Various provisions of the environmental regulatory permits and Development Order documents provide for the modification of the meeting, monitoring and reporting requirements associated with the authorization of the extension of the phosphogypsum stack in Riverview, Florida. The Program Modifications identified below are consistent with these provisions and are provided pursuant to the Amended and Restated Consolidated Development Order for DRI 242 (Resolution # R00-111), hereinafter referred to as the Development Order.
Section IV. Specific Condition A.21 of the Development Order provides that "monitoring and maintenance must continue until all EPC permit release criteria have been successfully met, at which time a certificate of completion will be issued." In correspondence dated October 11, 2012 the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) determined "the mitigation actions have been satisfactorily completed for both the North and South Wetland Creation areas, for the EPC". Due to the young age of the trees installed as part of the Alternative Mitigation Plan, the EPC requested monitoring of the tree planting areas continue for another year within these areas, i.e. the banks of Archie Creek including the North Mitigation Area berm and the Southwest Wedge Area. EPC staff conducted a compliance inspection December 11, 2013, and in correspondence dated December 17, 2013, concluded "the mitigation actions have been satisfactorily completed for the supplemental tree plantings located along the banks of the relocated Archie Creek as well as the Southwest Wedge Wetland Area."
Mitigation Area Inspections |
As a result of a field inspection with representatives from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection March 12, 2013, the Department agreed to the release of the mitigation areas from further monitoring and reporting contingent upon maintenance being continued until the documented eradication of the localized nuisance exotic vegetation, particularly in the South Mitigation Area. It was also acknowledged monitoring and maintenance would continue for an additional year for the tree planting areas along the bank areas of Archie Creek. In correspondence dated July 22, 2014 the Florida Department of Environmental Protection concluded the "mitigation areas have established the required coverage and exhibit acceptable growth rates" and approved discontinuation of mitigation area monitoring.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Division also "determined the conditions of the permit have been met for the mitigation areas" and released the project from further monitoring reporting in a letter dated September 10, 2014. According to the release conditions stated within the letter "mitigation and wetland areas must be maintained in perpetuity, including, but not limited to exotic and nuisance vegetation treatment and removal."
Section IV. Specific Condition B.2 of the Development Order states Mosaic will meet with the Restoration Reviewing Agencies representatives "for a period of ten (10) years from the date of permit issuance". The effective date of the Development Order was June 30, 2000 and Restoration Reviewing Agencies (RRA) meetings have taken place annually uninterrupted since the fall of 2004. The requirement for the Annual RRA meetings has been met and the meetings were discontinued beginning with the Fall 2013 Development Order Year. Meetings with the respective agencies will be scheduled and conducted upon request.
During the September 19, 2012 Annual RRA meeting it was agreed the continued collection of the water level data recorded by data loggers within the mitigation and restoration areas would be reviewed and a revised monitoring program would be proposed based on a review of the accumulated data. A review of seven years of water level data indicates a redundancy in the data and an established and predictable trend based on rainfall and, in the case of Northwest Parcels, tidal influence. As a result of this evaluation, the collection of water level data within the mitigation and restoration areas has been terminated and the data loggers have been removed.
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