Florida Senate - 2010 SB 1338
By Senator Dean
3-01303-10 20101338__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to limestone mining; amending s.
3 373.414, F.S.; eliminating criteria for determining
4 the ratio of mitigation-to-wetlands loss relating to
5 limestone and sand mining; providing that financial
6 responsibility for mitigation for wetlands and other
7 surface waters required by a permit for activities
8 associated with the extraction of limestone is subject
9 to approval by the Department of Environmental
10 Protection as part of permit application review;
11 conforming terminology; amending s. 378.901, F.S.;
12 authorizing mine operators proposing to mine or
13 extract limestone to apply for a life-of-the-mine
14 permit; providing an exception for life-of-the-mine
15 permit application review requirements; amending ss.
16 316.520, 337.0261, 373.4149, 373.41492, 373.4415,
17 377.244, 378.403, and 378.4115, F.S.; conforming
18 terminology; providing for retroactive applicability;
19 providing an effective date.
20
21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23 Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (6), subsection
24 (16), and paragraph (a) of subsection (19) of section 373.414,
25 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
26 373.414 Additional criteria for activities in surface
27 waters and wetlands.—
28 (6)
29 (d) Onsite reclamation of the mine pit for limestone
30 limerock and sand mining shall be conducted in accordance with
31 the requirements of chapter 378.
32 1. Mitigation activities for limestone limerock and sand
33 mining must offset the regulated activities’ adverse impacts on
34 surface waters and wetlands. Mitigation activities shall be
35 located on site, unless onsite mitigation activities are not
36 feasible, in which case, offsite mitigation as close to the
37 activities as possible shall be required. However, mitigation
38 banking may be an acceptable form of mitigation, whether on or
39 off site, as judged on a case-by-case basis.
40 2. The ratio of mitigation-to-wetlands loss shall be
41 determined on a case-by-case basis and shall be based on the
42 quality of the wetland to be impacted and the type of mitigation
43 proposed.
44 (16) Until October 1, 2000, regulation under rules adopted
45 pursuant to this part of any sand, limerock, or limestone mining
46 activity which is located in Township 52 South, Range 39 East,
47 sections 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26,
48 27, 34, 35, and 36; in Township 52 South, Range 40 East,
49 sections 6, 7, 8, 18, and 19; in Township 53 South, Range 39
50 East, sections 1, 2, 13, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 33, 34, 35, and
51 36; and in Township 54 South, Range 38 East, sections 24, and
52 25, and 36, shall not include the rules adopted pursuant to
53 subsection (9). In addition, until October 1, 2000, such
54 activities shall continue to be regulated under the rules
55 adopted pursuant to ss. 403.91-403.929, 1984 Supplement to the
56 Florida Statutes 1983, as amended, as such rules existed prior
57 to the effective date of the rules adopted pursuant to
58 subsection (9) and such dredge and fill jurisdiction shall be
59 that which existed prior to January 24, 1984. In addition, any
60 such sand, limerock, or limestone mining activity shall be
61 approved by Miami-Dade County and the United States Army Corps
62 of Engineers. This section shall only apply to mining activities
63 which are continuous and carried out on land contiguous to
64 mining operations that were in existence on or before October 1,
65 1984.
66 (19)(a) Financial responsibility for mitigation for
67 wetlands and other surface waters required by a permit issued
68 pursuant to this part for activities associated with the
69 extraction of limestone and phosphate are subject to approval by
70 the department as part of permit application review. Financial
71 responsibility for permitted activities which will occur over a
72 period of 3 years or less of mining operations must be provided
73 to the department prior to the commencement of mining operations
74 and shall be in an amount equal to 110 percent of the estimated
75 mitigation costs for wetlands and other surface waters affected
76 under the permit. For permitted activities which will occur over
77 a period of more than 3 years of mining operations, the initial
78 financial responsibility demonstration shall be in an amount
79 equal to 110 percent of the estimated mitigation costs for
80 wetlands and other surface waters affected in the first 3 years
81 of operation under the permit; and, for each year thereafter,
82 the financial responsibility demonstration shall be updated,
83 including to provide an amount equal to 110 percent of the
84 estimated mitigation costs for the next year of operations under
85 the permit for which financial responsibility has not already
86 been demonstrated and to release portions of the financial
87 responsibility mechanisms in accordance with applicable rules.
88 Section 2. Subsection (2) and paragraph (c) of subsection
89 (4) of section 378.901, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
90 378.901 Life-of-the-mine permit.—
91 (2) As an alternative to, and in lieu of, separate
92 applications for permits required by part IV of chapter 373 and
93 part IV of this chapter, each operator who proposes to mine or
94 extract heavy minerals, limestone, or fuller’s earth clay may
95 apply to the bureau for a life-of-the-mine permit.
96 (4) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 378.405, an
97 application for a life-of-the-mine permit must be reviewed as
98 follows:
99 (c) A life-of-the-mine permit must be approved or denied by
100 the bureau within 135 days after receipt of the original
101 completed application, receipt of the timely requested
102 additional information, or correction of errors or omissions.
