Fifty-third Legislature                       Natural Resources, Energy and Water

Second Regular Session                                                  S.B. 1493

 

COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES, ENERGY AND WATER

SENATE AMENDMENTS TO S.B. 1493

(Reference to printed bill)

 


Page 16, line 9, after the period insert "Adoption and enactment of federal"

Strike lines 10 through 45

Page 17, strike lines 1 through 24, insert:

"For the purposes of this article and for establishing primacy for this state's dredge and fill permit program under 33 United States code section 1344, the following definitions are adopted and enacted as follows:

1.  "Compensatory mitigation" means the restoration (re-establishment or rehabilitation), establishment (creation), enhancement, and/or in certain circumstances preservation of aquatic resources for the purposes of offsetting unavoidable adverse impacts which remain after all appropriate and practicable avoidance and minimization has been achieved.

2.  "Dredged material" means material that is excavated or dredged from NAVIGABLE waters.

3.  "Fill material" means:

(a)  Except as specified in subdivision (b) of this definition, the term fill material means material placed in NAVIGABLE waters where the material has the effect of:

(i)  Replacing any portion of a NAVIGABLE water with dry land; or

(ii)  Changing the bottom elevation of any portion of a NAVIGABLE water.

(b)   Examples of such fill material include, but are not limited to: rock, sand, soil, clay, plastics, construction debris, wood chips, overburden from mining or other excavation activities, and materials used to create any structure or infrastructure in the NAVIGABLE waters.

(c)  The term fill material does not include trash or garbage.

4.  "General permit" means a permit authorizing a category of discharges of dredged or fill material under this article.  General permits are permits for categories of discharge which are similar in nature, will cause only minimal adverse environmental effects when performed separately, and will have only minimal cumulative adverse effect on the environment.

5.  "In-lieu fee program" means a program involving the restoration, establishment, enhancement, and/or preservation of aquatic resources through funds paid to a governmental or non-profit natural resources management entity to satisfy compensatory mitigation requirements for dredge and fill permits issued pursuant to this article. Similar to but distinct from a mitigation bank, an in-lieu fee program sells compensatory mitigation credits to permittees whose obligation to provide compensatory mitigation is then transferred to the in-lieu program sponsor. The operation and use of an in-lieu fee program are governed by an in-lieu fee program instrument.

6.  "Mitigation bank" means a site, or suite of sites, where resources (e.g., wetlands, streams, riparian areas) are restored, established, enhanced, and/or preserved for the purpose of providing compensatory mitigation for impacts authorized by dredge and fill permits issued pursuant to this article. In general, a mitigation bank sells compensatory mitigation credits to permittees whose obligation to provide compensatory mitigation is then transferred to the mitigation bank sponsor. The operation and use of a mitigation bank are governed by a mitigation banking instrument.

7.  "Party Affected by a Jurisdictional Determination" means a permit applicant, landowner, a lease, easement or option holder, or other individual who has an identifiable and substantial legal interest in the property (OR A PERSON ACTING WITH THE APPROVAL OF ANY OF THE FOREGOING) who has received an approved jurisdictional determination. 

8.  "Permittee-responsible mitigation" means an aquatic resource restoration, establishment, enhancement, and/or preservation activity undertaken by the permittee (or an authorized agent or contractor) to provide compensatory mitigation for which the permittee retains full responsibility.

9.  "Practicable" means available and capable of being done after taking into consideration cost, existing technology, and logistics in light of overall project purposes.

10.  "Wetlands" means those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas."

Page 17, lines 26 and 27, strike "; enforcement"

Page 18, line 7, after "including" insert "the"

Line 8, strike "1344" insert "1344(b)(1)"

Line 21, strike "is not allowed" insert "shall not be permitted"

Strike lines 29 through 36

Renumber to conform

Strike lines 43 and 44, insert:

"d.  Approved Jurisdictional determinations are appealable agency actions as defined by SECTION 41-1092 and may be appealed by a party affected by a jurisdictional determination.  Preliminary jurisdictional determinations are not appealable agency actions and nOTWITHSTANDING SECTION 41-1092.03, THE RIGHT TO APPEAL AN APPROVED JURISDICTIONAL DETERMINATION does not extend to adjacent landowners or to third parties that are not parties affected by a jurisdictional determination.

E.  On assuming authority to administer the permit program ESTABLISHED by 33 United States code section 1344, the DEPARTMENT shall:

1.  Recognize and adopt any existing approved jurisdictional determinations that were ORIGINALLY issued by the united States army CORPS OF engineers if the federal definition of navigable waters that is applicable in this state has not changed since the issuance of the APPROVED JURISDICTIONAL determinations.

2.  on request, renew approved jurisdictional determinations that WERE ORIGINALLY issued by the United States army CORPS of ENGINEERS ON the same terms as the ORIGINAL UNLESS:

(a)  Physical changes have occurred AFFECTING the determination that are likely to alter the jurisdictional status.

(b)  The federal DEFINITION of navigable waters that is applicable in this state has changed since the issuance of the APPROVED JURISDICTIONAL determinations.

(c)  Additional field data show that the ORIGINAL determination was based on inaccurate DATA and the new data warrant a revision to the ORIGINAL determination."

Reletter to conform

Page 19, line 6, strike "1344" insert "1334(b)(1)"

Amend title to conform


 

 

 

 

1493NREW

02/02/2018

10:21 AM

C: MR