Delegation of Federal Dredge and Fill Permitting Authority to State of Florida
Chapter 2018-88, Laws of Florida, authorized the Department of Environmental Protection to assume responsibility for the dredge and fill permitting program established under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The Department has begun rulemaking and is currently holding public workshops to present the draft rule and applicant’s handbook for review and comment. The rulemaking will include changes to Chapter 62-330, F.A.C., to assure consistency between the Environmental Resource Permit program and the Dredge and Fill Permit program, and the creation of Chapter 62-331, F.A.C., implementing the State 404 (“Dredge and Fill”) Program. The 404 Program will be modeled after the State’s ERP program.
The workshop in Tallahassee on May 30, 2018, included a PowerPoint presentation on the rulemaking effort which is available by clicking here. The link to the draft rule and handbook may be found at https://floridadep.gov/water/water/content/water-resource-management-rules-development by scrolling down to “Environmental Resource Permitting & Submerged Lands” in the Table, the drafts will be under “62-331; State 404 Program”
There is a public workshop scheduled for Friday, June 1, 2018 in Fort Myers at the FDEP Office at 2295 Victoria Avenue, Fort Myers, FL beginning at 8:30 am. Public comments on the draft rules and handbook will be accepted by the Department until June 15, 2018 and may be submitted via e-mail to Jessica Melkun at Jessica.Melkun@dep.state.fl.us. Her telephone number is 850.245.8358.