103 The 135-day period must be tolled in accordance with s. 120.60.
104 This paragraph does not apply to applications for permits to
105 mine or extract limestone filed before July 1, 2010.
106 Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 316.520, Florida
107 Statutes, is amended to read:
108 316.520 Loads on vehicles.—
109 (2) It is the duty of every owner and driver, severally, of
110 any vehicle hauling, upon any public road or highway open to the
111 public, dirt, sand, limestone lime rock, gravel, silica, or
112 other similar aggregate or trash, garbage, any inanimate object
113 or objects, or any similar material that could fall or blow from
114 such vehicle, to prevent such materials from falling, blowing,
115 or in any way escaping from such vehicle. Covering and securing
116 the load with a close-fitting tarpaulin or other appropriate
117 cover or a load securing device meeting the requirements of 49
118 C.F.R. s. 393.100 or a device designed to reasonably ensure that
119 cargo will not shift upon or fall from the vehicle is required
120 and shall constitute compliance with this section.
121 Section 4. Subsections (1) and (4) of section 337.0261,
122 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
123 337.0261 Construction aggregate materials.—
124 (1) DEFINITIONS.—“Construction aggregate materials” means
125 crushed stone, limestone, dolomite, limerock, shell rock,
126 cemented coquina, sand for use as a component of mortars,
127 concrete, bituminous mixtures, or underdrain filters, and other
128 mined resources providing the basic material for concrete,
129 asphalt, and road base.
130 (4) EXPEDITED PERMITTING.—Due to the state’s critical
131 infrastructure needs and the potential shortfall in available
132 construction aggregate materials, limestone limerock
133 environmental resource permitting and reclamation applications
134 filed after March 1, 2007, are eligible for the expedited
135 permitting processes contained in s. 403.973. Challenges to
136 state agency action in the expedited permitting process for
137 establishment of a limestone limerock mine in this state under
138 s. 403.973 are subject to the same requirements as challenges
139 brought under s. 403.973(14)(a), except that, notwithstanding s.
140 120.574, summary proceedings must be conducted within 30 days
141 after a party files the motion for summary hearing, regardless
142 of whether the parties agree to the summary proceeding.
143 Section 5. Subsection (4) of section 373.4149, Florida
144 Statutes, is amended to read:
145 373.4149 Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Plan.—
146 (4) The identification of the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt
147 Area shall not preempt local land use jurisdiction, planning, or
148 regulatory authority in regard to the use of land by private
149 land owners. When amending local comprehensive plans, or
150 implementing zoning regulations, development regulations, or
151 other local regulations, Miami-Dade County shall strongly
152 consider limestone mining activities and ancillary operations,
153 such as lake excavation, including use of explosives, rock
154 processing, cement, concrete and asphalt products manufacturing,
155 and ancillary activities, within the rock mining supported and
156 allowable areas of the Miami-Dade County Lake Plan adopted by
157 subsection (1); provided, however, that limestone limerock
158 mining activities are consistent with wellfield protection.
159 Rezonings or amendments to local comprehensive plans concerning
160 properties that are located within 1 mile of the Miami-Dade Lake
161 Belt Area shall be compatible with limestone mining activities.
162 No rezonings, variances, or amendments to local comprehensive
163 plans for any residential purpose may be approved for any
164 property located in sections 35 and 36 and the east one-half of
165 sections 24 and 25, Township 53 South, Range 39 East until such
166 time as there is no active mining within 2 miles of the
167 property. This section does not preclude residential development
168 that complies with current regulations.
169 Section 6. Subsection (2) and paragraph (b) of subsection
170 (6) of section 373.41492, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
171 373.41492 Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Mitigation Plan;
172 mitigation for mining activities within the Miami-Dade County
173 Lake Belt.—
174 (2) To provide for the mitigation of wetland resources lost
175 to mining activities within the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt
176 Plan, effective October 1, 1999, a mitigation fee is imposed on
177 each ton of limestone limerock and sand extracted by any person
178 who engages in the business of extracting limestone limerock or
179 sand from within the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area and the
180 east one-half of sections 24 and 25 and all of sections 35 and
181 36, Township 53 South, Range 39 East. The mitigation fee is
182 imposed for each ton of limestone limerock and sand sold from
183 within the properties where the fee applies in raw, processed,
184 or manufactured form, including, but not limited to, sized
185 aggregate, asphalt, cement, concrete, and other limestone
186 limerock and concrete products. The mitigation fee imposed by
187 this subsection for each ton of limestone limerock and sand sold
188 shall be 12 cents per ton beginning January 1, 2007; 18 cents
189 per ton beginning January 1, 2008; and 24 cents per ton
190 beginning January 1, 2009. To upgrade a water treatment plant
191 that treats water coming from the Northwest Wellfield in Miami
192 Dade County, a water treatment plant upgrade fee is imposed
193 within the same Lake Belt Area subject to the mitigation fee and
194 upon the same kind of mined limestone limerock and sand subject
195 to the mitigation fee. The water treatment plant upgrade fee
196 imposed by this subsection for each ton of limestone limerock
197 and sand sold shall be 15 cents per ton beginning on January 1,
198 2007, and the collection of this fee shall cease once the total
199 amount of proceeds collected for this fee reaches the amount of
200 the actual moneys necessary to design and construct the water
201 treatment plant upgrade, as determined in an open, public
202 solicitation process. Any limestone limerock or sand that is
203 used within the mine from which the limestone limerock or sand
204 is extracted is exempt from the fees. The amount of the
205 mitigation fee and the water treatment plant upgrade fee imposed
206 under this section must be stated separately on the invoice
207 provided to the purchaser of the limestone limerock or sand
208 product from the limestone limerock or sand miner, or its
209 subsidiary or affiliate, for which the fee or fees apply. The
210 limestone limerock or sand miner, or its subsidiary or
211 affiliate, who sells the limestone limerock or sand product
212 shall collect the mitigation fee and the water treatment plant
213 upgrade fee and forward the proceeds of the fees to the
214 Department of Revenue on or before the 20th day of the month
215 following the calendar month in which the sale occurs.
