Florida Solid and Hazardous Waste Regulation Handbook: State Agencies
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Florida Solid and Hazardous Waste Regulation Handbook: State Agencies

   

Florida Solid and Hazardous Waste Regulation Handbook: State Agencies1

Michael T. Olexa, Aaron Leviten, and Kelly Samek2

Four state agencies are primarily involved in solid and hazardous waste management and pollution control:

  1. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

  2. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS).

  3. Department of Health (DOH).

  4. Department of Community Affairs (DCA).

What Does the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Do?

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) was created by the Florida Environmental Reorganization Act of 1993. DEP was formed by a merger of the Department of Environmental Regulation (DER) and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). This merger became effective July 1, 1993. Few changes have been made to the regulations. Most of DEP's responsibility for waste management was transferred from the former DER. A few responsibilities were under the former jurisdiction of DNR. In July of 1999, a few sections of DEP were merged with the Game and Fish Commission to become the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

DEP's primary responsibility is to coordinate the protection and management of the environment and natural resources, and to do so in a timely, cost-efficient manner. Although this includes numerous duties, only those relevant to waste management issues are discussed here. These include:

An important function of DEP (which was transferred from DNR) was the authority to control noxious aquatic weeds. Farmers attempting to control aquatic weeds or algae under a program approved by DEP (or in the case of mosquito control, a program approved by DOH) should check to be certain they are exempt from other statutory mandates which require that they discharge no wastes into Florida waters.

DEP is headed by a Secretary appointed by the Governor. Reporting to the Secretary is the Chief of Staff who oversees External Affairs (including the Ombudsman, Communications, and Environmental Education), the Division of Law Enforcement, the Everglades Restudy, Legislative and Governmental Affairs, the Inspector General, and the General Counsel.

The main DEP programs are divided into three categories--Regulatory Programs, Land and Recreation, and Planning and Management--each of which are headed by a Deputy Secretary. Under Regulatory Programs falls the Division of Water Resource Management, the Division of Air Resource Management, the Division of Waste Management, the Siting Coordination Office, and the six District Offices. Land and Recreation includes the Division of State Lands, the Division of Recreation and Parks, the Office of Greenways and Trails, the Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas, and Cabinet Affairs. Finally, Planning and Management is responsible for the Division of Resource Assessment and Management, the Division of Administrative Services, and the Office of Strategic Projects and Planning.

While the Water Management Districts (WMD) are largely autonomous, DEP maintains a measure of oversight regarding their policy. The Florida Environmental Reorganization Act of 1993 provided for increased cooperation between DEP and WMDs by consolidating dredge-and-fill permits, Management and Storage of Surface Waters (MSSW) permits, and mangrove alteration permits into a single permit known as the Environmental Resource Permit (ERP).

In addition, DEP has delegated the regulation of certain open burning activities to DACS through the Division of Forestry.

What Does the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) Do?

The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) carries out functions related to farming practices and products. Responsibilities include:

DACS is divided into 12 divisions. The relevant divisions are:

What Does the Department of Health (DOH) Do?

The Department of Health (DOH) can prepare 3 types of documents for the communities near hazardous waste sites: Public Health Assessments, Health Consultations, and Exposure Investigations. The DOH does not make or enforce regulations pertaining to hazardous waste.

What Does the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Do?

The Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is responsible for a few diverse aspects of waste management. The relevant divisions of DCA are:

Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to the personnel of both state and federal agencies who gave their time and advice in the preparation of this handbook. The authors are also indebted to the following University of Florida personnel for a review and critique of the first draft of this publication: Dr. Thomas Dean, Pesticide Education Specialist, and Dr. Norman Nesheim, Pesticide Information Coordinator. Special recognition is also due to Mr. Richard Budell of the Office of Agricultural Water Policy of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for providing funds for the development of this handbook.

This handbook is designed to provide an accurate, current, and authoritative summary of the principal Florida laws that directly or indirectly relate to agriculture. It should provide a basic overview of the many rights and responsibilities farmers and farmland owners have under Florida laws. The reader is provided information about these rights and responsibilities and the appropriate contacts for more detailed information. However, the reader should be aware that because the laws, administrative rulings, and court decisions on which this publication is based are subject to constant revision, portions of this publication could become outdated at any time. Many details of cited laws are also left out due to space limitations.

This handbook is distributed with the understanding that the authors are not engaged in rendering legal or other professional advice and the information contained herein should not be regarded or relied upon as a substitute for professional advice. It is not all-inclusive in providing information to achieve compliance with laws and regulations governing the practice of agriculture. For these reasons, the use of these materials by any person constitutes an agreement to hold harmless the authors, UF/IFAS, the Agricultural Law Center, and the University of Florida for any liability claims, damages, or expenses that may be incurred by any person as a result of reference to or reliance upon the information contained in this publication.

Footnotes

1. This is EDIS document FE464, a publication of the Department of Food and Resource Economics, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, UF/IFAS, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Published December 2003. Please visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2. Michael T. Olexa, Professor in the Department of Food and Resource Economics and Director of the Agricultural Law Center, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, UF/IFAS, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, and Member of the Florida Bar and Chair of the Agricultural Law Committee of the Florida Bar; Aaron Leviten, Attorney in Orlando and guest lecturer on pesticide litigation at the University of Florida; and Kelly Samek, 2003 graduate of the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.


Copyright Information

This document is copyrighted by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) for the people of the State of Florida. UF/IFAS retains all rights under all conventions, but permits free reproduction by all agents and offices of the Cooperative Extension Service and the people of the State of Florida. Permission is granted to others to use these materials in part or in full for educational purposes, provided that full credit is given to the UF/IFAS, citing the publication, its source, and date of publication.