Mandatory Nonphosphate
Program Description
The Mandatory Nonphosphate program
administers the laws and regulations related to
the reclamation of mined land and the protection of water
resources (water quality, water quantity and wetlands) at
mines extracting
heavy
minerals,
fuller's earth,
limestone,
dolomite
& shell, gravel, sand, dirt, clay, peat, and other
solid resources (except phosphate). The section administers
two regulatory programs: Permitting and Reclamation.
Permitting Program: In the Northwest Florida Water
Management District a wetland resource permit will be
required for work in wetlands and surface waters that
connect to waters of the state, or that are owned by more
than one person. Elsewhere in the
state, the activity may
require
an environmental resource permit (ERP). The ERR
regulates activities in, on, or over, wetlands and other
surface waters. It regulates the creation or alteration of
water bodies, including old mine pits. It may also be
required for the creation of impervious areas, and for
certain projects exclusively in uplands. These permits focus
on how the activity will affect wetlands, water quality, and
water quantity. They also consider how changes to wetlands
affect wildlife.
Reclamation Program: Reclamation means the reasonable
rehabilitation of land where resource extraction has
occurred. Areas disturbed by mining operations, and subject
to the reclamation requirements, must be reclaimed after
mining is complete. Debris, litter, junk, worn-out or
unusable equipment or materials must be appropriately
disposed. The land must be recontoured and stabilized to
control erosion. Bare areas must be revegetated. Prior to
mining, the operator must provide a conceptual mining and
reclamation plan, or a reclamation notice.
Program Issues
- The Environmental
Resource Permit (ERP) is administered within the
Suwannee River Water Management District (40B), St.
Johns River Water Management District (40C), Southwest
Florida Water Management District (40D), and South
Florida Water Management District (40E). The new ERP
combines the regulatory authority of the water
management districts under the management and storage of
surface waters (MSSW) program with the regulatory
authority of the Department under the wetland resource
permit program. The Department adopted certain water
management district rules for use in this program. The
water management district rules begin with 40 and the
letter B, C, D, or E. When the ERP application will be
reviewed by the Department, please use the
Department form and the appropriate water
management district rules
adopted by the Department.
- Based on interagency agreements, an ERP application
for a mine will be processed either by the Department,
or the water management district. The water management
district will process the ERP application if the mine is
a borrow pit, and will not have on-site material grading
or sorting facilities. If the water management district
will review the application, it will use its own version
of the permit rules and forms. These can be obtained
from the water
management district.
- The wetland
resource permit program is in effect only in the
Florida panhandle (within the limits of the Northwest
Florida Water Management District), and for certain
activities that are grandfathered from the ERP. It
regulates any dredging, filling, or construction in, on,
or over waters and wetlands that are connected, either
naturally or artificially, to "named waters."
Named waters include the Gulf of Mexico, bays, bayous,
sounds, estuaries, lagoons, rivers, streams, and natural
lakes that are not wholly owned by one person other than
the state.
- The
Miami-Dade
Lake Belt Area encompasses 77.5 square miles of
environmentally sensitive land at the western edge of the
Miami-Dade County urban area. The wetlands and lakes of
the Lake Belt offer the potential to buffer the Everglades
from the potentially adverse impacts of urban development.
Rock mined from the Lake Belt supplies one-half of the
limestone used annually in Florida. In 1992, the Florida
Legislature recognized the importance of the Lake Belt
Area’s limestone resources to the state as well as the
need to sensitively plan for protection of the public
drinking water supply (Section 373.4149, F.S.). The
Legislature created the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Plan
Implementation Committee and directed it to develop a plan
which: (a) enhances the water supply for Miami-Dade County
and the Everglades; (b) maximizes efficient recovery of
limestone while promoting the social and economic welfare
of the community and protecting the environment; and (c)
educates various groups and the general public of the
benefits of the plan.
Information Circulars
Links
Mining and Minerals Regulation Home
2051 E. Dirac Drive (Collins Building) Tallahassee, FL 32310-3760 Phone
(850) 488-8217 Fax (850) 488-1254
