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The Department of Environmental Protection is the lead agency
responsible for coordinating the interagency review and
certification (licensing) under three "Siting
Acts", and provides assistance for one other. The
Siting Coordination Office
(SCO), in conjunction with the
Office of General Counsel (OGC), has been assigned by the
Department to perform the administrative and legal tasks of the
coordination process. However, the actual licensing entity
under these Acts is the Governor & Cabinet, not the Department
or the other lead agencies.
Certification is an umbrella permit for all affected state,
regional and local agencies, and includes any regulatory
activity which would be applicable under these agencies
regulations for the facility. Certification can also include
authorization to use or connect to lands or works of state
agencies. It is a life-of-the-facility approval, authorizing
construction, operation, and maintenance of the facility.
The SCO has one regulatory program it oversees and performs
compliances reviews upon --- the "Electric
& Magnetic Fields" program
dealing with certain transmission lines.
It also has a program under which guidance is given to County
Tax Appraisers dealing with
Pollution Control Equipment Tax issues.
The Siting Coordination Office is managed by
Mike Halpin, PE. Organizationally, the SCO
reports
directly
to the
Deputy Secretary for Regulatory Programs
Several federal agencies have Memorandums of Understanding (MOU's)
or Operating Agreements to cooperatively work with the Siting
Coordination Office.
For example, the
U.S. Department of Agricultural - Forestry Division and the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
each have
an
agreement with the State of Florida. |