# Can you clear wetlands on your property in Florida?

> When Florida needs an Environmental Resource Permit to clear in or near wetlands, who issues it in Brevard and how to check your lot. Call before you clear.

URL: https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/guide/clearing-near-wetlands/

The state permit thresholds, who handles a single house lot in Brevard, how a wetland is actually determined, canal and buffer limits, and the farm exemption that does not help a house lot.

Last Updated: October 31, 2026 · Written by Flatwood Land Clearing Palm Bay

Sometimes, but not without a permit. Under Florida’s Environmental Resource Permit rule, any project in, on or over a wetland or other surface water needs a permit from the St. Johns River Water Management District or the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, regardless of size. Unavoidable impacts usually need mitigation. Clearing upland next to a wetland is a different matter, governed by local buffers.

[Flatwood Land Clearing Palm Bay](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/) provides [clearing and grubbing](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/clearing-and-grubbing/) across Palm Bay and south Brevard, where wet ground is the rule rather than the exception. This guide covers what triggers the state permit, how to find out whether a lot has wetland, and what limits apply next to one.

**In short**

- Work in, on or over wetlands needs an Environmental Resource Permit on its own, whatever the project size.
- Projects also need one above 9,000 square feet of impervious surface, 4,000 square feet of it under vehicle traffic, or five acres of total project area.
- In Brevard, a single house lot usually goes to Florida DEP unless it sits in a District-permitted subdivision.
- A hydric soil rating flags a lot for a closer look. Only a formal determination settles where the wetland line is.
- Agricultural exemptions do not cover clearing for a house.

## The state permit thresholds

The thresholds come from Rule 62-330.020(2) of the Florida Administrative Code. An Environmental Resource Permit is required for any of these:

| Trigger | Threshold |
| --- | --- |
| Wetlands or other surface waters | Any project in, on or over them |
| Impervious area under vehicle traffic | More than 4,000 square feet |
| Total impervious or semi-impervious area | More than 9,000 square feet |
| Total project area | More than five acres |
| Larger common plan | Any project that is part of a larger common plan of development or sale |

The first line is the one that matters most for clearing. A typical Palm Bay house and driveway falls well under the size thresholds, but clearing or filling inside a wetland has no size threshold at all. Removing wetland vegetation, grubbing it out or mulching it in place is work in the wetland, and so is the fill that usually follows, as [clearing a lot to build a house](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/guide/clearing-a-lot-to-build-a-house/) explains.

A second state permit applies to the disturbance itself. Construction that disturbs an acre or more, or less if it is part of a larger common plan, needs coverage under Florida DEP’s construction stormwater generic permit, with a pollution prevention plan in place before the notice of intent is filed. [Erosion control after land clearing](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/guide/erosion-control-after-land-clearing/) covers what that plan asks for on site.

## Who reviews a lot in Brevard

The St. Johns River Water Management District covers Brevard County and shares environmental permitting with Florida DEP under an operating agreement. For an individual home, the split is specific: the District handles a single-family home only when it is inside a subdivision the District permitted, and otherwise the review usually goes to DEP. Many Palm Bay lots sit in Port Malabar units platted decades ago, so which agency reviews a given lot is confirmed per address.

## How to find out whether a lot has wetland

Much of Palm Bay looks wet for part of the year, and that is not the same as being a wetland. Clipped to city limits, the USDA soil survey shows about half the mapped soil rated hydric and about 90 percent poorly or very poorly drained. In EauGallie sand, the most common soil in the city, the wet layer sits about 12 inches down from June through November and about four feet down in April and May. So the same lot can look bone dry in spring and hold water after an August storm.

| Place | Hydric-rated share | Poorly or very poorly drained |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Palm Bay | about 50% | about 90% |
| Malabar | about 20% | about 65% |
| Grant-Valkaria | about 33% | about 76% |
| West Melbourne | about 35% | about 92% |
| [Melbourne](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/service-areas/melbourne/) | about 23% | about 57% |
| [Sebastian](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/service-areas/sebastian/) | about 29% | about 76% |

A hydric rating marks soil that formed under wet conditions. It flags a lot for a closer look; it does not prove the lot holds a wetland, and a lot on a drier map unit can still hold a wet depression. The District’s wetland guidance lists the ways to narrow it down:

- Online maps: Florida DEP’s Map Direct and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wetlands Inventory mapper.
- The county property appraiser’s records.
- An informal determination from DEP.
- A consultant’s assessment.
- A formal determination from the agency, valid for five years.

Only the formal determination settles where the line is. A formal determination looks at what grows there, what the soil shows and the signs water leaves behind, which is why the vegetation itself matters. Plants that only grow with their roots wet are evidence, so clearing them before the determination removes part of the record the agency would look at, and can turn a question into a violation.

