February 5, 2014 1

February 5, 2014
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State Water Management Districts (WMD)
• Water Quality
• Water Quantity (Flooding)
• Wetland Impacts/State-listed wetland-dependent species
Federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
• Wetland Impacts
• Federally-listed Species
Federal U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)
• Navigable Bridge Projects; New or
Replacement
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State Florida Department of Environmental
Protection (FDEP)
• National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
• Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL)
• Delegation Agreement (i.e.: Wekiva Parkway)
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission (FWC)
• Gopher Tortoise Relocation Permits
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Permit Determinations
What type of permit is required?
• Phase I Scope Review
– Preliminary Permit Determination
• Phase II Scope Review
– Permitting Recommendations Made
During Project Scoping Trip/Meeting
– RFP Development
• Phase III Scope Review
– Develop Final Scope and Final Units
– Staff Hour Estimates
– Schedule
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Water Management Districts within District Five
• St. Johns River Water
Management District (SJRWMD)
• South West Florida Water
Management District (SWFWMD)
• South Florida Water
Management District (SFWMD)
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SJRWMD
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Orange County (partial)
Seminole County
Volusia County
Flagler County
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Marion County (partial)
Brevard County
Osceola County (partial)
Lake County (partial)
SFWMD
• Orange County (partial)
• Osceola County (partial)
SWFWMD
• Marion County (partial)
• Sumter County
• Lake County (partial)
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Permit Coordination Meeting
• Major Projects
• After draft pond site report submittal
• Prior to 30% design submittal
• Minor Projects
• After typical sections approved
• Prior to Phase II (60%) design submittal
• Meeting Agenda Template for
Consultants
• Located on Project Dictionary Website
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WMD Permit Determination Process
• Consultant makes determination prior to
60% submittal
• FDOT (drainage staff) agrees, disagrees
or asks for more info
• Letter for permit determination
only sent to the WMD when
requested by drainage staff
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WMD Permit Exemptions –
Statewide Environmental Resource Permit (SWERP)
(Oct 1, 2013)
• (4) Bridges, Driveways, and Roadways –
 (a) The replacement and repair of existing open-trestle foot bridges and
vehicular bridges in accordance with Section 403.813(1)(l), F.S.
 (b) Construction, alteration, or maintenance, and operation, of
culverted driveway or roadway crossings and bridges of wholly
artificial, non-navigable drainage conveyances,
provided:
 (c) Minor roadway safety construction, alteration,
or maintenance, and operation,
 (d) Resurfacing of existing paved roads, and grading of
existing unpaved roads,
 (e) Repair, stabilization, or paving of existing unpaved roads,
and the repair or replacement of vehicular bridges that are
part of the unpaved road
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WMD Permit Exemptions – SWERP, continued
• (7) Maintenance and Restoration ‒
 (a) Maintenance dredging under Section 403.813(1)(f), F.S.
• (8) The installation of aids to navigation, including bridge
fender piles, “No Wake” and similar regulatory signs, and
buoys associated with such aids, in accordance with Section
403.813(1)(k), F.S.
• (9) Pipes or Culverts ‒
 (a) Repair or replacement
 (b) Construction, alteration, operation, maintenance,
and removal of outfall pipes, together with associated
headwalls, and energy dissipation baffles, rocks, and other
scour-reduction devices at the outfall locations
 (c) The extension of existing culverts and crossing approaches
when done to accommodate an activity that does not require
a permit under this chapter
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WMD Permit Exemptions – SWERP, continued
• (12) Construction, Restoration, Enhancement, and
Repair of Seawall, Riprap, and Other Shoreline
Stabilization
 (a) Construction replacement, and
repair of seawalls or riprap in artificial
waters and residential canal systems
under Section 403.813(1)(i), F.S.,
including only that backfilling needed
to level the land behind seawalls or riprap.
 (b) The restoration of a seawall or riprap
under Section 403.813(1)(e), F.S
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WMD Environmental Resource Permits (ERPs)
• General
• Individual
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General Permit
• Minor wetland impacts for activities
within existing right-of-way
• Bridge repairs/widening, culvert
extensions, pile jackets, etc.
