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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to mitigation banks; amending s. 2
373.4136, F.S.; revising provisions for the release 3
and use of mitigation bank credits; providing 4
conditions for the use of out-of-service-area 5
mitigation credits; providing a methodology for 6
determining the award of such credits; authorizing 7
alternative credit release schedules; requiring 8
mitigation banks to submit specified accountings to 9
the Department of Environ mental Protection or water 10
management district; requiring the department or water 11
management district to submit specified annual reports 12
to the Legislature; amending s. 704.06, F.S.; 13
requiring certain water management districts, upon 14
application by the own er of a parcel subject to a 15
conservation easement, to release the conservation 16
easement if specified conditions are met; providing 17
for the valuation of the property upon such release; 18
authorizing land released from the conservation 19
easement to be used for development consistent with 20
certain zoning; providing an effective date. 21
22
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 23
24
Section 1. Subsections (5) and (6) of section 373.4136, 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 26
373.4136 Establishment and operation of mitigation banks. — 27
(5) SCHEDULE FOR CREDIT RELEASE. —After July 1, 2025, when 28
issuing awarding mitigation credits to a mitigation bank permit, 29
the department or the water management district shall adhere to 30
the credit release schedul e set forth in this subsection a 31
schedule for the release of those credits awarded by in the 32
mitigation bank permit. A mitigation credit that has been 33
released may be sold or used to offset adverse impacts from an 34
activity regulated under this part. 35
(a) Thirty percent of awarded credits shall be released 36
for the recordation of the conservation easement and 37
establishment of financial assurances required by the mitigation 38
bank permit. If a preservation -only assessment area is used, 100 39
percent of awarded cr edits shall be released for the recordation 40
of the conservation easement and establishment of financial 41
assurances required by the mitigation bank permit The department 42
or the water management district shall allow a portion of the 43
mitigation credits awarde d to a mitigation bank to be released 44
for sale or use prior to meeting all of the performance criteria 45
specified in the mitigation bank permit. The department or the 46
water management district shall allow release of all of a 47
mitigation bank's awarded mitiga tion credits only after the bank 48
meets the mitigation success criteria specified in the permit . 49
(b) Thirty percent of awarded credits shall be released 50
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following completion of initial construction activities as 51
established by the mitigation bank permit. 52
(c) Twenty percent of awarded credits shall be released in 53
increments as monitoring indicates interim performance criteria 54
established by the mitigation bank permit are being met. 55
(d) Twenty percent of awarded credits shall be released 56
upon meeting final success criteria established by the 57
mitigation bank permit. 58
(e) A permit applicant may propose an alternative credit 59
release schedule and the department or water management district 60
shall consider the proposed alternative credit release schedule 61
The number of credits and schedule for release shall be 62
determined by the department or water management district based 63
upon the performance criteria for the mitigation bank and the 64
success criteria for each mitigation activity. The release 65
schedule for a speci fic mitigation bank or phase thereof shall 66
be related to the actions required to implement the bank, such 67
as site protection, site preparation, earthwork, removal of 68
wastes, planting, removal or control of nuisance and exotic 69
species, installation of struc tures, and annual monitoring and 70
management requirements for success. In determining the specific 71
release schedule for a bank, the department or water management 72
district shall consider, at a minimum, the following factors: 73
1. Whether the mitigation cons ists solely of preservation 74
or includes other types of mitigation. 75
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2. The length of time anticipated to be required before a 76
determination of success can be achieved. 77
3. The ecological value to be gained from each action 78
required to implement the bank. 79
4. The financial expenditure required for each action to 80
implement the bank. 81
(f)(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, 82
a mitigation no credit may not shall be released for freshwater 83
wetland creation until the success criteria established included 84
in the mitigation bank permit for initial construction 85
activities are met. 86
(g)(d) The withdrawal of mitigation credits from a 87
mitigation bank shall be accomplished as a minor modification of 88
the mitigation bank permit. A processing f ee is not shall not be 89
required by the department or water management district for this 90
minor modification. 91
(6) MITIGATION SERVICE AREA. —The department or water 92
management district shall establish a mitigation service area 93
for each mitigation bank permit . The department or water 94
management district shall notify and consider comments received 95