## Building on a lot that has wetland

Having a wetland on a lot does not automatically make it unbuildable. The District’s guidance is that impacts must first be avoided, then minimized, and that unavoidable impacts usually need mitigation, with erosion controls to keep sediment out of the wetland during work. On a house lot that usually means placing the pad, driveway and drainfield on the upland part, clearing only that part, and leaving the wetland and a buffer untouched.

That shapes the clearing scope directly. The wetland edge is flagged before machines arrive, the cleared area stops short of it, and [silt fence](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/guide/erosion-control-after-land-clearing/) goes along the low side so bare sand does not wash in. [Selective clearing](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/selective-clearing/) handles the edge, and the [clearing vs grubbing](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/guide/clearing-vs-grubbing/) guide explains why the upland pad still needs roots out.

## Buffers, canals and the lagoon

Local rules add limits next to water even where no state permit is triggered.

- **Brevard County.** The county’s small-scale land clearing permit for unincorporated land allows no removal of native vegetation in the Surface Water Protection Buffer and authorizes no wetland impacts.
- **Malabar.** The town’s comprehensive plan requires buffers between wetlands and potentially harmful uses, beginning at the wetland delineation line and no less than 25 feet wide. [Malabar](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/service-areas/malabar/) holds about 1,081 acres of wetland habitat.
- **Palm Bay.** A site work permit for larger sites needs an environmental assessment covering surface waters and whether the site drains to the protected Turkey Creek or Indian River Lagoon watersheds.

Canals are their own issue in Palm Bay. The city’s GIS maps about 395 miles of canal lines, and much of that is right-of-way held by the Melbourne-Tillman Water Control District, the city or the District, with encumbrance widths of 20, 30 and 50 feet common. On a lot that backs onto a canal, part of the depth can sit inside that encumbrance, and what may be cleared there is the right-of-way holder’s call, not the lot owner’s. Where the line falls is confirmed per address from the plat and the survey.

## The agricultural exemption misunderstanding

One question comes up again and again online: whether an agricultural exemption lets a landowner clear or build on wetland. Agricultural exemptions are written for farming, not homes. Palm Bay’s own [clearing code](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/guide/palm-bay-land-clearing-permits/) exempts bona fide agricultural and grazing land from its permit, but clearing for a house is development. A house pad on wetland needs the state permit whatever the land was used for before.

## What to do before clearing a wet lot

Get the wetland question answered first, then plan the clearing around the answer. On a Palm Bay house lot the order is building permit, the city’s clearing permit, the tortoise and scrub-jay checks covered in the [Brevard permit guide](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/guide/palm-bay-land-clearing-permits/), and the wetland answer where there is any doubt. Clearing in the dry months gives firmer ground for machines, as the [best time to clear land](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/guide/best-time-to-clear-land-in-florida/) guide explains, but a dry wetland is still a wetland. [How to clear a lot to build a house](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/guide/clearing-a-lot-to-build-a-house/) sets all of it in order.

Wet ground on the lot?

Send the address or parcel number and a few photos of the low spots. The site visit notes wet ground, and the scope keeps clearing out of any area that needs a determination first.

## Three more questions

### How long is a formal wetland determination good for?

The St. Johns River Water Management District's wetland guidance says a formal determination is valid for five years. That makes it worth getting before buying or planning a lot with low ground, since it settles where the wetland line is for the life of most building projects.

### Does the five-acre threshold mean a small lot can be cleared without a state permit?

Only if none of the work is in, on or over a wetland or other surface water. The Environmental Resource Permit rule lists wetland work as a trigger on its own, separate from the five-acre and impervious-area thresholds. A quarter-acre lot with a wet depression can need a permit for clearing in that depression.

### Who handles a wetland permit for a single house lot in Brevard County?

Usually the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Under the agencies' operating agreement, the St. Johns River Water Management District handles a single-family home only when it sits inside a subdivision the District permitted. Which agency reviews a given lot is confirmed per address.

## More guides on clearing a lot

- [LearnHow to clear a Palm Bay lot to build a house](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/guide/clearing-a-lot-to-build-a-house/)
- [LearnLand clearing permits in Palm Bay and Brevard County](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/guide/palm-bay-land-clearing-permits/)
- [LearnErosion control after land clearing](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/guide/erosion-control-after-land-clearing/)
- [LearnThe best time of year to clear land in Florida](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/guide/best-time-to-clear-land-in-florida/)
- [Decision GuideClearing vs grubbing](https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/guide/clearing-vs-grubbing/)

## Contact Flatwood Land Clearing Palm Bay

- Phone: [(321) 513-1820](tel:+13215131820)
- Email: [office@flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com](mailto:office@flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com)
- Address: 3555 SE Bayside Lakes Blvd, Palm Bay, FL 32909
- Hours: Monday to Friday 8am-6pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am-2pm (America/New_York). Outside these hours, emergency calls only.
- Request an estimate: https://flatwoodlandclearingpalmbay.com/contact/#estimate