Title XXIX, Public Health

(1) The department shall reactivate an inactive license upon receipt of the reactivation application and fee within the 2-year period immediately following the expiration date of the license. Any license not reactivated within this 2-year period shall be null and void, and an ope…

(1) A person may not:(a) Perform the duties of an operator of a water treatment plant, water distribution system, or domestic wastewater treatment plant unless he or she is licensed under ss. 403.865-403.876.(b) Use the name or title “water treatment plant operator,” “water distr…

(1) The department shall establish the grounds for taking disciplinary action, including suspending or revoking a valid license, placing a licensee on probation, refusing to issue a license, refusing to renew a license, or refusing to reactivate a license, and the imposition of a…

(1) The department shall classify water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, and water distribution systems by size, complexity, and level of treatment necessary to render the wastewater or source water suitable for its intended purpose in compliance with this chapter a…

(1) The Department of Environmental Protection shall administer a grant program to use funds appropriated by the Legislature for water quality improvement, stormwater management, wastewater management, and water restoration and other water projects as specifically appropriated by…

(1) Revenues deposited into or appropriated to the Water Protection and Sustainability Program Trust Fund shall be distributed by the Department of Environmental Protection for the following purposes:(a) The alternative water supply program as provided in s. 373.707.(b) The water…

(1) The Water Protection and Sustainability Program Trust Fund is created within the Department of Environmental Protection. The purpose of the trust fund is to implement the Water Protection and Sustainability Program created in s. 403.890.(2) Notwithstanding s. 216.301 and purs…

(1) As used in this section, the term:(a) “Developer” has the same meaning as in s. 380.031(2).(b) “Graywater” has the same meaning as in s. 381.0065(2).(2) To promote the beneficial reuse of water in the state, a county, municipality, or special district shall:(a) Authorize the …

(1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:(a) “Agency” means any official, officer, commission, authority, council, committee, department, division, bureau, board, section, or other unit or entity of state government.(b) “Permit” means any permit or licen…

The department or the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund has the authority to direct an abutting upland owner to remove from submerged sovereignty lands or state-owned lands any fill created in violation of 1ss. 403.91-403.929 or part IV of chapter 373, exce…

(1) The Legislature recognizes the great value of farming and forestry to this state and that continued agricultural activity is compatible with wetlands protection. In order to avoid unnecessary expense and delay from duplicative programs, it is the intent of the Legislature to …

The Office of Economic and Demographic Research shall conduct an annual assessment of Florida’s water resources and conservation lands.(1) WATER RESOURCES.—The assessment must include all of the following:(a) Historical and current expenditures and projections of future expenditu…

(1) The Legislature intends for each county, municipality, or special district providing wastewater services to create a 20-year needs analysis.(2) As used in this section, the term:(a) “Domestic wastewater” has the same meaning as provided in s. 367.021.(b) “Facility” means any …

(1) The Legislature intends for each county, municipality, or special district providing a stormwater management program or stormwater management system to create a 20-year needs analysis.(2) As used in this section, the term:(a) “Facility” means any equipment, structure, or othe…

Sections 403.9321-403.9333 may be cited as the “Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act.”History.—s. 1, ch. 95-299.

(1) The Legislature finds that there are over 555,000 acres of mangroves now existing in Florida. Of this total, over 80 percent are under some form of government or private ownership or control and are expressly set aside for preservation or conservation purposes.(2) The Legisla…

(1) It is the intent of the Legislature to protect and preserve mangrove resources valuable to our environment and economy from unregulated removal, defoliation, and destruction.(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that no trimming or alteration of mangroves may be permitted o…

(1) Sections 403.9321-403.9333 and any lawful regulations adopted by a local government that receives a delegation of the department’s authority to administer and enforce the regulation of mangroves as provided by this section shall be the sole regulations in this state for the t…

For the purposes of ss. 403.9321-403.9333, the term:(1) “Alter” means anything other than trimming of mangroves.(2) “Local government” means a county or municipality.(3) “Mangrove” means any specimen of the species Laguncularia racemosa (white mangrove), Rhizophora mangle (red ma…

(1) The following activities are exempt from the permitting requirements of ss. 403.9321-403.9333 and any other provision of law if no herbicide or other chemical is used to remove mangrove foliage:(a) Mangrove trimming in riparian mangrove fringe areas that meet the following cr…

(1) The following general permits are created for the trimming of mangroves that do not qualify for an exemption provided by s. 403.9326:(a) A general permit to trim mangroves for riparian property owners, if:1. The trimming is conducted in an area where the department has not de…

(1) When trimming under s. 403.9327(1)(a) occurs on property developed for multifamily residential use, the 65-percent shoreline trimming limit must be equitably distributed so that each owner’s riparian view is similarly affected.(2) If it is necessary to trim more than 65 perce…

(1) A person may not alter or trim, or cause to be altered or trimmed, any mangrove within the landward extent of wetlands and other surface waters, as defined in chapter 62-340.200(19), Florida Administrative Code, using the methodology in s. 373.4211 and chapter 62-340, Florida…

