Environmental Permitting Program
 

The Environmental Permitting Program administers the Joint Coastal Permit (JCP) program, but not the Coastal Construction Control Line program. This program also regulates navigational dredging of deepwater ports and inlets under the Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) program or, if located in the panhandle, the Wetland Resource Permit (WRP) program. Through these programs, the Environmental Permitting Section reviews permit applications to make sure that any potential adverse impacts of the proposed projects have been avoided or minimized. Once a permit has been issued, the Section monitors the progress of the project to confirm that there have been no unacceptable impacts. 

• View Pending Applications, Recently Issued Permits, and Expired Permits

Joint Coastal Permitting

On October 13, 1995, the Department of Environmental Protection implemented section 161.055, of the Florida Statutes, initiating concurrent processing of applications for coastal construction permits, environmental resource permits, wetland resource (dredge and fill) permits, and sovereign submerged lands authorizations. These permits and authorizations, which were previously issued separately and by different state agencies, have now been consolidated into a "joint coastal permit" or JCP. The consolidation of these programs and the assignment of responsibility to a single bureau (DEP’s Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems) has eliminated the potential for conflict between permitting agencies and helped ensure that reviews are conducted in a timely manner. A copy of the permit application is forwarded to the United States Army Corps of Engineers for separate processing of the federal dredge and fill permit, if necessary.

A JCP i required for activities that meet all of the following criteria:

• Located on Florida’s natural sandy beaches facing the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida or associated inlets;
• Activities that extend seaward of the mean high water line;
• Activities that extend into sovereign submerged lands; and 
• Activities that are likely to affect the distribution of sand along the beach.

Activities that require a JCP include beach restoration or nourishment; construction of erosion control structures such as groins and breakwaters; public fishing piers; maintenance of inlets and inlet-related structures; and dredging of navigation channels that include disposal of dredged material onto the beach or in the nearshore area. 

• View JCP application form and Electronic Submittal Guidance document

Beach restoration and nourishment have been the main methods of managing beach erosion and maintaining beach habitat. However, the Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems also evaluates innovative technologies that might be more effective, less costly and less likely to cause adverse impacts. Applicants wishing to test a new technology (as an experimental JCP) are encouraged to schedule a pre-application consultation with Bureau staff to see if similar methods have already been tested, consider adverse impacts and discuss the theoretical potential to solve an erosion problem. Experimental projects require a reliable experimental test plan to determine the success or failure of the technology.

Environmental Resource Permitting 

The Environmental Permitting Section also implements a portion of the Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) program (or the Wetland Resource Permit program in the panhandle) for navigational dredging of deepwater ports and inlets. 

The ERP program ensures that such construction activities do not degrade water quality (such as through the loss of wetlands, improper in-water construction techniques, or discharge of inadequately treated water from dredged material disposal sites), or damage marine resources (including corals, seagrasses, mangroves or habitat for manatees or marine turtles).

• View ERP and WRP application forms

In addition to the regulatory (permit) programs discussed above, permission to use sovereign (state-owned) submerged lands is also addressed in the review process. The application for proprietary authorization to use these lands, in the form of a letter of consent, easement or lease, is reviewed and granted (or denied) at the same time the JCP, ERP or WRP application is reviewed and issued (or denied).

The processing procedures and criteria for issuance of a JCP, ERP and WRP are found in the following statutes and the rules adopted there under:

The Environmental Permitting Program regulates in-water beach projects, e.g., nourishment, groins, inlets, etc., through Joint Coastal Permits and port dredging projects through Environmental Resource Permits.

Staff Responsibilities (Click on names for e-mail addresses)