Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 56
By
Senator Sharief
35-00140-26 202656__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to residential impacts from mining
3 activities; providing a short title; amending s.
4 552.30, F.S.; providing legislative findings; defining
5 terms; providing that the Division of State Fire
6 Marshal retains sole and exclusive authority to adopt
7 standards, limits, and regulations for explosives used
8 for certain mining activities; authorizing the
9 delegation of such authority to specified entities;
10 providing maximum blasting limits for areas inside and
11 outside of residential protection zones; requiring
12 certain persons to monitor and record blast sites;
13 requiring such monitoring and recording to capture
14 certain information by instruments that are certified
15 annually; requiring raw and summary data for a blast
16 site to be posted on the division’s website and made
17 available to the public within a specified timeframe;
18 requiring such data to be retained for a specified
19 timeframe; requiring an operator to provide specific
20 notice of each blasting window to addressees within a
21 specified distance of the blast site; requiring the
22 operator and the local government to prominently
23 display links on their websites to direct residents to
24 register for such notice; requiring an operator to
25 post a monthly blasting schedule on the division’s
26 website; restricting blasting to specific days and
27 times; requiring an operator to fund a third-party
28 pre-blast survey upon request by certain persons;
29 requiring an operator to provide a post-blast survey
30 under certain circumstances; requiring a post-blast
31 survey vendor to be independent of the operator;
32 requiring the State Fire Marshal to carry out a
33 specific duty; authorizing local governments that
34 receive delegation to install and operate their own
35 seismographs; authorizing such local governments to
36 recover reasonable costs; providing civil and criminal
37 penalties for violations of the act; requiring the
38 State Fire Marshal to adopt rules within a specified
39 timeframe; amending s. 552.40, F.S.; revising the
40 administrative procedures and remedies for filing a
41 petition for alleged damage due to the use of
42 explosives in connection with construction materials;
43 removing and prohibiting a fee for filing a petition;
44 providing that the Division of Administrative Hearings
45 has exclusive jurisdiction over such claims; providing
46 that a prevailing petitioner is entitled to reasonable
47 attorney fees and costs; creating a rebuttable
48 presumption against an operator if certain information
49 is shown; providing that an operator may overcome the
50 presumption with clear and convincing evidence;
51 reenacting s. 552.38(1), F.S., relating to security
52 requirements to obtain a license to conduct
53 construction materials mining activities, to
54 incorporate the amendment made to s. 552.30, F.S., in
55 a reference thereto; providing an effective date.
56
57 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
58
59 Section 1.
This act may be cited as the “Residential
60
Blasting Safety and Transparency Act.”
61 Section 2. Section 552.30, Florida Statutes, is amended to
62 read:
63
(Substantial rewording of section.
64
See s. 552.30, F.S., for present text.)
65
552.30 Construction materials mining activities.—
66
(1) LEGISLAT
IVE FINDINGS.—The Legislature finds that
67
construction materials mining is vital to Florida’s
68
infrastructure but must be conducted in a manner that protects
69
nearby residences and critical facilities. Existing standards
70
reference the United States Bureau of Mines Report of
71
Investigations (RI) 8507 Structure Response and Damage Produced
72
by Ground Vibration From Surface Mine Blasting but do not fully
73
account for chronic impacts in dense urban settings. It is in
74
the public interest to adopt enhanced residential protections,
75
transparent monitoring, and timely notice.
76
(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the term:
77
(a) “Blast survey” means an inspection that documents the
78
existing conditions of nearby properties before an operator
79
performs explosive blasting.
80
(b) “Operator” means a person that uses explosives for
81
blasting.
82
(c) “Protected structure” means a residential structure,
83
school, hospital, nursing home, or critical utility location.
84
(d) “Residential protection zone” means an area within a 2
85
mile radius of a blast site, within which area protected
86
structures are located.
87
(e) “Root cause analysis” means a systematic process used
88
to identify the fundamental reasons for a blasting incident for
89
the purpose of preventing future incidents.
