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Strategic Aggregates Review Task Force Meets To Review and Finalize Findings and Recommendations
The Strategic Aggregates Review Task Force will meet for the last time on January 29 - 31. The main purpose of this meeting will be to review and finalize the task force findings and recommendations. Many of the task force members believe that local government environmental regulations should be preempted, and that local governments should be preempted from considering environmental impacts in making land use determinations. There is also a perception that the Department of Environmental Protection handles environmental concerns, so that there should be no need for local governments to address local environmental concerns.
In a presentation to the task force and a follow-up letter, FAC explained that local wetland regulations are not duplicative of state regulations, in that local programs are often stricter in terms of unallowable impacts. Local programs tend to regulate small wetlands of 1/2 acre and under that go unregulated by the State, they require mitigation to remain in the community, and often deal with upland issues, such as habitat protection. Additionally, local wetland regulations have not been a source of controversy in mine siting. Rather, controversies sometimes arise during the rezoning process. Environmental preemption will not address local rezoning controversies.
FAC has suggested that there is a need for better growth management tools for local governments to use in planning for the availability of construction aggregate. Specifically, FAC has suggested either a DRI or sector planning process that is tailored to aggregate mining. Either of these concepts would go much further toward defusing local controversies over mine siting. Also, it is difficult to completely separate land use and environmental law. Impact to the environment is a common consideration in making land use determinations. Another unintended consequence of a broad environmental preemption is that counties such as Miami-Dade have comprehensive wellfield protection requirements that would become null and void. Drinking water issues have not been dealt with in detail by the task force.
FAC will be working with individual task force members in hopes that the task force will reach a fair and reasonable consensus at its last meeting. Its report to the Legislature is due February 20.