Section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act prohibits disposing of dredged and fill materials into the waters of the United States (WOTUS) absent a permit or statutory exception. Often, development in wetlands requires a dredge and fill permit under the Clean Water Act. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the agency authorized to grant such permits unless a state assumes this responsibility as provided under the same statute. In 2005, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) explored assumption of §404 permitting resulting in a report to the Florida legislature finding the department could not assume this responsibility due to inadequate state staff and funds. Despite significant reductions in staff and funding since then, FDEP’s current position is that the department can assume this responsibility without adding to its budget due to duplicative permitting of wetlands development under state statutes. The State of Florida submitted its assumption package to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on 20 August 2020. If approved by the EPA, Florida will be only the third state to assume §404 permitting authority from the Corps of Engineers. The action is not without controversy and is mostly opposed by those in the environmental protection community. A new federal rule defining WOTUS effective 22 June 2020, further complicates §404 assumption for any state.

联邦《清洁水法》第404条禁止在未获得许可或法定例外的情况下，将挖出的泥沙和填充材料丢弃到美国（WOTUS）的水域中。通常，根据《清洁水法》，在湿地进行开发需要疏通和填充许可证。美国陆军工程兵团是获得授权的机构，除非州承担同一法规规定的责任。2005年，佛罗里达州环境保护局（FDEP）探索了§404许可的假设，并向佛罗里达州立法机关提交了一份报告，发现该部门由于州工作人员和资金不足而无法承担这一责任。尽管此后人员和资金大量减少，但FDEP当前的职位是该部门可以由于根据州法规重复许可湿地开发，因此无需增加预算即可承担此责任。佛罗里达州已于2020年8月20日向美国环境保护署（EPA）提交了其设想方案。如果得到EPA的批准，佛罗里达州将是仅接受工程师团§404许可授权的第三个州。这项行动并非没有争议，在环保界普遍遭到反对。定义WOTUS的新联邦法规将于2020年6月22日生效，这进一步加剧了任何州的404条假设。