Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 62-330.600 - General Permit for the Construction of Artificial Reefs

(1) A general permit is provided for the construction of an artificial reef by any person, provided:

(a) The material to be used shall be clean concrete or rock, clean steel boat hulls, other clean, heavy gauge steel products with a thickness of 1/4 inch or greater, and prefabricated structures that are a mixture of clean concrete and heavy gauge steel;

(b) The material shall be free of soils, oils and greases, debris, litter, putrescible substances or other pollutants;

(c) The material shall be firmly anchored to the bottom and shall not be indiscriminately dumped; and,

(d) The material shall be placed so that the top of the reef does not exceed 1/2 the distance from the bottom to the surface of the water unless a greater distance from the surface is required for safe navigation. At no time shall the distance between the top of the reef and the surface of the water be less than 6 feet.

(2) This general permit shall be subject to the following specific conditions:

(a) The permittee shall conduct a survey of the bottom of the waterbody on which the reef is to be built and shall submit the survey to the Agency with the notice required in Rule 62-330.402, F.A.C., demonstrating that the bottom does not have submerged grassbed communities, shellfish or other hardbottom communities, or corals;

(b) There shall be no reefs constructed in bays, lagoons, or estuaries that are less than 12 feet deep;

(c) There shall be no "white goods" (inoperative and discarded refrigerators, freezers, ranges, water heaters, washers, and other similar domestic and commercial appliances), asphalt material, tires, other polluting materials used in construction of the reef;

(d) The site shall be marked with perimeter buoys during construction to ensure that no material is deposited outside of the site;

(e) The size of the boundaries within which the artificial reef is to be deposited shall not exceed 1/4 nautical mile on any side;

(f) The artificial reef site shall not be established within any shipping lanes; and,

(g) The permittee shall notify the National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Rockville, Maryland, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Division of Marine Fisheries Management, via email at artificialreefdeployments@myfwc.com of the precise location of the reef within 30 days of placement of the reef material.

Notes

Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 62-330.600

Rulemaking Authority 373.026(7), 373.043, 373.118(1), 373.406(5), 373.413 1, 373.414(9), 373.418, 403.805(1) FS. Law Implemented 373.118(1), 373.406(5), 373.413, 373.4131, 373.414(9), 373.416, 373.418, 403.814(1) FS.

New 10-3-95, Formerly 62-341.600, Amended 10-1-13.

New 10-3-95, Formerly 62-341.600, Amended 10-1-13.