• WMD Staff issued
• Estimated time for approval, 30 to 60
days
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Activities Requiring a General Permit from WMD
• 62-330.431 installation of riprap
• 62-330.439 construction or maintenance of culverted
driveway or roadway crossings, and bridges of artificial
waterways
• 62-330.443 minor bridge alteration, placement, replacement,
removal, maintenance, and operation
• 62-330.447 minor activities within existing
rights-of-way or easements
• 62-330.448 pave existing county or municipally
owned and maintained roads, including the repair
and replacement of bridges that are part of the roadway
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Any project which does not meet the specific criteria
described for Exemptions or General Permits, or will
impact more wetlands than allowed by rule
thresholds, will require an Individual ERP from
appropriate WMD
• Individual Permit
 Wetland Impacts 0.5 acre or greater,
which do not specifically qualify for a
General Permit
 Project Area >100 acres
 Requires Executive Director Approval
 Estimated time for approval, 6-8 months
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US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
Nationwide Permits
• Minor wetland Impacts (usually 0.1 to 0.5 acres)
• 45-day time clock
• Nationwide Permits issued
for only 2 years
• Nationwide Program expires
every 5 years
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Activities Requiring a Nationwide Permit from USACE
1. Aids to Navigation
 The placement of aids to navigation and regulatory markers which
are approved by and installed in accordance with the
requirements of the USCG (see 33 CFR, chapter I, subchapter C,
part 66). (Section 10)
3. Maintenance
 (a) The repair, rehabilitation, or replacement of any previously
authorized, currently serviceable
structure, or fill, or of any currently
serviceable structure or fill authorized by
33 CFR 330.3
 (b) This NWP also authorizes the removal of
accumulated sediments and debris in the vicinity of
existing structures (e.g., bridges, culverted road crossings,
water intake structures, etc.) and/or the placement of new or
additional riprap to protect the structure
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Nationwide Permits from USACE - continued
13. Bank Stabilization
 Bank stabilization activities necessary for erosion prevention
14. Linear Transportation Projects
 Activities required for the construction, expansion, modification,
or improvement of linear transportation projects (e.g., roads,
highways, railways, trails, airport runways, and taxiways) in
waters of the United States. For linear transportation projects in
non-tidal waters, the discharge cannot cause the loss of greater
than 1/2-acre of waters of the United
States. For linear transportation projects
in tidal waters, the discharge cannot cause the
loss of greater than 1/3-acre of waters of the
United States. Any stream channel modification,
including bank stabilization, is limited to the minimum
necessary to construct or protect the linear transportation
project; such modifications must be in the immediate
vicinity of the project.
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Nationwide Permits from USACE - continued
15. USCG Approved Bridges
 Discharges of dredged or fill material incidental to the
construction of a bridge across navigable waters of the United
States, including cofferdams, abutments, foundation seals, piers,
and temporary construction and access fills, provided the
construction of the bridge structure has been authorized by the
USCG under Section 9 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 or
other applicable laws. Causeways and
approach fills are not included in this NWP
and will require a separate section 404 permit.
(Section 404)
Any project which does not meet the specific criteria
described above, or will impact more wetlands than allowed
by rule will require an Individual Section 404 Dredge & Fill
Permit from USACE.
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USACE
Individual Permits
• Requires a 30-day Public Notice
• Requires District Approval (Jacksonville)
• Requires WMD Permit
 State Water Quality Certification (WQC)
• Estimated time for approval,
8-10 months
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USACE Public Noticing
• Negotiate ad task in all new scopes that may require
an individual permit (newspaper/mail labels)
• Notice must be provided to property owners that
abut the project
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USACE Permit Submittal Package
• USACE will accept a separate permit package
• Everything must be 8 ½ x 11 black and white only
• Dredge/fill sketches required
• Include match lines for drawings
• Include avoidance and minimization
discussion (Quality Enhancement
Strategies)
• Adjacent property owners/Mail labels
• Can omit drainage information
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Quality Enhancement Strategies (QES) for
Wetland Impact Minimization
• Developed by District Five to be used during the PD&E
process to document/minimize impacts
• Documents the design changes implemented by the
FDOT to minimize wetland impacts
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QES for Wetland Impact Minimization
A. Early identification of wetland impacts at PD&E
and design stages
B. Determine avoidance strategies
C. Perform alternative design analysis
•
Median widths
•
Fill slopes
•
Shoulder widths
•
Guardrail
•
Bridge vs. embankment
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QES for Wetland Impact Minimization
Ponds:
• Relocation of pond sites
• Providing alternative treatment methods
• Quantify impact reduction
• Evaluate safety aspects
• Provide cost of alternatives
• Prepare written summary of analysis
and conclusions
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USCG Bridge Permits
No Permits Required:
• Minor repairs (in kind)
• Non-navigable waterways
Permits Required:
• Building bridges and changes to
structures in navigable waters
• Horizontal and vertical clearance changes
• Requires both the WMD permit (WQC) and
the federal dredge/fill permit (USACE)
• Timeframe for issuance ± 12 months
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FDEP Permits / Programs
 NPDES Construction Generic Permit
 CCCL Permit
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FDEP NPDES Generic Permit for Construction
• Required for construction projects that have one-acre of soil
disturbing activities
 Excavation, clearing, grading and sod
• Identify erosion controls during design
• Develop stormwater pollution prevention
plan (SWPPP) during design
• Contractor submits for permit coverage (NOI)
• RRR /Landscaping/Shoulder re-work
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Impaired Waters / TMDLs
• Not a “permit”
• WMDs will have more restrictive water
quality standards and treatment
requirements for projects located within
impaired basins.