90
(3) STATE FIRE MARSHAL; AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding s.
91
552.25, the Division of State Fire Marshal retains sole and
92
exclusive authority to adopt standards, limits, and regulations
93
for explosives used for construction materials mining
94
activities. This section establishes minimum residential
95
protections that must be incorporated into rule and any permit.
96
Delegation to local governments for monitoring and enforcement
97
is authorized as provided in this section.
98
(4) RESIDENTIAL PROTECTION ZONES.—For a blast occurring
99
within 2 miles of a residential structure, school, hospital,
100
nursing home, or critical utility location, the following
101
maximum limits apply at the nearest protected structure not
102
owned by the permittee:
103
(a) For ground vibrations, the lesser of the following:
104
1. The RI 8507 frequency dependent limit.
105
2. Two-tenths of an inch per second for frequencies less
106
than 10 hertz.
107
3. Three-tenths of an inch per second for frequencies
108
between 10 and 40 hertz.
109
4. Five-tenths of an inch per second for frequencies
110
greater than 40 hertz.
111
(b) For air blasting, an impulse noise measuring less than
112
128 decibels when measured in accordance with ANSI S12.7 or its
113
successor standard.
114
(5) AREAS OUTSIDE RESIDENTIAL PROTECTION ZONES.—For areas
115
outside of a residential protection zone, the maximum limits
116
must conform to RI 8507, Appendix B or stricter limits that are
117
adopted by rule by the State Fire Marshal.
118
(6) MANDATORY INDEPENDENT MONITORING.—
119
(a) Each blast site must be monitored and recorded by:
120
1. One operator seismograph at the scaled distance nearest
121
protected structure; and
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2. At least one independent seismograph operated under a
123
contract with the State Fire Marshal or a local government
124
delegated by the State Fire Marshal, placed per rule for
125
orthogonal coverage.
126
(b) Monitoring and recording of the blast site must capture
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ground blast, frequency, waveform, and air blast using
128
instruments that are certified annually by the State Fire
129
Marshal.
130
(c) Raw and summary data for each blast must be posted on
131
the division’s website and made available to the public within
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48 hours after such blast. Such data must be retained for 5
133
years.
134
(7) PRE-BLAST NOTICE AND SCHEDULE.—
135
(a) An operator shall provide at least 72 hours’ advance
136
notice of each blasting window by e-mail or text message to all
137
addressees within the residential protection zone who register
138
to receive the notices. The operator and local government shall
139
prominently display links on their websites to direct residents
140
to register for such notification. An operator shall also post a
141
monthly blasting schedule on the division’s website to be
142
available to the public.
143
(b) Blasting may be conducted only Monday through Friday,
144
excluding legal holidays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., unless
145
otherwise authorized for safety.
146
(8) PRE-BLASTING AND POST-BLASTING SURVEYS.—
147
(a) An operator must fund a third-party pre-blast survey
148
upon request by any person who has a structure in a residential
149
protection zone.
150
(b) An operator must provide a post-blast survey upon a
151
timely filed claim made pursuant to s. 552.40. A survey vendor
152
conducting a post-blast survey shall be independent of the
153
operator.
154
(9) DELEGATION TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—The State Fire Marshal
155
shall provide a standard agreement for the delegation of
156
monitoring, fee collection, and enforcement to counties and
157
municipalities. Local governments that receive such delegation
158
may install and operate their own seismographs and recover
159
reasonable costs.
160
(10) VIOLATIONS; PENALTIES.—
161
(a) An operator whose blast exceeds the limits as set forth
162
in subsection (4) or subsection (5) commits a violation of this
163
section. Any such operator is liable for the costs to conduct a
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mandatory root cause analysis along with any corrective action
165
to correct the violation.
166
(b) If an operator commits more than 3 violations of
167
paragraph (a) within any rolling 12-month period, in addition to
168
any penalties in paragraph (a), the operator may be subject to a
169
30-day suspension from blasting as well as comply with all plan
170
approvals provided by the State Fire Marshal before resuming
171
blasting operations.
