NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on February 23, 2007, the Department of Environmental Protection has issued an order.
The order grants a request for a variance or waiver pursuant to Section 120.542, F.S., to the petitioner, Steve Lewis Barton, in Indian River County. The petition was filed November 27, 2006, seeking a variance from or waiver to subsection 62B-33.013(3), F.A.C., which provides for one three-year time extension to complete activities permitted by the Department (IR-522 MI). The request was notice in the Florida Administrative Weekly, Vol. 32, No. 51, December 22, 2006. The date of the order is February 23, 2007.
The general basis for the agency's decision is as follows:
There are two requirements to obtain a variance from a rule under Section 120.542, F.S. First, a petitioner must demonstrate that the purpose of the underlying statute will be or has been achieved by other means. The petitioner has demonstrated that a time extension of the permit expiration date is consistent with the intent of the statute in that it allows DEP to authorize completion of the construction subject to the facts and circumstances surrounding the application. Therefore the general purpose of the underlying statute [Section 161.053, F.S.] would be achieved in granting a time extension, thereby, satisfying the first criteria for a variance. Second, a petitioner must demonstrate that application of the rule would create a substantial hardship or violate principles of fairness. The petitioner has demonstrated that the imposition of the time limit imposed by the subject rule results in a technical hardship, thereby, satisfying the second criteria for a variance.
A copy of the Order may be obtained by contacting: Rosaline Beckham, Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems, 3900 Commonwealth Boulevard, Mail Station 300, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000, (850)488-7815, or by e-mail at: rosaline.beckham@dep.state. fl.us.