Florida Administrative Code › 62 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › 62 - Departmental › Chapter 62-41 - REGULATION OF THE CONSUMPTIVE USES OF WATER › Section 62-41.303 - Central Florida Water Initiative Area, Variances to the Uniform Rules

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) Scope. Applicants may seek a variance
				from Rules  62-41.301 and
				 62-41.302, F.A.C., and the
				provisions of the Supplemental Applicant's Handbook if there are unique
				circumstances or hydrogeological factors that make application of the uniform
				rules unrealistic or impractical. A variance under this rule is as defined in
				Section  120.52(21),
				F.S. Variances under this rule shall not be granted for any requirements
				relating to the Southern Water Use Caution Area or the Dover/Plant City Water
				Use Caution Area, provisions of which are incorporated by reference in Rule
				 62-41.305, F.A.C. Nothing in
				this rule shall preclude a petitioner from applying for variances or other
				relief mechanisms under other provisions of law.
(2) Delegation. The Department hereby
				delegates to the South Florida, Southwest Florida, and St. Johns River Water
				Management Districts the authority to grant or deny variances under this
				section to applicants/permittees within their district. At least 15 days prior
				to granting a request for variance, a district must notify the Executive
				Director of the other two Water Management Districts and the Director of the
				Department's Office of Water Policy and Ecosystem Restoration that it intends
				to grant the variance.
(3) An
				applicant seeking a variance under Section
				 373.0465, F.S., from the
				provisions of Rule  62-41.301 or
				 62-41.302, F.A.C., or the
				provisions of the Supplemental Applicant's Handbook must demonstrate that there
				are unique circumstances or hydrogeological factors that make application of
				the uniform rules unrealistic or impractical. For the purposes of this rule,
				unrealistic or impractical shall mean compliance with the rule will create a
				substantial hardship or would violate the principles of fairness. For purposes
				of this section, "substantial hardship" means a demonstrated economic,
				technological, legal, or other type of hardship to the person requesting the
				variance or waiver. For purposes of this section, "principles of fairness" are
				violated when the literal application of a rule affects a particular person in
				a manner significantly different from the way it affects other similarly
				situated persons who are subject to the rule.
(4) Applicants for a variance may not claim
				that compliance with another Department or District statute or rule justifies
				the need for a variance. Applicants may seek variances from those statutes or
				rule through the applicable variance procedures.
(5) The Districts shall only grant variances
				when the applicant demonstrates that it has achieved or will achieve the
				purpose of the underlying statute by other means.
(6) Petitions for variance must include the
				following information:
(a) A caption, which
				shall read:
Petition for Variance from Rule (Citation)
(b) The name, address, any e-mail address,
				telephone number, and any facsimile number of the petitioner, if the party is
				not represented by an attorney or a qualified representative;
(c) The name, address, e-mail address,
				telephone number, and any facsimile number of the attorney or qualified
				representative of the petitioner, if any;
(d) The applicable rule or portion of the
				rule or handbook;
(e) The citation
				to the statute the rule is implementing;
(f) The type of action requested;
(g) The specific facts that demonstrate there
				are unique circumstances or hydrogeological factors that make application of
				the uniform rules unrealistic or impractical;
(h) The reason why the variance requested
				would serve the purposes of the underlying statute; and
(i) A statement whether the variance is
				permanent or temporary. If the variance is temporary, the petition shall
				include the dates indicating the duration of the requested
				variance.