The Intergovernmental Coordination and Review Program is the South Florida Regional Planning Council’s response to the need, identified by the Executive Offices of the U.S. and Florida governments, to review and comment on requests for grants and permits from various government agencies on a regional level. The program was initiated by Executive Order No. 12372 signed by President Reagan in 1982, and given direction in Florida by Executive Order No. 83-150 signed by Governor Graham in 1983. The South Florida Regional Planning Council coordinates its review with the State Clearinghouse, located in the Department of Community Affairs, various permit granting agencies, the applicants, and effected local jurisdictions.
The reviews fall into three broad categories:
- grant applications to federal agencies;
- and construction permit applications to the Department of Environmental Protection, the South Florida Water Management District, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers;
- opportunity to comment on proposed plans and projects.
Each application is reviewed for consistency with the Strategic Regional Policy Plan for South Florida. Additionally, projects in the second category above which require a federal permit may be reviewed for consistency with Florida’s Coastal Management Program (FCMP). The federal consistency process is an additional test of a permit application’s consistency with the Council’s plan, should the plan fail to enumerate specific goals and policies related to the permit, or if review is requested either by FCMP staff or the effected local jurisdiction.