Describe the work before citing an exemption
Section 403.813 addresses several different shoreline activities. Restoration of an existing seawall, work in a manmade canal, and a new wall connecting existing walls are not interchangeable descriptions. Give the reviewer the existing condition, proposed alignment, dimensions and related fill.
An exemption answers a specific permit question
Identify the provision
Record the exact statutory or rule provision being relied on, along with its conditions. “No permit needed” is too broad to review.
Show how the work fits
Use the existing and proposed wet faces, repair limits and backfill on a drawing. A job description alone may miss a controlling detail.
List the remaining reviews
Keep local, federal, submerged-land and applicable coastal requirements visible. One exemption does not cancel every other obligation.
2026 Florida Statutes, section 403.813 · Official DEP document containing rule 62-330.051 exemption text
What does the 18-inch reference describe?
The seawall restoration provision in section 403.813(1)(e) addresses the previous location, an upland location, or a location within 18 inches waterward. The implementing repair rule measures from the existing wet face to the restored wet face. Applicable Chapter 161 requirements remain separate.
Treat the dimension as a conditional part of the rule, not a blanket right to add fill or move a wall. Use surveyed plans rather than estimating from a cap edge.
2026 Florida Statutes, section 403.813 · Official DEP document containing rule 62-330.051 exemption text
Check the purpose and extent of backfill
Rule 62-330.051 distinguishes restoration after a discrete event from repair with directly associated minimal backfill. Land reclamation cannot be the primary purpose of the repair exemption. Ask the project designer to show the affected area and explain how the proposed scope fits the applicable provision.
Official DEP document containing rule 62-330.051 exemption text
A canal provision does not cover every lagoon edge
The artificial-waterway provision restricts vertical walls in estuaries and lagoons to certain existing manmade canals already partly or wholly lined with vertical seawalls. An open-lagoon shoreline needs its own analysis. Conditions involving navigation, water quality and flood control also matter.
Recheck the route when the design changes
From restoration to a different footprint
An initial discussion may concern restoring a wall in its existing position. A later design could move it toward the water or introduce more fill. Compare that revision with the exact conditions used in the earlier exemption analysis.
Keep the old and new plan revisions together and identify the changed dimension or activity. The designer and reviewing agency can then address the actual change instead of relying on the original label “repair.”
2026 Florida Statutes, section 403.813 · Official DEP document containing rule 62-330.051 exemption text
Keep the determination with your plans
Florida law says a local government may not require further DEP verification from a person claiming the statutory exemption. You may still ask the agency to clarify an uncertain scope. Do not confuse a useful voluntary written answer with a universal legal requirement to obtain an exemption letter.
- Record the provision and facts being relied on.
- Keep the proposed dimensions and fill limits with the file.
- Confirm remaining local, submerged-land and federal obligations.
- Recheck the route if the design changes.
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- 2026 Florida Statutes, section 403.813Source reviewed 2026-10-26
- Official DEP document containing rule 62-330.051 exemption textSource reviewed 2026-10-26 · official indexed text