STATE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION and BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT TRUST FUND

NOTICE OF CONSENT ORDER NO. 23-1326

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Board of Trustees of the Internal

Improvement Trust Fund give notice of agency action of entering into a Consent Order and Temporary Use Agreement (COTUA) with RIVIERA HARBOR MARINA, LLC, pursuant to Section 120.57(4), Florida Statutes. The COTUA provides: (i) regulatory authorization to conduct debris

and fill removal activities within the sovereign submerged lands of the Alligator Creek, adjacent to the upland real property located at 5600 Deltona Drive, Punta Gorda, FL 33950 (Charlotte County) and stabilization of the upland property shoreline once the required removal activities are completed; and (ii) temporary proprietary authorization for the use of sovereign submerged lands within Alligator Creek, a Class III Outstanding Florida waterbody of the state and designated aquatic preserve (Gasparilla Sound Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserve) upon which the commercial marina structures are or will be located. The COTUA is available for public inspection during normal business hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except legal holidays, at the Departments South District Office, 2295 Victoria Ave., Suite 364, Fort Myers, FL 33901.

Persons whose substantial interests are affected by this COTUA have a right to petition for an administrative hearing on the COTUA. The Petition must contain the information set forth

below and must be filed (received) in the Departments Office of General Counsel, 3900

Commonwealth Boulevard, MS-35, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000, or received via electronic correspondence at Agency_Clerk@floridadep.gov, within 21 days of receipt of this notice. A copy of the Petition must also be mailed at the time of filing to the District Office named above at the address indicated. The petition shall contain the following information:

(a) The Order number (23-1326) and the county (Charlotte) in which the subject matter or activity is located;

(b) The name, address, and telephone number of each petitioner;

(c) The name, address, telephone number, and email address of the petitioners representative (if any), which shall be the address for service purposes during the course of the proceeding;

(d) An explanation of how the petitioners substantial interests will be affected by the COTUA ;

(e) A statement of when and how the petitioner received notice of the COTUA;

(f) A statement of all material facts disputed by petitioner (if any);

(g) A statement of the specific facts the petitioner contends warrant reversal or modification of the COTUA;

(h) A statement of which rules or statutes the petitioner contends require reversal or modification of the COTUA; and

(i) A statement of the relief sought by the petitioner, stating precisely the action petitioner wishes the Department and/or the Board to take with

respect to the COTUA.

If a petition is filed, the administrative hearing process is designed to formulate agency action. Accordingly, the final action of the Department and the Board may be different from the position taken by them in this Notice. Persons whose substantial interests will be affected by any decision of the Department and the Board with regard to the subject COTUA have the right to petition to become a party to the proceeding. The petition must conform to the requirements specified above and be filed (received) within 21 days of receipt of this notice in the Office of General Counsel at the above

address of the Department. Failure to petition within the allowed time frame constitutes a waiver of any right such person has to request a hearing under Sections 120.569 and 120.57, Fla. Stat., and to participate as a party to this proceeding.

Any subsequent intervention will only be at the approval of the presiding officer upon petition filed pursuant to Rule 28-106.205, Fla. Admin. Code.

A person whose substantial interests are affected by the COTUA may file a timely petition for an administrative hearing under Sections 120.569 and 120.57, Fla. Stat., or may choose to pursue mediation as an alternative remedy under Section 120.573, Fla. Stat, before the deadline for filing a petition. Choosing mediation will not adversely affect the right to a hearing if mediation does not result in a settlement.

Publish: 12/24/23

297492 3914464