(1) The following described area in Manatee County is hereby designated by the Legislature for inclusion in the aquatic preserve system under the Florida Aquatic Preserve Act of 1975. Such area, to be known as the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve, shall be included in the aquatic preserve system and shall include the following described real property: Begin at a point 165 feet north of the southwest corner of the northwest quarter of Section 12, Township 33 South, Range 17 East, Manatee County, thence run west to the mean high-water line of Tampa Bay, said point being the point of beginning. From said point of beginning, run northwesterly into the waters of Tampa Bay and parallel to the Port Manatee ship channel to the Manatee-Hillsborough county line; thence run southwest along the Manatee-Hillsborough county line to its intersection with the Intracoastal Waterway; thence run south-southwesterly along the Intracoastal Waterway to a point on a line connecting the westernmost tip of Snead Island (Manatee County) to the southernmost tip of Mullet Key (Pinellas County); thence run southeasterly along said line to the westernmost tip of Snead Island (also known as Emerson Point); thence run in a northeasterly direction along the mean high-water line of Tampa Bay, Terra Ceia Bay, where the mean high water line intersects the north line of U.S. Government Lot 4, Section 16, Township 34 South, Range 17 East; thence east along the said north line of U.S. Government Lot 4 and the easterly extension thereof a distance of 1,111 feet more or less to the mean high water line at a seawall; thence meander in a northwesterly, westerly, northerly direction along the seawall of a canal; thence in a northeasterly direction along the mean high water line of Miguel Bay, Joe Bay, and Bishop Harbor to the point of beginning, including tidal waters of all tributaries; less all privately titled submerged lands and uplands.
(2) Wastewater or effluent discharge activities from an existing stationary facility or existing stationary installation which has been approved pursuant to state law or federal law or for which facility or installation an application has been filed before June 24, 1984, are exempt from the requirements of this chapter.
(3) No further dredging or filling of the submerged lands of the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve shall be approved or tolerated by the board except:(a) Such minimum dredging and spoiling as may be authorized for public navigation projects or for such minimum dredging and spoiling as may be constituted as a public necessity.
(b) Such other alteration of physical conditions, including the placement of riprap, as may be necessary to enhance the quality and utility of the preserve.
(c) Such dredging as is necessary for the purpose of eliminating conditions hazardous to the public health or for the purpose of eliminating stagnant waters, islands, and spoil banks, the dredging of which would enhance the aesthetic and environmental quality and utility of the preserve and be clearly in the public interest as determined by the board.
(d) Such minimum dredging and filling as may be authorized for the creation and maintenance of marinas, public boat ramps, piers, and docks and their attendant navigation channels and access roads. Such projects may be authorized only upon a specific finding by the board that there is assurance that the project will be constructed and operated in a manner that will not adversely affect the water quality and utility of the preserve. This paragraph may not be construed to authorize the connection of upland canals to the waters of the preserve.
Any dredging and filling pursuant to paragraph (a), paragraph (b), or paragraph (c) shall be approved by the board only after public notice as provided in s. 253.115.
