In 2018, Florida's Legislature passed a bill that gave DEP authority to begin the public rulemaking process to better protect the state's wetlands and surface waters by assuming the federal dredge and fill permitting program under section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act within certain waters.

FWC provides state-listed species and habitat reviews for the State 404 Program, as well as for Florida’s Environmental Resource Program. For the State 404 Program, FWC and the USFWS collaborate on their reviews for listed species (fish and wildlife) regarding additional information or questions, as well as potential avoidance and ...

2024年4月12日 · Attorneys for 404 permit applicants caught in “regulatory limbo” echoed Florida's request — now denied — to advance permits with no impacts to threatened species. A federal judge issued a motion Friday denying Florida's request for a partial exemption of his recent ruling revoking Florida’s authority of the federal wetlands permitting program.

2024年5月30日 · On December 17, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the State of Florida is the first state in more than 25 years to apply for and receive approval to implement a Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 program, joining Michigan and New Jersey as the only states in the country with such authority.

To eliminate redundancy and streamline reviews, the State 404 Program rules and this Handbook reference existing ERP rules and Handbook sections wherever possible. Projects within state-assumed waters that are not otherwise exempt from permitting will require both a State 404 Program authorization and an ERP authorization.

2024年5月15日 · The Florida Department of Environmental Protection looks forward to making its case on appeal to defend the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of Florida’s 404 Permitting Program and overturn the lower court’s legal errors.

2024年5月3日 · The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has vacated the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) approval of Florida’s application to assume permitting under section 404 of the Clean Water Act (section 404). While not setting aside issued permits, the ruling applies to all pending and future permit applications for activities in ...

2024年9月6日 · The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia granted Florida’s request for expedited proceedings in consolidated cases regarding its assumption of jurisdiction under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. This expedited schedule comes as the first good news for Florida since the District Court vacated its assumption program and sent ...

On February 15, 2024, a federal court in the District of Columbia issued a ruling formally vacating the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) December 2020 decision to allow the state of Florida to assume permitting authority for section 404 of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”).

2024年3月4日 · Essentially, by simplifying the permitting process under Section 404, Florida created an end-run around heightened requirements in the Endangered Species Act. Therefore, the court vacated the EPA’s 2021 decision to give Florida permitting powers.