on the proposed mitigation service area from each local 96
government within the proposed mitigation service area. Except 97
as provided in this section herein, mitigation credits may be 98
withdrawn and used only to offset adverse impacts in the 99
mitigation service area. The boundaries of the mitigation 100
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service area shall depend upon the geographic area where the 101
mitigation bank could reasonably be expected to offset adverse 102
impacts. Mitigation service areas may overlap, and mitigation 103
service areas for two or more mitigation banks may be approved 104
for a regional watershed. 105
(a) In determining the boundaries of the mitigation 106
service area, the department or the water management district 107
shall consider the characteristics, size, and location of the 108
mitigation bank and, at a minimum, the extent to which the 109
mitigation bank: 110
1. Contributes to a regional integrated ecological 111
network; 112
2. Will significantly enhance the water quali ty or 113
restoration of an offsite receiving water body that is 114
designated as an Outstanding Florida Water, a Wild and Scenic 115
River, an aquatic preserve, a water body designated in a plan 116
approved pursuant to the Surface Water Improvement and 117
Management Act, or a nationally designated estuarine preserve; 118
3. Will provide for the long -term viability of endangered 119
or threatened species or species of special concern; 120
4. Is consistent with the objectives of a regional 121
management plan adopted or endorsed by the department or water 122
management districts; and 123
5. Can reasonably be expected to offset specific types of 124
wetland impacts within a specific geographic area. A mitigation 125
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bank need not be able to offset all expected impacts within its 126
service area. 127
(b) The department and water management districts shall 128
use regional watersheds to guide the establishment of mitigation 129
service areas. Drainage basins established pursuant to s. 130
373.414(8) may be used as regional watersheds when they are 131
established based on th e hydrological or ecological 132
characteristics of the basin. A mitigation service area may 133
extend beyond the regional watershed in which the bank is 134
located into all or part of other regional watersheds when the 135
mitigation bank has the ability to offset adve rse impacts 136
outside that regional watershed. Similarly, a mitigation service 137
area may be smaller than the regional watershed in which the 138
mitigation bank is located when adverse impacts throughout the 139
regional watershed cannot reasonably be expected to be offset by 140
the mitigation bank because of local ecological or hydrological 141
conditions. 142
(c) Once a mitigation bank service area has been 143
established by the department or a water management district for 144
a mitigation bank, such mitigation bank shall be deeme d to 145
implement a plan that provides regional ecological value; such 146
service area shall be accepted by all water management 147
districts, local governments, and the department ; and the use of 148
credits from such mitigation bank to offset impacts within that 149
bank's service area shall be considered to have met the 150
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cumulative impact requirements of s. 373.414(8)(a) . 151
(d) If the requirements in s. 373.414(1)(b) and (8) are 152
met, the following projects or activities regulated under this 153
part shall be eligible to use credits released from a mitigation 154
bank to offset impacts resulting from such projects or 155
activities a mitigation bank, regardless of whether they are 156
located within the mitigation service area : 157
1. Projects with adverse impacts partially located within 158
the mitigation service area. 159
2. Linear projects, such as roadways, transmission lines, 160
distribution lines, pipelines, railways, or seaports listed in 161
s. 311.09(1). 162
3. Projects with total adverse impacts of less than 1 acre 163
in size. 164
4. Projects that me et the requirements of s. 373.414(1)(b) 165
and the criteria in paragraphs (e) -(g). 166
(e) If the requirements of s. 373.414(1)(a) are met and an 167
insufficient number or type of credits from banks whose 168
permitted service area overlays in whole or in part the reg ional 169
watershed in which the impacts occur, the project applicant is 170
entitled to a one-time use of credits released from a mitigation 171
bank outside the mitigation bank service area to offset impacts 172
pursuant to s. 373.414(1)(b), as established by the proced ure in 173
paragraph (g), and upon verification by the department or water 174
management district that mitigation banks within the regional 175
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watershed in which the adverse impacts are located lack the 176
appropriate credit type to offset impacts associated with the 177
proposed project. If the number of released credits within a 178
mitigation service area only partially offset the impacts 179
associated with a proposed project in the mitigation service 180
area, the permit applicant may only use out -of-service-area 181
credits to account for the difference between the released 182
credits available in the mitigation bank service area and the 183
credits required to offset the impacts associated with the 184
proposed project. In implementing this subsection, the 185
department and water management distri cts shall apply a 186
