Florida Statutes Title XXVI. Public Transportation § 348.0311. Acquisition of lands and property

(1) For the purposes of this act, the agency may acquire such rights, title, or interest in private or public property and such property rights, including easements, rights of access, air, view, and light, by gift, devise, purchase, or condemnation by eminent domain proceedings, as the agency may deem necessary for any of the purposes of this act, including, but not limited to, any lands reasonably necessary for securing applicable permits, areas necessary for management of access, borrow pits, drainage ditches, water retention areas, rest areas, replacement access for landowners whose access is impaired due to the construction of an expressway system, and replacement rights-of-way for relocated rail and utility facilities; for existing, proposed, or anticipated transportation facilities on the expressway system or in a transportation corridor designated by the agency; or for the purposes of screening, relocation, removal, or disposal of junkyards and scrap metal processing facilities. The agency may also condemn any material and property necessary for such purposes.

(2) The agency and its authorized agents, contractors, and employees are authorized to enter upon any lands, waters, and premises, upon giving reasonable notice to the landowner, for the purpose of making surveys, soundings, drillings, appraisals, environmental assessments including phase I and phase II environmental surveys, archaeological assessments, and such other examinations as are necessary for the acquisition of private or public property and property rights, including rights of access, air, view, and light, by gift, devise, purchase, or condemnation by eminent domain proceedings or as are necessary for the agency to perform its duties and functions, and any such entry shall not be deemed a trespass or an entry that would constitute a taking in an eminent domain proceeding. The agency shall make reimbursement for any actual damage to such lands, water, and premises as a result of such activities. Any entry authorized by this subsection shall be in compliance with the premises protections and landowner liability provisions contained in s. 472.029.

(3) The right of eminent domain conferred by this act must be exercised by the agency in the manner provided by law.

(4) When the agency acquires property for an expressway system or in a transportation corridor as defined in s. 334.03, it is not subject to any liability imposed by chapter 376 or chapter 403 for preexisting soil or groundwater contamination due solely to its ownership. This subsection does not affect the rights or liabilities of any past or future owners of the acquired property, nor does it affect the liability of any governmental entity for the results of its actions which create or exacerbate a pollution source. The agency and the Department of Environmental Protection may enter into interagency agreements for the performance, funding, and reimbursement of the investigative and remedial acts necessary for property acquired by the agency.