CITY OF SUNRISE, APPELLANT,
v.
SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT AND INDIAN TRACE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT, APPELLEES

Fla. 4th DCA | 1993-02-24
No. 92-0318
STONE and WARNER, JJ., and ROSS, DALE, Associate Judge, concur.
615 So. 2d 746 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1993) Positive Treatment
Cited by 5 cases

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Synopsis

The City of Sunrise appealed a water management district's grant of a consumptive use permit to Indian Trace Community Development District to withdraw water from the Floridian Aquifer. The court held that Sunrise lacked standing to challenge the permit because its claims were based solely on economic injury from competition and underutilized capacity, which do not fall within the zone of protection the permitting statute is designed to address.


Holding

Sunrise lacked standing because it failed to satisfy both prongs of the standing test: it did not demonstrate a substantial injury with sufficient immediacy, and competitive economic considerations do not fall within the zone of protection that the permitting statute is designed to address.


Headnotes

[1] Standing under the Administrative Procedure Act requires a showing that a substantial injury of sufficient immediacy exists and that the type of proceeding is designed to…

[2] Competitive economic considerations do not fall within the zone of protection that a water management district is authorized to consider when issuing a consumptive use pe…

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Key Quotes

“Standing requires a showing that a substantial injury of a sufficient immediacy exists and also that the type of proceeding is designed to protect against such an injury.”

Establishes the two-part test for standing under the Administrative Procedure Act

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Facts & Procedural History

Sunrise provides potable water from the Biscayne aquifer to the unincorporated area including Indian Trace and has significant bond obligations secure…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

The City of Sunrise appeals the final order of the South Florida Water Management District granting a consumptive use permit for withdrawing water from the Floridian Aquifer for Indian Trace Community Development District’s1 public water system. Sunrise currently provides potable water to the area of unincorporated Broward County that includes Indian Trace from the Biscayne aquifer. Sunrise provides the facilities, the infrastructure, and the staff to deliver water to its customers, and, as a result, has substantial bond obligations that the revenue therefrom is pledged to pay.

Indian Trace applied to the district for a water use permit to obtain water from a different water source, the Floridian Aquifer. The staff report of the District recommended approving the application. Sunrise opposed Indian Trace’s application and petitioned the District for formal proceedings and full party status. Both the District and Indian Trace challenged Sunrise’s request for standing. After argument, the hearing officer concluded that Sunrise lacked standing. The District adopted the findings of the hearing officer that Sunrise failed to show a substantial interest within the zone of protection of section 373.223, Florida Statutes, the permitting statute. Sometime during this period, Sunrise filed a lawsuit in circuit court arguing the same issues.

Sunrise alleges that it has standing because the proposed permit would result in duplication of facilities and service thereby increasing rates to all customers, including those of Indian Trace. The Administrative Procedure Act confers standing upon persons whose substantial interest will be affected by the proposed action. Chap. 120, Fla.Stat. Standing requires a showing that a substantial injury of a sufficient immediacy exists and also that the type of proceeding is designed to protect against such an injury. Town of Palm Beach v. Dep’t of Nat. Res., 577 So. 2d 1383 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991). The Appellant failed to satisfy both elements of this test. While Sunrise may suffer losses and its customers incur expenses due to economic competition and under utilized capacity, this does not satisfy the “immediacy” requirement. Competitive economic considerations do not fall within the zone of protection that the district is authorized to consider under Chapter 373, Florida Statutes. The permitting process contemplates addressing the problems of water supply, not economic injuries. It is undisputed that Sunrise’s only arguments are economic. Its claims were unrelated to the consumptive use permit for the Floridian Aquifer. The city makes no effort to establish a substantial environmental interest that might be affected by the District granting the consumptive use permit to Indian Trace. The cost to the customer is not a proper basis for granting standing. That is not to say that the city has no remedy for its claims. The Appellant recognizes that outside of this permitting process, the circuit court has jurisdiction to hear Sunrise’s arguments of duplication of facilities and economic injury to the public.

We have considered Osceola County v. St. Johns River Water Management District, 486 So. 2d 616 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986), aff'd, 504 So. 2d 385 (Fla.1987), and find it inapposite. While we only address the arguments furnished by Sunrise, we do not decide in advance whether standing depends on status and not the argument put forth.

STONE and WARNER, JJ., and ROSS, DALE, Associate Judge, concur. . Indian Trace Community Development District is the public body authorized to provide water to the community of Weston.


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Cited By

  • …he proposed activity. As the Department determined below, appellant’s economic injury is not the type of injury that the permitting proceeding under chapter 373 was designed to protect. In City of Sunrise v. South Florida Water Management District, 615 So. 2d 746, 747 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993), which also addressed permitting under chapter 373, the Fourth District noted that the appellant, which provided potable water to the area at issue, petitioned for formal proceedings after one of the appellees applied for a…
  • …njury. Id. It is well established that mere economic interests and the general interests of citizens are insufficient to establish standing. See Mid- Chattahoochee River Users, 948 So. 2d at 796-99; City of Sunrise v. S. Fla. Water Mgmt. Dist., 615 So. 2d 746, 748 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993). The reason, in part, is because we seek to “limit unwarranted use of judicial resources in challenges involving discretional decisions of legislative bodies.” Rosenzweig v. Dep’t of Transp., 979 So. 2d 1050, 1053 (Fla. 1st…

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