Florida Statutes
Chapter 376 - Pollutant Discharge Prevention and Removal
376.065 - Operation of Terminal Facility Without Discharge Prevention and Response Certificate Prohibited; Penalty.

(1) Every owner or operator of a terminal facility shall obtain a discharge prevention and response certificate issued by the department. Terminal facilities which are vessels, motor vehicles, rolling stock, pipelines, equipment, or other related appurtenances may, at the discretion of the owner or operator, be covered under the discharge prevention and response certificate of the terminal facility from which they are located or dispatched. A certificate shall be valid for 12 months after the date of issuance, subject to such terms and conditions as the department may determine are necessary to carry out the purposes of ss. 376.011-376.21.
(2) Each applicant for a discharge prevention and response certificate shall submit information, in a form satisfactory to the department, describing the following:
(a) The barrel or other measurement capacity of the terminal facility and the length of the largest vessel docking at or providing service from the terminal facility.
(b) All prevention, containment, and removal equipment, including, but not limited to, vehicles, vessels, pumps, skimmers, booms, chemicals, and communication devices to which the facility has access, whether through direct ownership or by contract or membership in an approved discharge cleanup organization.
(c) The terms of agreement and the operation plan of any discharge cleanup organization to which the owner or operator of the terminal facility belongs.

(3) No person shall operate or cause to be operated a terminal facility without access to minimum containment equipment measuring five times the length of the largest vessel docking at or the largest vessel providing service from the terminal facility, whichever is larger. The containment equipment and adequate numbers of trained personnel, as identified in the federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and related guidelines adopted thereunder, to operate the containment equipment shall be available to begin deployment on the water within 1 hour after discovery of the discharge. Within a reasonable time period, additional cleanup equipment and trained personnel shall be available, either through direct ownership or by contract or membership in an approved cleanup organization, to reasonably clean up 10,000 gallons of pollutants, unless the terminal facility does not have the capacity to store that quantity as fuel or cargo and does not service vessels having the capacity to carry that quantity as fuel or cargo. The department may impose less stringent requirements for marine fueling facilities. Cleanup or containment equipment purchased with state funds shall not count as required equipment under this section. The requirements of this section shall not apply to terminal facilities which store only motor fuel, ammonia, or chlorine, or service only motor fuel to vessels. For purposes of this subsection, “motor fuel” means gasoline, gasohol, and other mixtures of gasoline. The exemptions provided by this subsection do not eliminate any responsibilities arising from the discharge of a pollutant and for conducting remedial action as required by this chapter or chapter 403.
(4) Upon a showing of satisfactory containment and cleanup capability required by the department under this section, the applicant shall be issued a discharge prevention and response certificate covering the terminal facility and related appurtenances, including vessels as defined in s. 376.031.

(5)(a) A person who violates this section or the terms and requirements of such certification commits a noncriminal infraction. The civil penalty for any such infraction shall be $750, except as otherwise provided in this section.
(b) A person cited for an infraction under this section may:
1. Pay the civil penalty;
2. Post a bond equal to the amount of the applicable civil penalty; or
3. Sign and accept a citation indicating a promise to appear before the county court.
The department employee authorized to issue these citations may indicate on the citation the time and location of the scheduled hearing and shall indicate the applicable civil penalty.

(c) A person who willfully refuses to post bond or accept and sign a citation commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
(d) After compliance with subparagraph (b)2. or subparagraph (b)3., a person charged with a noncriminal infraction under this section may:
1. Pay the civil penalty, either by mail or in person, within 30 days after the date of receiving the citation; or
2. If the person has posted bond, forfeit the bond by not appearing at the designated time and location.
A person cited for an infraction under this section who pays the civil penalty or forfeits the bond has admitted the infraction and waives the right to a hearing on the issue of commission of the infraction. Such admission may not be used as evidence in any other proceedings.

(e) A person who elects to appear before the county court or who is required to so appear waives the limitations of the civil penalty specified in paragraph (a). The court, after a hearing, shall make a determination as to whether an infraction has been committed. If the commission of the infraction is proved, the court shall impose a civil penalty of $750.
(f) At a hearing under this subsection, the commission of a charged infraction must be proved by the greater weight of the evidence.
(g) A person who is found by the hearing official to have committed an infraction may appeal that finding to the circuit court.
(h) A person who has not posted bond and who fails either to pay the fine specified in paragraph (a) within 30 days after receipt of the citation or to appear before the court commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

History.—s. 13, ch. 90-54; s. 6, ch. 92-113; s. 2, ch. 96-263; s. 15, ch. 2012-88; s. 10, ch. 2020-158.

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