(1) For purposes of ss. 403.9321-403.9333, the following persons are considered professional mangrove trimmers:(a) Certified arborists, certified by the International Society of Arboriculture;(b) Professional wetland scientists, certified by the Society of Wetland Scientists;(c) …

(1) The regulation of mangrove protection under ss. 403.9321-403.9333 is intended to be complete and effective without reference to or compliance with other statutory provisions.(2) Any rule or policy applicable to permits provided for by s. 403.9327 or s. 403.9328 which establis…

(1)(a) Any area in which 5 percent or more of the trimmed mangrove trees have been trimmed below 6 feet in height, except as provided in s. 403.9326(1)(c), (d), (f), (g), and (h), destroyed, defoliated, or removed as a result of trimming conducted under s. 403.9326 or s. 403.9327…

Upon application, the department or delegated local government may grant a variance from the provisions of ss. 403.9321-403.9333 if compliance therewith would impose a unique and unnecessary hardship on the owner or any other person in control of the affected property. Relief may…

Nothing in chapter 96-206, Laws of Florida, shall invalidate any permit or order related to mangrove activities which has been approved by the department or any other governmental entity, nor shall it affect any application for permits related to mangrove activities deemed suffic…

1(1) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a collaborative and coordinated effort among public and private research entities to develop restoration technologies and approaches to address the loss of seagrass and the cascading ecological and economic impacts of that los…

(1) This section may be cited as the “Florida Coral Reef Protection Act.”(2) This act applies to the sovereign submerged lands that contain coral reefs as defined in this act off the coasts of Broward, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach Counties.(3) As used in this sectio…

Sections 403.9335-403.9338 may be cited as the “Protection of Urban and Residential Environments and Water Act.”History.—s. 2, ch. 2009-199.

The Legislature finds that the implementation of the Model Ordinance for Florida-Friendly Fertilizer Use on Urban Landscapes (2008), which was developed by the department in conjunction with the Consumer Fertilizer Task Force, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, …

(1) All county and municipal governments are encouraged to adopt and enforce the Model Ordinance for Florida-Friendly Fertilizer Use on Urban Landscapes or an equivalent requirement as a mechanism for protecting local surface and groundwater quality.(2) Each county and municipal …

(1) The department, in cooperation with the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, shall:(a) Provide training and testing programs in urban landscape best management practices and may issue certificates demonstrating satisfactory completion of the training.(b) Approve train…

(1) To provide a means of documenting and ensuring compliance with best management practices for fertilizer application to golf courses, the turfgrass science program at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, in coordination with the department, sh…

Sections 403.9401-403.9425 may be cited as the “Natural Gas Transmission Pipeline Siting Act.”History.—s. 1, ch. 92-284.

It is the Legislature’s intent by adoption of ss. 403.9401-403.9425 to establish a centralized and coordinated permitting process for the location of natural gas transmission pipeline corridors and the construction and maintenance of natural gas transmission pipelines, which nece…

As used in ss. 403.9401-403.9425, the term:(1) “Agency,” as the context requires, means an official, officer, commission, authority, council, committee, department, division, bureau, board, section, or other unit or entity of government, including a county, municipality, or other…

The Department of Environmental Protection shall have the following powers and duties:(1) To adopt procedural rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the provisions of ss. 403.9401-403.9425 and to adopt rules to implement the provisions of subsection (8).(2) To p…

(1) The provisions of ss. 403.9401-403.9425 apply to each natural gas transmission pipeline, except as provided in subsection (2).(2) A natural gas transmission pipeline may not be constructed without first obtaining certification under ss. 403.9401-403.9425, but these sections d…

(1) A natural gas transmission pipeline company may file an application encompassing all or a part of one or more proposed pipelines. The beginning and ending points of a pipeline must be specified in the application and must be verified by the commission in its determination of …

Within 7 days after receipt of an application, whether complete or not, the department shall request the Division of Administrative Hearings to designate an administrative law judge to conduct the hearings required by ss. 403.9401-403.9425. The division director shall designate a…

(1) Within 7 days after the filing of an application, the department shall provide the applicant and the Division of Administrative Hearings the names and addresses of those affected or other agencies entitled to notice and copies of the application and any amendments.(2) Within …

Within 15 days after receipt of an application, the department shall file a statement with the Division of Administrative Hearings and with the applicant declaring its position with regard to the completeness, not the sufficiency, of the application.(1) If the department declares…

Within 45 days after the distribution of the complete application or amendment, the department shall file a statement with the Division of Administrative Hearings and with the applicant declaring its position with regard to the sufficiency of the application or amendment. The dep…

(1) Each affected agency which received an application in accordance with s. 403.9407(3) shall submit a preliminary statement of issues to the department and the applicant no later than 60 days after distribution of the complete application. Such statements of issues shall be mad…