A. DUDA AND SONS, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
ST. JOHNS RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, APPELLEE
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Duda appeals an administrative order requiring it to obtain after-the-fact permits for enforcement ditches or restore impacted wetlands. The court affirms in part and reverses in part, remanding for proceedings consistent with a prior panel decision that invalidated the District's interpretation of the agricultural exemption under Florida's wetlands protection statute.
The court affirms the District's conclusion that Duda must restore impacted wetlands or apply for after-the-fact permits with respect to ditches impacting wetlands, as the agricultural exemption does not apply to activities impacting wetlands under section 403.927. However, the court reverses and remands to determine whether ditches not impacting wetlands qualify for the agricultural exemption, to be decided consistently with Duda I's correction of the District's statutory interpretation.
[1] A prior judicial interpretation of a statute invalidates subsequent administrative application of the statute based on the prior, incorrect interpretation.
[2] Agricultural activities that impede or divert the flow of surface waters, even incidentally, are not exempt from regulation if they impact wetlands.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Those provisions virtually eliminate the agricultural exemption as it applies to alterations impacting wetlands. Under section 403.927, agricultural activities that impede or divert the flow of surface waters even incidentally are not exempt from regulation if they impact wetlands.”
Establishes that the Warren S. Henderson Wetlands Protection Act eliminates the agricultural exemption when wetlands are impacted
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDuda constructed enforcement ditches on its property. The District's staff determined Duda did not qualify for the agricultural exemption and should o…
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A. Duda and Sons, Inc., (“Duda”), appeals from a final order of the St. Johns River Water Management District, (“District”), adopting the recommended order of an administrative law judge, (“ALJ”), of the Division of Administrative Hearings, who agreed with the District’s staff position that Duda should be required to apply for necessary after-the-fact permits for certain enforcement ditches. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for additional proceedings consistent with this opinion, and with our opinion in A. Duda, and Sons, Inc. v. St. Johns River Water Management District, 17 So.3d 738 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009) (“Duda I”).
The relevant factual history is explained in Duda I. In that case, Duda challenged the District’s rules and policies interpreting the agricultural exemption contained in section 373.406(2), Florida Statutes. The panel in Duda I agreed, in part, that the District had incorrectly interpreted the statute. In this case, the ALJ applied the now-invalidated statutory interpretation to determine that Duda did not qualify for the agricultural exemption. Accordingly, *623this matter must be remanded for additional fact-finding so that the agricultural exemption can be applied consistently with the statute as explained in Duda I. 1
However, Duda I did not address the interplay between section 373.406(2) and language from the Warren S. Henderson Wetlands Protection Act, chapter 84-79, Laws of Florida, now codified at sections 403.927(2) & (4)(a), Florida Statutes. Those provisions virtually eliminate the agricultural exemption as it applies to alterations impacting wetlands. Under section 403.927, agricultural activities that impede or divert the flow of surface waters even incidentally are not exempt from regulation if they impact wetlands. Id. In the order on appeal, the District found that Duda’s enforcement ditches impacted at least 500 acres of wetlands, a finding clearly supported by competent, substantial evidence. Accordingly, it appears that the District’s ultimate conclusion that Duda must either restore the impacted wetlands or apply for after-the-fact permits is correct at least with respect to that portion of the ditch system impacting wetlands.2
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART; REMANDED FOR ADDITIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
GRIFFIN, TORPY and LAWSON, JJ., concur.
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