Florida Administrative Code › 62 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › 62 - Departmental › Chapter 62-331 - STATE 404 PROGRAM › Section 62-331.248 - General Permit for Florida Department of Transportation and Florida's Turnpike Enterprise

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) This general
				permit authorizes activities required for the construction of Florida
				Department of Transportation (FDOT) and Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE)
				projects, with a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and/or FDOT approved
				Environmental Document (PD&E, Categorical Exclusion, Environmental
				Assessment, Environmental Impact Statement, or State Environmental Impact
				Report), including non-capacity and capacity improvements, where dredge and
				fill impacts do not result in the loss of greater than 5.0 acres of
				state-assumed waters (wetlands and surface waters) for any 1-mile segment of
				roadway length up to a maximum loss of 50 acres of state-assumed waters per
				project. This includes FTE projects with an approved state Environmental
				Document. Secondary impacts associated with projects authorized under this
				general permit shall be assessed, however, secondary impact acreages will not
				count toward the impact acreage limits (5.0 acres/1-mile and 50 acres total)
				within this general permit.
(2)
				This general permit does not authorize construction of a new alignment
				(non-existing roadway).
(3) This
				general permit is subject to the following conditions:
(a) Use of this general permit is limited to
				linear transportation projects that have been reviewed through the FDOT
				Efficient Transportation Decision Making (ETDM) and/or Project Development and
				Environment (PD&E) Study. The environmental documents must have been
				evaluated, re-evaluated, or confirmed to be current within five years of
				submittal of an application.
(b)
				The term "capacity" is used to express the maximum number of vehicles or
				persons that can pass a point on a roadway during a given time period under
				prevailing roadway and traffic conditions. A capacity improvement project is
				normally implemented by the addition of through travel lanes. A capacity
				improvement project can also be a new interchange or new intersection that is
				contiguous and connects to an existing roadway but would not include a new
				interchange or intersection that results in a new roadway alignment.
				Non-capacity improvement projects may include safety improvements, maintenance,
				bike lane, or sidewalk additions.
(c) No work shall be performed until the
				permittee submits satisfactory plans for the proposed activity and receives
				written authorization from the Agency.
(d) If the project includes modification of a
				federal project, no work shall be performed until the permittee receives
				authorization under  33 U.S.C §
											408  from the Corps of Engineers.
(e) Conformance with the descriptions,
				quantities, and criteria in this general permit does not guarantee
				authorization under this general permit. The Agency reserves the right to
				require that any request for authorization under this general permit be
				evaluated as an individual permit.
(f) A copy of all "Commitments" related to
				the avoidance and minimization of impacts to state-assumed waters identified in
				any completed Environmental Documents and the Quality Enhancement Strategies
				(QES) (effective date), incorporated by reference herein (
https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-12075
),
				shall be submitted with the permit application prior to verification of this
				general permit.
(g) Prior to the
				verification of qualification for this general permit; the applicant shall
				provide the Agency with copies of the concurrence documents from the State
				Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) in Tallahassee and the Tribal Historic
				Preservation Officer (THPO) where applicable.
(h) Cultural Resources and/or Historic
				Properties. In addition to the conditions for general permits in Rule
				 62-331.200, F.A.C., the
				following shall apply:
1. No structure or
				work shall adversely affect, impact, or disturb properties listed in the
				National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), or those eligible for listing in
				the NRHP where the adverse effect, impact, or disturbance has not been resolved
				through consultation with the SHPO.
2. The applicant shall determine and
				document, in consultation with SHPO, the scope of identification efforts for
				cultural resources within the undertaking's area of potential effect and
				establish a determination of effects based upon these efforts. Documentation of
				this scope of identification efforts and determination shall be provided in
				summary form to the Agency along with the concurrence documents from
				SHPO.
3. If an archaeological
				monitor is required. A professional archeologist who meets the "Archeology and
				Historic Preservation: Secretary of Interior's Standards and Guidelines" shall
				be onsite during the initial ground-disturbing activities. The professional
				archeologist shall be responsible for monitoring the spoil and ground
				disturbance for archaeological deposits. Should potential significant
				archaeological deposits (which shall include, but not be limited to: pottery,
				modified shell, flora, fauna, human remains, ceramics, stone tools or metal
				implements, dugout canoes, evidence of structures or any other physical remains
				that could be associated with Native American cultures or early colonial or
				American settlement), recovery be encountered, all work and ground disturbing
				activities must cease within a 100-meter diameter of the discovery to allow for
				proper assessment, recording, and recovery of the cultural deposits in a
				professional manner. The archeologist on site shall notify the Permittee, SHPO,
				and the Agency the same business day to assess the significance of the
				discovery and devise appropriate actions, including salvage operations,
				coordination with the SHPO/THPO, Tribes, and other consulting parties, as
				appropriate and in compliance with applicable historic preservation laws. Upon
				completion of the monitoring activities, an archaeological letter must be
				submitted to the Director of Florida's Division of Historical Resources (who
				also serves as the SHPO), along with an updated Florida Master Site File form
				and, as appropriate, a monitoring report.
(i) Compensatory Mitigation.
1. Mitigation may be accomplished by one or
				more of the following mechanisms and preference hierarchy.
a. Securing appropriate number and resource
				type of credits from approved mitigation bank within the project's service
				area;
b. Payment of mitigation fees
				to an approved in-lieu program within the project's service area;
c. Through a "permittee-responsible"
				mitigation, including those mitigation projects that are part of the FDOT
				Mitigation Program in Section
				 373.4137, F.S.; on-site and
				in-kind mitigation; or off-site or out-of-kind compensatory
				mitigation.
d. It is the
				responsibility of the applicant to demonstrate to the Agency that the
				mitigation proposal is the environmentally preferable option to replace the
				ecological functions and services that would be lost though the implementation
				of any work proposed. All mitigation proposals must be approved prior to
				verification of this general permit.
