Bill > H0999

This bill makes several changes to environmental regulations in Florida, including allowing the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to require or encourage electronic submissions for various forms and reports, with provisions for hardship exemptions. It also streamlines the development permit process for counties and municipalities by limiting the number of times they can request additional information from applicants and clarifying when they must proceed with processing an application, while excluding building permits from this definition. The bill revises rules regarding leases for special events on sovereign submerged lands, allowing for temporary structures for boat shows and displays with specific duration limits and fee structures, and introduces new provisions for leases of submerged lands for marinas, boatyards, and marine retailers, offering discounts for public access and certified "Clean Marina" facilities. It also modifies regulations for private residential docks and piers to potentially waive lease fees for certain areas, and updates general permits for public mooring fields, boat ramps, and associated facilities, including a cap on the number of vessels in mooring fields. The bill also addresses water well permitting by consolidating responsibility with water management districts or delegated local entities, and clarifies the scope of water well contractor licenses. Furthermore, it introduces exemptions for certain farm ponds and activities related to unauthorized flooding, adjusts the maximum contract amount for preapproved advanced cleanup work, and modifies the definition of "facility" for cleanup purposes. The bill also updates the annual operation license fee for major sources of air pollution, including changes to the payment deadline and calculation methods, and clarifies the standards for using field procedures and laboratory methods in water pollution permit decisions. It also includes provisions for recovered materials dealers, allowing them to initiate legal action for violations and clarifying local government registration processes, and modifies the exemption for seawall restoration to allow for minor waterward placement. Finally, the bill makes projects involving interstate natural gas pipelines eligible for expedited permitting and clarifies that certain pipeline projects are not eligible for expedited review if their primary purpose is to extract natural resources or produce oil.