Act" (ch. 79-147, Laws of Florida). Neither process supersedes the other. 

 Instead, industries are given an option by the State to select which permit 

 method they choose to follow. The major difference between these two proce- 

 dures is the time and cost for obtaining a permit. 



Of the 17 permit programs outlined in the catalogue, 12 apply to the pro- 

 cedural methods for setting industrial permits. They include permits for the 

 following: dredge and fill, water quality, solid waste disposal, air quality, 

 water well use and drilling, public and private water supplies, power plant 

 construction, coastal construction setback, mined lands reclamations, open 

 burning, and protection of historic sites and properties. 



The new process is designed to take seven months from application to 

 final decision. Should any delays be requested, the hearing officer in charge 

 of that particular request will determine the validity of the request in 

 deciding whether to grant the delay. The Siting Act is also designed for the 

 applicant to submit all requests for permits to one central office, the 

 Department of Environmental Regulation (DER), which is the fastest way to 

 obtain the necessary permits. This causes the Siting Act to be commonly known 

 as "One-Stop Permitting." 



These two elements reflecting the time schedule differ considerably with 

 the "old method." Although the old method denotes certain schedule completion 

 requirements, the overall process often took up to several years for an 

 industry to obtain all the desired permits. This was primarily due to the 

 requirement that applicants submit requests for permits to several different 

 State agencies and wait for each individual permit process to be completed. 

 Sometimes, one permit process had to be completed before another permit could 

 be requested. 



Cost is another difference between these two optional processes. Minimal 

 fees are requested by the old method. Depending upon the number of permits 

 requested, the entire process would cost from $20 to approximately $200 or 

 more. "One-Stop Permitting," on the other hand, is more expensive. Fees for 

 this process range from $2,500 to $25,000. These fees are to be used to pay 

 for all costs incurred during review of the application. An expenditure and 

 balance statement is given to the applicant. These fees are determined during 

 a pre-appl ication process and vary according to the number of pennits that are 

 requested by a particular industry. 



The siting of power plants with a generating capacity of 50 megawatts 

 (MW) or more is regulated by the Florida Electrical Power Plant Siting Act 

 (ch. 403 F.S.). The Act was originally passed in 1973 to deal with the many 

 environmental impacts of electrical generating facilities. Siting licenses 

 are issued by the governor and cabinet and are the only license required under 

 State law for the construction and operation of these facilities. The applica- 

 tion and approval process requires extensive information on design, location, 

 and potential impacts of a proposed power plant. Studies and reports are 

 required from several State agencies, and hearings are conducted prior to 

 issuance of the license. 



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