• Projects located in a basin with an
established TMDL may be required to
limit post pollutant loading levels to that
of pre condition (i.e. no increase in
pollutant loading).
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FDEP CCCL Permit
• Element of Florida's coastal management
• To protect the coastal system from improperly sited and
designed structures which can destabilize or destroy the
beach and dune system.
• Establishes an area of jurisdiction in which special siting and
design criteria are applied.
• Standards may be more stringent
because of the greater forces expected to
occur in the more seaward zone of the beach
during a storm event.
• If project lies within CCCL boundary, FDEP will
issue the ERP
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Mitigation for Wetland Impacts
•
Senate Bill 1986
•
FDOT District 5 Mitigation Banks
•
Private Mitigation Banks by competitive bid
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Special Basin Criteria – Wekiva, Econ, Lake Jesup,
Tomoka/Spruce Creek
Sovereign Submerged State
Lands (TIITF)
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ERP Process includes Sovereign Lands
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Important for Bridge Repair projects to research
SSL Easement prior to Permitting
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Commenting Agencies
State
• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
• State Historic Preservation Office
• Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND)
Federal
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• U.S. EPA
• National Marine Fisheries Services
• NRCS (for SWFWMD SHWTE determination)
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State Commenting Agencies
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
• Commenting agency under WMD permitting review
process
• State protected species (upland and wetland dependent)
• Avoidance and minimization
• Specific species surveys
• T&E mitigation may be required
Gopher tortoise permitting and relocations
• A permit, separate from the ERP, is required
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Federal Commenting Agencies
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Federal protected species (upland and wetland dependent)
• Avoidance and Minimization
• Specific species surveys
• Manatee provisions and special conditions
during construction
• Bald Eagle delisting, but still protected
under Bald and Golden Eagle Protection
Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the
Lacey Act
• Indigo snake determination key and standard
protection measures
• Wood Stork determination key
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Federal Commenting Agencies
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Endangered Species Act
Section 7 Consultation
• Under USACE permitting review process
• Biological Opinion
• T&E Mitigation may be required
Section10 Consultation
• When no USACE permit is required
• Biological Opinion
• T&E mitigation may be required
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Federal Commenting Agencies
National Marine Fisheries
• Commenting Agency under USACE
permitting review process
• Essential Fish Habitat (EFH)
Assessments
• Habitat Area of Particular Concern
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Statutory Time Frames
• State - Chapter 120 F.S.
• State: 30 day review
• Federal – None
• Exception is USACE NW permit
(45 days from PCN)
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Permitting Agency Coordination
• There is none
• Only a joint application
• You must keep the agencies informed of
changes in your projects
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Permit Durations
• ERPs five years (10 years for some ERPS)
• USACE Individuals five years
• NWs – Max two years
Is your project going PID?
Funded for R/W or Construction?
• Consider requesting longer duration permit.
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Now that you’ve applied for Environmental
Permits…
• Did the USACE get their copy of the Joint ERP Application
from the WMD? Did you send a separate submittal for
projects with wetland impacts?
• Has the USACE published the Public Notice?
• Are there simple questions that can be
answered prior to receiving an RAI?
• Review production schedule to meet
production date.
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In Summary, FDOT Permitting Process:
• All projects should be presented to the Permitting
Office early on to tell us what type of permitting issues
the consultant is anticipating.
• All permitting correspondence shall be copied to the
Permitting Office for tracking purposes.
• Information not submitted may delay the
final permits clear memo and production date.
• DRAFT Permit package submittals to Permitting Office
require 2 week review time period for conventional
projects (3 business days for D/B projects)
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Communication with Agencies
• All email correspondence to WMDs should be copied to
the FDOT permit coordinator
• Any meetings with agencies –
FDOT permitting and PM staff should be invited – minimum 2
weeks prior to meeting occurrence
• USACE preference to coordinate with
FDOT Permit Office directly
• Any issues or submittal for all regulatory
agencies shall come through the Permitting
Office first for review.
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Any Questions?
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