CCCL and More Lawsuits
As the lawsuit over the ERP progresses, Kurt and I make application for the CCCL permit. This permit gives the property owner permission to construct their project past the Coastal Construction Control Line. It requires multiple studies by different departments of the FDEP for endangerment of and possible disruption to the wildlife and scrutiny of the actual construction method of the structure itself.
At this point I would like to mention that our area is monitored by the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC). The project was looked at by the FWC and they had several concerns about our project being in the area they considered to be an especially sensitive area. They provided a list of their concerns to the FDEP which was forwarded to us. We changed the location of the walkover, and we changed its specifications and addressed every concern the FWC had presented in total.
The FDEP contacted the FWC and informed them that every concern they presented had been reconciled by us.
In the CCCL permit application, Kurt and I were required to obtain a letter from the Town stating our project did not interfere with the Town's Codes. The Town not only refused to give us the letter, they would not even answer our request until they were pressured into responding.
The Town was of the opinion that if they refused to give us the letter required in the permit application for the CCCL, we could not conform to the requirement and would not be able to complete the application.
The FDEP realized our dilemma created by the Town, so the FDEP issued us a waiver for the document. The Town and Florida Audubon filed another lawsuit to block the issuance of the waiver.
I want to point out here how unreasonable the Town and Florida Audubon have been through this process. The waiver the FDEP issued did not waive the need for the letter from the Town, it only changed the timing. The waiver clearly stated that the letter would have to be supplied to the FDEP before the CCCL permit could be issued. The letter would still be a requirement, only not as part of the application. It would still be required before the CCCL permit could be issued.
This was explained to the Town and Florida Audubon. They still refused to listen and continued with the lawsuit to block the waiver. It made no sense, when Kurt and I would ultimately have to provide the letter. This is not the only time the Town and Florida Audubon will ignore the FDEP.
The FDEP could not figure out what the Town and Florida Audubon did not understand about the waiver, so the FDEP continues to process our CCCL permit without the letter from the Town.
The FDEP completes our application and issues another "intent to permit" for the CCCL. The Town and the Florida Audubon immediately file additional lawsuits to block the CCCL. This lawsuit was unnecessary also because Kurt and I could not get the final CCCL permit unless we met the requirements of the previously issued waiver.
I hope you are beginning to see how your tax dollars are working for you. As this story progresses, you will also see how our town appears to be pandering to the special interest of the Florida Audubon and see how they are spending our tax dollars to support the Florida Audubon's interests.
ALJ Consolidated Order page 46 RO#160 The walkover meets every condition proposed by FDEP and FWC