proximity factor to determine adequate compensatory mitigation 187
as follows: 188
1. A 1.0 multiplier shall be applied for use of in -kind 189
credits within any regional watershed overlain in whole or in 190
part by the bank service area. 191
2. A 1.0 multiplier shall be applied for use of in -kind 192
and out-of-service-area credits if the bank service area 193
overlays part of the same regional watershed as the proposed 194
impacts. 195
3. A 1.2 multiplier shall be applied for use of in -kind 196
and out-of-service-area credits located within a regional 197
watershed immediately adjacent to the regional watershed 198
overlain by a bank service area in which the proposed impacts 199
are located. 200
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4. An additional 0.25 multiplier shall be applied for each 201
additional regional watershed boundary crossed if in-kind 202
credits are not available to offset impacts in the regional 203
watershed immediately adjacent to the regional watershed 204
overlain by a bank service area in which the proposed impacts 205
are located, as established by the procedure in p aragraph (g). 206
5. An additional 0.50 multiplier shall be applied after 207
any multipliers required in subparagraphs 1. -4., if the 208
mitigation used to offset impacts entails out -of-kind 209
replacement which does not replace the same type of freshwater 210
wetland or fresh surface water impacted. 211
(f) Use of the multipliers in subparagraphs (e)2. -4. meets 212
the requirements of s. 373.414(8)(a) for addressing cumulative 213
impacts. 214
(g) Once a permit applicant requests to use out -of-kind or 215
out-of-service-area credits, the department or water management 216
district shall contact all mitigation banks with a mitigation 217
service area encompassing the location of the proposed impacts 218
within 3 business days after receipt of the request from the 219
permit applicant and request an accoun ting of available credits. 220
The accounting may not include credits reserved for other permit 221
applicants. The mitigation banks contacted by the department or 222
water management district shall be allowed 15 business days to 223
reply after receipt of the request by the department or water 224
management district. If a mitigation bank does not reply within 225
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the 15-business-day timeframe, it is presumed credits are not 226
available. Upon receipt of the accounting from the mitigation 227
banks, the department or water management d istrict shall 228
determine if sufficient credits are available to offset impacts 229
associated with the proposed project and notify the permit 230
applicant of such determination within 15 business days. The 231
permit applicant, and no other entity, may rely on the 232
determination from the department or water management district 233
for a period of 1 year beginning on the date the department or 234
water management district notifies the permit applicant of such 235
determination, but only for purposes relating to the pending 236
application producing such determination and not for any 237
extensions, renewals, or modifications of any permit issued 238
pursuant to the pending application or any other permit 239
application. 240
(h) Beginning July 1, 2026, and each July 1 thereafter, 241
each mitigation bank in this state shall submit to the 242
department or water management district an accounting of the 243
number and type of credits the mitigation has available for 244
sale. The accounting may not include names of parties for which 245
credits have been reserved or the co ntract price paid for the 246
credits. The department or water management district shall 247
compile the information to provide an assessment of this state's 248
mitigation banking system and submit a report to the President 249
of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on 250
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October 1, 2026, and each October 1 thereafter. 251
Section 2. Subsection (14) is added to section 704.06, 252
Florida Statutes, to read: 253
704.06 Conservation easements; creation; acquisition; 254
enforcement.— 255
(14)(a) Upon application by the fee simple owner of a 256
parcel of land subject to a conservation easement to a water 257
management district, a water management district shall release 258
the conservation easement if the following conditions are met: 259
1. The land subject to the easement is le ss than 15 acres 260
and is bordered on three or more sides by impervious surfaces; 261
2. Any undeveloped adjacent parcels of land are less than 262
15 acres and similarly bordered on three or more sides by 263
impervious surfaces; 264
3. The land contains no historical, architectural, 265
archeological, or cultural significance; and 266
4. Before the release of the conservation easement, the 267
applicant must have secured sufficient mitigation credits using 268
the uniform mitigation assessment method from a mitigation bank 269
located in this state to offset the loss of wetlands located on 270
the land subject to the conservation easement. 271
(b) Upon the water management district's release of the 272
conservation easement, the ad valorem taxes on the property 273
shall be based on the just value of the property, and the 274
property may be used for development consistent with the zoning 275
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designation of the adjacent lands. 276
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 277