When the Environmental Resource Permit rules were adopted in October 1994, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) was divided into 134 drainage basins. This was substantially more than the number of basins adopted by other water management districts.

     Pursuant to subsection 373.414(8)(a), Fla. Stat.; “The governing board or the department, in deciding whether to grant or deny a permit for an activity regulated under this part shall consider the cumulative impacts upon surface water and wetlands … within the same drainage basin …” Subsection 373.414(8)(b), Fla. Stat. goes on to state: “If the applicant proposes mitigation with the same drainage basin as the adverse impacts to be mitigated, and if the mitigation offsets these adverse impacts, the governing board and department shall consider the regulated activity to meet the cumulative impact requirements of paragraph (a).”

     As a practical matter, because the SFWMD has 134 drainage basins, most offsite mitigation proposals trigger the need for a cumulative impact analysis. This is true even though many of the drainage basins were delineated based on canals and ditches, rather than ecological relationships to natural systems.

     The SFWMD initiated rulemaking to amend its cumulative impact rule and drainage basins from 134 to 38 basins. These larger basins are based on more naturally occurring watersheds. This reduction in basins will result in regulatory streamlining. The use of basins based on natural watersheds rather than ditches and canals, will also support the goal of no loss of wetland functions. The rules must now be considered at a rule adoption hearing.