2. Prior to proceeding with the activity
				authorized in this general permit, a final mitigation plan must be approved by
				the Agency. If the approved mitigation plan is the purchase of mitigation bank
				or in lieu fee credits, the credits must be purchased or in-lieu fees paid
				prior to proceeding.
3. When the
				purchase of mitigation credits is applicable, the Permittee shall provide
				verification to the Agency indicating the number and type of credits purchased
				and the specific federal mitigation bank from which credits have been
				purchased. When payment of in-lieu fees is applicable, evidence of fee payment
				shall be provided to the Agency. The above-described verification or
				notification shall be provided to the Agency before commencement of the
				activities authorized by this general permit.
4. If the general permit verification
				includes permittee-responsible mitigation, the mitigation plan shall address
				the components of a complete mitigation plan as described in Rule
				 62-331.130,
				F.A.C.
(j) Prior to the
				verification of projects pursuant to this general permit, the applicant (FDOT,
				FTE, FHWA, or others) shall provide the Agency with a copy of either a
				concurrence document (May Affect, Not Likely to Adversely Affect
				determinations) or a finalized biological opinion (for May Affect, Likely to
				Adversely Affect determinations) written by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
				(USFWS), These documents demonstrate that project consultation for federally
				listed species has been completed.
(k) No authorizations under this general
				permit shall be made for projects that jeopardize the continued existence of a
				threatened or endangered species or destroy or adversely modify designated
				critical habitat.
(l) No
				authorizations under this general permit shall be made for projects resulting
				in any direct, indirect, or cumulative effect on very rare species,
				specifically the endangered Perdido Key beach mouse, Choctawhatchee beach
				mouse, and the St. Andrew beach mouse.
(m) All terms and conditions provided by the
				USFWS and/or the FWC shall be included as a special condition of any projects
				verified under this general permit.
(n) This general permit does not authorize
				stream channelization or the bank-to-bank filling and relocating and/or
				culverting of more than 300 linear feet of perennial or intermittent natural
				stream systems. Ditches, canals, swales or other non-natural channelized
				systems are not included in this restriction. The authorized activities shall
				not increase flooding, or negatively impact the pre-project hydrologic flow
				characteristics or water quality of any affected stream. This permit does not
				authorize severance of connections to upstream or downstream waters.
(o) To the maximum extent practicable, the
				pre-construction course, condition, capacity, and location of open waters shall
				be maintained for each activity, including stream channelization and stormwater
				management activities, except as provided below. The activity shall be
				constructed to withstand expected high flows. The activity shall not restrict
				nor impede the passage of normal or high flows, unless the primary purpose of
				the activity is to impound water or manage high flows. The activity may alter
				the pre-construction course, condition, capacity, and location of open water if
				it benefits the aquatic environment (e.g., stream restoration or relocation
				activities).
(p) This general
				permit does not authorize fill activities which would sever hydrologic
				connection between wetlands or other surface waters.
(q) Best management practices for erosion and
				sediment control shall be used to prevent water quality violations during and
				after construction. These shall include a construction-phase stormwater
				management and erosion control plan that is designed and implemented to include
				site-specific measures adapted from practices and procedures described in "The
				State of Florida Erosion and Sediment Control Designer and Reviewer Manual,
				FDOT and FDEP" (June 2007), incorporated by reference in subparagraph
				 62-330.050(9)(b) 
				5., F.A.C. (
https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-02530
).
(r) Authorization under this general permit
				is void at any time if the information provided by the applicant in support of
				the permit application proves to have been false, incomplete, or
				inaccurate.
(s) The permittee shall
				comply with USFWS "Standard Protection Measures for the Eastern Indigo Snake"
				(Aug. 12, 2013), incorporated by reference herein (
https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-12076
).
(t) For projects accessible to manatees, the
				Permittee shall comply with the "Standard Manatee Conditions for In-Water Work"
				(2011), incorporated by reference in paragraph
				 62-331.201(4)(n),
				F.A.C.
(u) As-Built Certification.
				Within 60 days of completion of the work authorized by this permit, the
				Permittee shall submit to the Agency as-built drawings of the authorized work
				and a completed Form  62-331.248(1)"As-Built
				Certification By Professional Engineer", incorporated by reference herein
				(
https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-12077
).
				The as-built drawings shall be signed and sealed by a registered professional
				engineer and include the following:
1. A plan
				view drawing of the location of the authorized work footprint, as shown on the
				permit drawings, with transparent overlay of the work as constructed in the
				same scale as the permit drawings on 81/2-inch by 11-inch sheets. The plan
				view drawing should show all "earth disturbance, " including wetland impacts
				and water management structures.
2.
				A list of any deviations between the work authorized by this permit and the
				work as constructed. In the event that the completed work deviates, in any
				manner, from the authorized work, describe on the attached "As-Built
				Certification By Professional Engineer" form the deviations between the work
				authorized by this permit and the work as constructed. Clearly indicate on the
				as-built drawings any deviations that have been listed. Please note that the
				depiction and/or description of any deviations on the drawings and/or "As-Built
				Certification By Professional Engineer" form does not constitute approval of
				any deviations by the Agency.
3.
				Include the permit number on all sheets submitted.
Editor notes:
The effective date of the
				  rule will be the effective date of assumption, which is the date identified by
				  EPA as published in the Federal Register §
													373.4146,
				  F.S.