| (iv) the permittee has notified FEMA, Region 6, Risk
Analysis Branch, of the proposed off-site compensation.
(C) Information required for off-site compensation.
Local governments shall require permittees to provide the following
information when proposing off-site compensation:
(i) the name, address, phone number, and electronic
mail address, if applicable, of the owner of the property where the
off-site compensation will be located;
(ii) a legal description of property intended to be
used for the proposed off-site compensation;
(iii) the source of sand and the dune vegetation;
(iv) all information regarding permits and certificates
issued for the restoration of dunes on the compensation site;
(v) all relevant information regarding the success,
current status, and stabilization of the dune restoration efforts
on the compensation site;
(vi) any increase in potential flood damage to the
site where the adverse effects on dunes and dune vegetation will occur
and to the public and private property adjacent to that site; and
(vii) the proposed date of initiation of the compensation.
Local governments shall include a condition in each permit authorizing
off-site compensation which requires permittees to notify local governments
in writing of the actual date of initiation within 10 working days
after compensation is initiated. If the permittee fails to begin compensation
on the date proposed in the application, the permittee shall provide
the local government with the reason for the delay. Local governments
shall take this reason into account when determining whether a permittee
has violated the compensation deadline.
(5) Compensation for adverse effects on dune vegetation.
Local governments shall require that permittees compensate for adverse
effects on dune vegetation by planting indigenous vegetation on the
affected dunes and shall consider the recommendations of the General
Land Office, federal and state natural resource agencies, and dune
vegetation experts. Local governments may allow a permittees to use
temporary sand fencing or another approved method of dune restoration.
Local governments shall prohibit a permittee from compensating for
adverse effects on dune vegetation by removing existing vegetation
from private or state-owned property unless the permittee has received
prior written permission from the property owner or the state. In
addition to the requirement that permission be obtained from the property
owner, all persons are prohibited from removing vegetation from a
critical dune area or seaward of a dune protection line unless specifically
authorized to do so in a dune protection permit. Local governments
shall include conditions in such permits requiring the permittee to
provide a copy of the written permission for vegetation removal and
to identify the source of any sand and vegetation which will be used
to compensate for adverse effects on dunes and dune vegetation in
the mitigation plan contained in the permit application.
(g) Mitigation or compensation deadline.
(1) Initiation of mitigation or compensation. Local
governments shall require permittees to begin mitigation or compensation
for any adverse effect(s) to dunes and dune vegetation prior to or
concurrent with the commencement of construction. If mitigation or
compensation is not completed in accordance with the mitigation or
compensation plan prior to commencement of construction of any structure,
the local government shall require that the permittee provide the
local government with proof of financial responsibility in an amount
equal to that necessary to complete the mitigation or compensation.
This can be done in the form of an irrevocable letter of credit, performance
bond, or any other instrument acceptable to the local government.
(2) Completion of mitigation or compensation. Local
governments shall require permittees to conduct compensation efforts
continuously until the repaired, rehabilitated, and restored dunes
and dune vegetation are equal or superior to the pre-existing dunes
and dune vegetation. These efforts shall include preservation and
maintenance pending completion of mitigation or compensation.
(3) Local government determination of completion of
mitigation or compensation. Local governments shall determine a mitigation
or compensation project is complete when the dune restoration project's
position, contour, volume, elevation, and vegetative cover matches
or exceeds the surrounding naturally formed dunes.
(4) General Land Office notification of mitigation
or compensation certification. Local governments shall provide written
notification to the General Land Office after determining that the
mitigation or compensation is complete as defined in paragraph (3)
of this subsection. The General Land Office may conduct a field inspection
to verify compliance with this subchapter. If the local government
does not receive an objection from the General Land Office regarding
the completion of mitigation or compensation within 30 working days
after the General Land Office is notified in writing, the local government
may certify that the mitigation or compensation is complete.
(5) Violation of mitigation or compensation deadline.
The General Land Office (GLO) recognizes that the time necessary to
restore dunes and dune vegetation varies with factors such as climate,
time of year, soil moisture, plant stability, and storm activity.
The permittee must complete the sand placement, and, if applicable,
the dune vegetation relocation or planting portions of the mitigation
or compensation plan within one year of initiation of construction.
The permittee shall be deemed to have failed to achieve mitigation
or compensation if a 1:1 ratio has not been achieved within three
years after initiation of construction, and the GLO may initiate enforcement
as provided in Section 15.9 of this title (relating to Enforcement,
Penalties and Remedial Orders).
|
| Source Note: The provisions of this §15.4 adopted to be effective February 17, 1993, 18 TexReg 661; amended to be effective April 16, 1996, 21 TexReg 3004; amended to be effective February 23, 2015, 40 TexReg 819; amended to be effective May 8, 2023, 48 TexReg 2343 |
