Definitions.

As used in ss. 403.9401-403.9425, the term:

(1) “Agency,” as the context requires, means an official, officer, commission, authority, council, committee, department, division, bureau, board, section, or other unit or entity of government, including a county, municipality, or other regional or local governmental entity.

(2) “Amendment” means a material change in information provided in the application made after the initial application filing.

(3) “Applicant” means any natural gas transmission pipeline company that applies for certification pursuant to ss. 403.9401-403.9425.

(4) “Application” means the documents required by the department to be filed by a natural gas transmission pipeline company to initiate the certification process.

(5) “Board” means the Governor and Cabinet sitting as the Natural Gas Transmission Pipeline Siting Board.

(6) “Certification” means the approval by the board of a corridor and of the construction and maintenance of a pipeline within that corridor with any changes or conditions that the board considers appropriate. Certification is evidenced by a written order of the board.

(7) “Commission” means the Florida Public Service Commission.

(8) “Complete” means that the applicant has addressed all applicable sections of the application, but does not mean that those sections are sufficient in comprehensiveness of data or in quality of information provided.

(9) “Corridor” means the area within which a natural gas transmission pipeline right-of-way is to be located.

(10) “Department” means the Department of Environmental Protection.

(11) “Federally delegated or approved permit program” means any environmental regulatory program delegated or approved by an agency of the Federal Government so as to authorize the department to administer the program and issue licenses.

(12) “License” means a franchise, permit, certification, registration, charter, comprehensive plan amendment, development order or permit as defined in chapter 163 or chapter 380, or similar form of authorization required by law, but it does not include a license required primarily for revenue purposes if issuance of the license is merely a ministerial act.

(13) “Local government” means a municipality or a county in the jurisdiction of which the project is proposed to be located.

(14) “Modification” means any change in a certification order after issuance, including a change in the conditions of certification.

(15) “Natural gas” means either natural gas in a gaseous state unmixed or a mixture of natural and artificial gas.

(16) “Natural gas transmission pipeline” or “pipeline” means the transmission pipeline and any related equipment, facility, or building used in the transportation of natural gas or its treatment or storage during the course of transportation. The term does not include a gathering line, but the term includes a transmission pipeline that transports gas from a gathering line or a storage facility to a distribution center or a storage facility or that operates at a hoop stress of 20 percent or more of specified minimum yield strength, as defined by federal law, or that transports gas within a storage field.

(17) “Natural gas transmission pipeline company” means a person engaged in the transportation, by natural gas transmission pipeline, of natural gas.

(18) “Natural gas transmission pipeline right-of-way” or “pipeline right-of-way” means land necessary for the construction and maintenance of a natural gas transmission pipeline.

(19) “Nonprocedural requirements of agencies” means an agency’s regulatory requirements established by statute, rule, ordinance, or comprehensive plan, excluding any provisions prescribing forms, fees, procedures, or time limits for the review or processing of information submitted to demonstrate compliance with those regulatory requirements.

(20) “Person” means an individual, partnership, joint venture, private or public corporation, association, firm, public service company, political subdivision, municipal corporation, government agency, public utility district, or any other entity, public or private, however organized.

(21) “Preliminary statement of issues” means a listing and explanation of those issues within the agency’s jurisdiction which are of major concern to the agency in relation to the proposed corridor.

(22) “Regional planning council” means a regional planning council created pursuant to chapter 186 in the jurisdiction of which the project is proposed to be located.

(23) “Sufficient” means that an application is not only complete but also that all sections are adequate in the comprehensiveness of data and the quality of information provided to enable the department to determine whether the application provides the reviewing agencies adequate information to prepare the reports required by s. 403.941.

(24) “Water management district” means a water management district created pursuant to chapter 373 in the jurisdiction of which the project is proposed to be located.