172
(c) An operator who knowingly falsifies monitoring data
173
commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in
174
s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
175
(11) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—The State Fire Marshal shall
176
adopt rules to implement and administer this section by January
177
1, 2027. Such rules may address, but need not be limited to,
178
instrumentation standards, data formats, penalties, and notice
179
templates.
180 Section 3. Subsections (1), (2), and (4) of section 552.40,
181 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
182 552.40 Administrative remedy for alleged damage due to the
183 use of explosives in connection with construction materials
184 mining activities.—
185 (1) A person may initiate an administrative proceeding to
186 recover damages resulting from the use of explosives in
187 connection with construction materials mining activities by
188 filing a petition with the Division of Administrative Hearings
189
by electronic means through the division’s website on a form
190
provided by it and accompanied by a filing fee of $100
within
1
191
year
180 days
after the
occurrence of the
alleged damage.
A
192
filing fee may not be imposed
If the petitioner submits an
193
affidavit stating that the petitioner’s annual income is less
194
than 150 percent of the applicable federal poverty guideline
195
published in the Federal Register by the United States
196
Department of Health and Human Services, the $100 filing fee
197
must be waived
.
198 (2)
The
Division
of Administrative Hearings has exclusive
199
jurisdiction over claims filed pursuant to this section. Claims
200
arising out of substantially similar blasts may be consolidated
201
for efficiency, and the prevailing petitioners are entitled to
202
reasonable attorney fees and costs
The petition must include:
203
(a) The name and address of the petitioner;
204
(b) The name and address of the respondent, including the
205
applicable user licenseholder under s. 552.091(5) and
206
permitholder under s. 552.30;
207
(c) The approximate time, date, and place of the use of
208
explosives which is alleged to have resulted in damage to the
209
petitioner; and
210
(d) A description of the damage caused and the amount
211
sought for recovery
.
212 (4)
If monitoring data show that a blast exceeded any limit
213
in s. 552.30(3)
or
(4) at or near the
petitioner’s
property
214
during the relevant period,
there is
a rebuttable presumption
215
that the blast proximately caused the claimed damage
.
T
he
216
operator may
overcome the presumption
by clear and convincing
217
evidence
The administrative judge shall issue an order directing
218
mediation under Rule 1700 et seq., Florida Rules of Civil
219
Procedure. The parties shall jointly select a mediator and the
220
location of mediation. If the parties fail to do so within 30
221
days after the order for mediation is issued, the administrative
222
law judge shall designate the mediator and the location of
223
mediation. Petitioner and respondent shall each pay one-half of
224
the cost of mediation. If the petitioner’s annual income is less
225
than 150 percent of the applicable federal poverty guideline
226
published in the Federal Register by the United States
227
Department of Health and Human Services, the respondent shall
228
bear the full cost of mediation. The mediation must be concluded
229
within 60 days after the date of designation of the mediator
230
unless the parties agree upon a different date
.
231 Section 4. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
232 made by this act to section 552.30, Florida Statutes, in a
233 reference thereto, subsection (1) of section 552.38, Florida
234 Statutes, is reenacted to read:
235 552.38 Security requirement.—
236 (1) As a prerequisite to obtaining or renewing a valid user
237 license as required by s. 552.091(5)(a), or obtaining or
238 renewing a valid license or permit under s. 552.30, a person who
239 uses explosives in connection with construction materials mining
240 activities must post and maintain a bond or letter of credit as
241 security as required under subsection (2). Evidence that the
242 bond has been posted and maintained in compliance with this
243 section must be maintained by any licensee or permitholder for
244 the use of explosives in connection with construction materials
245 mining activities as part of the mandatory record maintenance
246 requirements of s. 552.112. The person must maintain, in a
247 format approved by the Division of State Fire Marshal of the
248 Department of Financial Services, a completed form that shows
249 the amount and location of the bond or identifies the bond
250 surety and the current bond value.
251 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.