Florida Statute 376.305 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XXVIII
NATURAL RESOURCES; CONSERVATION, RECLAMATION, AND USE

Chapter 376
POLLUTANT DISCHARGE PREVENTION AND REMOVAL

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376.305 Removal of prohibited discharges.—

(1) Any person discharging a pollutant as prohibited by ss. 376.30-376.317 shall immediately undertake to contain, remove, and abate the discharge to the satisfaction of the department. However, such an undertaking to contain, remove, or abate a discharge shall not be deemed an admission of responsibility for the discharge by the person taking such action. Notwithstanding this requirement, the department may undertake the removal of the discharge and may contract and retain agents who shall operate under the direction of the department.

(2) If the person causing the discharge, or the person in charge of facilities at which the discharge has taken place, fails to act immediately, the department may arrange for the removal of the pollutant; except that, if the pollutant was discharged into or upon the navigable waters of the United States, the department shall act in accordance with the national contingency plan for removal of such pollutant as established pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, and the costs of removal incurred by the department shall be paid in accordance with the applicable provisions of that law. Federal funds provided under that act shall be used to the maximum extent possible prior to the expenditure of state funds.

(3) No action taken by any person to contain or remove a discharge, whether such action is taken voluntarily or at the request of the department or its designee, shall be construed as an admission of liability for the discharge.

(4) No person who, voluntarily or at the request of the department or its designee, renders assistance in containing or removing any pollutant shall be liable for any civil damages to third parties resulting solely from the acts or omissions of such person in rendering such assistance, except for acts or omissions amounting to gross negligence or willful misconduct.

(5) Nothing in ss. 376.30-376.317 shall affect the right of any person to render assistance in containing or removing any pollutant or any rights which that person may have against any third party whose acts or omissions in any way have caused or contributed to the discharge of the pollutant.

(6) The Legislature created the Abandoned Tank Restoration Program in response to the need to provide financial assistance for cleanup of sites that have abandoned petroleum storage systems. For purposes of this subsection, the term “abandoned petroleum storage system” means a petroleum storage system that has not stored petroleum products for consumption, use, or sale since March 1, 1990. The department shall establish the Abandoned Tank Restoration Program to facilitate the restoration of sites contaminated by abandoned petroleum storage systems.

(a) To be included in the program:

1. An application must be submitted to the department certifying that the system has not stored petroleum products for consumption, use, or sale at the facility since March 1, 1990.

2. The owner or operator of the petroleum storage system when it was in service must have ceased conducting business involving consumption, use, or sale of petroleum products at that facility on or before March 1, 1990.

3. The site is not otherwise eligible for the cleanup programs pursuant to s. 376.3072.

4. The site is not otherwise eligible for the Petroleum Cleanup Participation Program under s. 376.3071(13) based on any discharge reporting form received by the department before January 1, 1995, or a written report of contamination submitted to the department on or before December 31, 1998.

(b) In order to be eligible for the program, petroleum storage systems from which a discharge occurred must be closed pursuant to department rules before an eligibility determination. However, if the department determines that the owner of the facility cannot financially comply with the department’s petroleum storage system closure requirements and all other eligibility requirements are met, the petroleum storage system closure requirements shall be waived. The department shall take into consideration the owner’s net worth and the economic impact on the owner in making the determination of the owner’s financial ability.

(d) The following sites are excluded from eligibility:

1. Sites on property of the Federal Government;

2. Sites contaminated by pollutants that are not petroleum products; or

3. Sites where the department has been denied site access.

(e) Participating sites are subject to a deductible as determined by rule, not to exceed $10,000.

History.—s. 84, ch. 83-310; s. 13, ch. 86-159; s. 12, ch. 90-98; s. 13, ch. 91-305; s. 6, ch. 92-30; s. 2, ch. 94-311; s. 1016, ch. 95-148; s. 4, ch. 96-277; s. 60, ch. 2007-5; s. 7, ch. 2014-151; s. 8, ch. 2016-184.

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Amendments to 376.305

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 376.305

Total Results: 9 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

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Aramark Unif. & Apparel v. Easton, 894 So. 2d 20 (Fla. 2004).

Cited 37 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 29 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 551, 34 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20115, 2004 Fla. LEXIS 1743, 2004 WL 2251847

...s. In fact, many statutes grant private parties the right to sue for damages, while granting public agencies only the right to enjoin the unlawful conduct. [2] The DEP's powers are regulatory and concern the conduct of specific violators. See, e.g., § 376.305(2) Fla....

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Kaplan v. Peterson, 674 So. 2d 201 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996).

Cited 7 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 1996 WL 283690

...It also expressly prohibits discharge of pollutants into the soil or water, contrary to state standards, [7] which allegedly occurred in this case, and requires any person discharging pollutants to "immediately undertake to contain, remove, and abate the discharge to the department's satisfaction." § 376.305(1), Fla.Stat....

...renced in the pleadings. Additionally, there has been no new amendment to the sections cited since that time. [7] § 376.302, Fla.Stat. (1989). [8] See §§ 376.307 and 376.3071, Fla.Stat. (1989). [9] See § 376.05(4) and (5), Fla.Stat. (1989). [10] Section 376.305(1), Florida Statutes (1989) states: Any person discharging a pollutant as prohibited by ss....