216 (6)
217 (b) Expenditures of the mitigation fee must be approved by
218 an interagency committee consisting of representatives from each
219 of the following: the Miami-Dade County Department of
220 Environmental Resource Management, the Department of
221 Environmental Protection, the South Florida Water Management
222 District, and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. In
223 addition, the limestone limerock mining industry shall select a
224 representative to serve as a nonvoting member of the interagency
225 committee. At the discretion of the committee, additional
226 members may be added to represent federal regulatory,
227 environmental, and fish and wildlife agencies.
228 Section 7. Section 373.4415, Florida Statutes, is amended
229 to read:
230 373.4415 Role of Miami-Dade County in processing permits
231 for limestone limerock mining in Miami-Dade County Lake Belt.
232 The department and Miami-Dade County shall cooperate to
233 establish and fulfill reasonable requirements for the
234 departmental delegation to the Miami-Dade County Department of
235 Environmental Resource Management of authority to implement the
236 permitting program under ss. 373.403-373.439 for limestone
237 limerock mining activities within the geographic area of the
238 Miami-Dade County Lake Belt which was recommended for mining in
239 the report submitted to the Legislature in February 1997 under
240 s. 373.4149. The delegation of authority must be consistent with
241 s. 373.441 and chapter 62-344, Florida Administrative Code. To
242 further streamline permitting within the Miami-Dade County Lake
243 Belt, the department and Miami-Dade County are encouraged to
244 work with the United States Army Corps of Engineers to establish
245 a general permit under s. 404 of the Clean Water Act for
246 limestone limerock mining activities within the geographic area
247 of the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt consistent with the report
248 submitted in February 1997. Miami-Dade County is further
249 encouraged to seek delegation from the United States Army Corps
250 of Engineers for the implementation of any such general permit.
251 This section does not limit the authority of the department to
252 delegate other responsibilities to Miami-Dade County under this
253 part.
254 Section 8. Subsection (2) of section 377.244, Florida
255 Statutes, is amended to read:
256 377.244 Conditions for granting permits for surface
257 exploratory and extraction operations.—
258 (2) The provisions of this act shall not apply to the
259 exploration and removal from lands of peat, muck, marl,
260 limestone, limerock, kaolin, fuller’s earth, phosphate, common
261 clays, gravel, shell, sand, and similar substances, it being the
262 legislative determination that the mining and extraction
263 operations, and the grants of authority under which these
264 activities are conducted for said substances exempted from the
265 provisions of this act, are dissimilar from the exploratory and
266 extraction operations and the grants of authority under which
267 these activities are conducted for substances which come within
268 the purview of the regulatory provisions of this act.
269 Section 9. Subsection (17) of section 378.403, Florida
270 Statutes, is amended to read:
271 378.403 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term:
272 (17) “Resource” means soil, clay, peat, stone, gravel,
273 sand, limestone limerock, metallic ore, or any other solid
274 substance of commercial value found in natural deposits on or in
275 the earth, except phosphate, which is regulated by part III.
276 Section 10. Section 378.4115, Florida Statutes, is amended
277 to read:
278 378.4115 County certification for limestone limerock mining
279 in the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt.—The department and Miami
280 Dade County shall cooperate to establish and fulfill reasonable
281 requirements for the departmental certification of the Miami
282 Dade County Department of Environmental Resource Management to
283 implement the reclamation program under ss. 378.401-378.503 for
284 limestone limerock mining activities within the geographic area
285 of the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt which was recommended for
286 mining in the report submitted to the Legislature in February
287 1997 under s. 373.4149. The delegation of implementing authority
288 must be consistent with s. 378.411 and chapter 62C-36, Florida
289 Administrative Code. Further, the reclamation program shall
290 maximize the efficient mining of limestone, and the littoral
291 area surrounding the lake excavations shall not be required to
292 be greater than 100 feet average in width.
293 Section 11. The amendments to ss. 373.414 and 378.901,
294 Florida Statutes, made by this act, other than the conforming of
295 terminology, apply retroactively to any permit granted by the
296 Department of Environmental Protection under part IV of chapter
297 373, Florida Statutes, or part IV of chapter 378, Florida
298 Statutes, after September 1, 2009.
299 Section 12. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.