373.414(9), 373.418, 403.805(1) FS. Law Implemented 373.118(1), (5), 373.406(5), 373.413, 373.414(1), (9), 373.416, 373.418, 373.426 FS. History–New 10-3-95, Amended 12-9-09.