Restore Florida Water Independence Act of 2026

For purposes of the Agency Action—

(1) the Biological Opinion is deemed to be compliant with, and compliance with the Biological Opinion is deemed to be compliance with, the requirements of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and

(2) no additional consultation under section 7(a) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)) is required.

In this section:

The term Agency Action —

(A) means the approval by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency of the request of the State of Florida for the assumption by the State of Florida of the administration and permitting of a State permit program under section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344), as described in the notice published by the Environmental Protection Agency titled EPA’s Approval of Florida’s Clean Water Act Section 404 Assumption Request (December 22, 2020; 85 Fed. Reg. 83553); and

(B) includes other activities.

The term Biological Opinion —

(A) means the programmatic biological opinion issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service titled Programmatic Biological Opinion for Environmental Protection Agency’s Approval of FDEP’s Assumption of the Administration of the Dredge and Fill Permitting Program under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (dated November 17, 2020; FWS Log #: 04E00000–2021–F–0001; 04E00000–2021–B–0001); and

(B) includes the incidental take statement described in pages 69 through 73 of the programmatic biological opinion.

The term other activities has the meaning given the term in the glossary of the Biological Opinion.