Role of counties, municipalities, and local pollution control programs in permit processing; delegation.

(1) The department shall, by December 1, 1994, adopt rules to guide the participation of counties, municipalities, and local pollution control programs in an efficient, streamlined permitting system. Such rules must seek to increase governmental efficiency, maintain environmental standards, and include consideration of:

(a) Provisions under which the environmental resource permit program is delegated, upon approval of the department, only to a county, municipality, or local pollution control program that has the financial, technical, and administrative capabilities and desire to implement and enforce the program;

(b) Provisions under which a locally delegated permit program may have stricter environmental standards than state standards;

(c) Provisions for identifying and reconciling any duplicative permitting by January 1, 1995;

(d) Provisions for timely and cost-efficient notification by the reviewing agency of permit applications, and permit requirements, to counties, municipalities, local pollution control programs, the department, or water management districts, as appropriate;

(e) Provisions for ensuring the consistency of permit applications with local comprehensive plans;

(f) Provisions for the partial delegation of the environmental resource permit program to counties, municipalities, or local pollution control programs, and standards and criteria to be employed in the implementation of such delegation by counties, municipalities, and local pollution control programs;

(g) Special provisions under which the environmental resource permit program may be delegated to counties having populations of 75,000 or fewer, or municipalities with, or local pollution control programs serving, populations of 50,000 or fewer;

(h) Provisions for the applicability of chapter 120 to local government programs when the environmental resource permit program is delegated to counties, municipalities, or local pollution control programs; and

(i) Provisions for a local government to petition the Governor and Cabinet for review of a request for a delegation of authority that is not approved or denied within 1 year after being initiated.

(2) Any denial by the department of a local government’s request for a delegation of authority must provide specific detail of those statutory or rule provisions that were not satisfied. Such detail shall also include specific actions that can be taken in order to allow for the delegation of authority. A local government, upon being denied a request for a delegation of authority, may petition the Governor and Cabinet for a review of the request. The Governor and Cabinet may reverse the decision of the department and may provide any necessary conditions to allow the delegation of authority to occur.

(3) Delegation of authority shall be approved if the local government meets the requirements set forth in rule 62-344, Florida Administrative Code. This section does not require a local government to seek delegation of the environmental resource permit program.

(4) This section does not affect or modify land development regulations adopted by a local government to implement its comprehensive plan pursuant to chapter 163.

(5) The department shall review environmental resource permit applications for electrical distribution and transmission lines and other facilities related to the production, transmission, and distribution of electricity which are not certified under ss. 403.52-403.5365, the Florida Electric Transmission Line Siting Act, regulated under this part.