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Suddath Van Lines v. Dept. of Envir. Prot., 668 So. 2d 209 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996).

Cited 4 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 1996 WL 12618

...for administrative hearing requesting that the Stevens Street premises be included in the program. The stipulated legal issue argued before the hearing officer was whether Suddath was eligible for participation in the ATRP under the provisions of subsection 376.305(7), Florida Statutes (Supp.1992), and Florida Administrative Code Rule 17-769.800(3). Subsection 376.305(7) states as follows: (7) The Legislature created the Abandoned Tank Restoration Program in response to the need to provide financial assistance for cleanup of sites that have abandoned petroleum storage systems....

...A more reasonable interpretation of Section 376.301(4), Florida Statutes (Supp. 1992), is that the proper measure for eligibility in the ATRP is not whether the facility contains UST's, AST's or both, but rather whether it is a "nonresidential location" which has been contaminated by one or more petroleum storage systems. § 376.305(7), Fla.Stat....

...It also firmly supports her finding that Suddath's Stevens Street facility continued in the business of storing petroleum products for consumption and use with the two AST's after March 1, 1990. Because fuel operations at the facility as a whole is the key to eligibility under subsection 376.305(7)(a)2., and rule 17-769.800(3)(a), and not the operation of one particular tank or petroleum storage system, the Secretary correctly denied Suddath's application for participation in the ATRP....

...To the contrary, the Department properly applied the facts of the case to the applicable law based on a permissible and reasonable interpretation of that law. *214 For the foregoing reasons, the final order under review is AFFIRMED. ALLEN and KAHN, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] § 376.305(7), Fla.Stat....

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Federated Mut. Ins. Co. v. Germany, 712 So. 2d 1245 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998).

Cited 2 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 1998 Fla. App. LEXIS 8022, 1998 WL 349496

...damages due to petroleum contamination from underground storage tanks. The complaint contained counts for common law waste, breach of a covenant not to commit waste, and violation of Chapter 376 due to the prohibited "discharge" of a pollutant. See § 376.305, .313, Fla....

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Kerper v. Dep't of Env't Prot., 894 So. 2d 1006 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 188, 2005 WL 74097

...sed oil; (3) the ALJ abused his discretion by admitting evidence of prior bad acts; (4) the ALJ abused his discretion by excluding one of Kerper's witnesses; (5) the DEP's "Corrective Actions for Contaminated Site Case" is an unpromulgated rule; (6) section 376.305, Florida Statutes is facially unconstitutional because it unlawfully delegates legislative authority to DEP; and (7) the ALJ and the DEP erred in refusing to award Kerper attorney's fees and costs.

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D'Alto v. State Dept. of Env't Prot., 860 So. 2d 1003 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003).

Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2003 Fla. App. LEXIS 16813, 2003 WL 22508283

...See, e.g., Florida Petroleum Liability and Restoration Insurance Program, ch. 89-188, § 5, at 779, Laws of Fla. (codified at § 376.3072, Fla. Stat. (1989)); Abandoned Tank Restoration Program, ch. 90-98, § 12, at 252, Laws of Fla. (current version at § 376.305(6), Fla....

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J.H. Williams Oil Co. v. Dep't of Env't Prot., 707 So. 2d 904 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1998).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1998 Fla. App. LEXIS 2130, 1998 WL 95340

...In its petition filed in 1997, Williams Oil contended it was entitled to an administrative hearing under section 120.57 because the Department had taken final agency action on the merits of the company’s request for reimbursement of environmental cleanup costs under Florida’s “Good Samaritan Statute.” See § 376.305(6), Fla....

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Z.K. Mart, Inc. v. State, Dep't of Env't Prot., 38 So. 3d 857 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010).

Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 8976, 2010 WL 2484413

...The appellant owned and operated a gas station where petroleum ground contamination was discovered. The contamination was reported to the appellee Department of Environmental Protection, and the appellant began cleanup activities as required under section 376.305, Florida Statutes....

...Among other options, the Department may choose to pursue an administrative remedy as it did in the present case, see section 403.121(2), Florida Statutes, or may file a civil action to enforce compliance, section 403.121(1)(b), or may itself arrange for the removal of the pollutant. See § 376.305(2), Fla....

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Ober v. Dep't of Env't Prot., 688 So. 2d 435 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1997).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1997 Fla. App. LEXIS 1802, 1997 WL 82116

...This was accomplished, and the contractor filed a closure report. According to the report four of the six tanks had multiple holes ranging from pin size to one inch in diameter. In January 1991, Ober applied for entry into the Abandoned Tank Restoration Program in accordance with section 376.305(7), Fla....

...On August 16,1991, the Department of Environmental Regulation 2 informed Ober that “the contamination related to the storage of ‘petroleum, products as defined in Section 376.301(1), Fla. Stat., at this site is eligible for reimbursement of allowable costs pursuant to Section 376.305(7), Fla....

...that have abandoned petroleum storage systems. The Department of Environmental Protection was authorized to establish the Abandoned Tank Restoration Program to facilitate the restoration of sites contaminated by abandoned petroleum storage systems. § 376.305(7), Fla....

This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.