(1) The Department of State Lands shall continue to pursue methods to streamline the process for administering permits for the removal of material from the bed or banks of any waters of this state or for filling the waters of this state, reducing paperwork, eliminating duplication, increasing certainty and timeliness and enhancing resource protection. The efforts of the Department of State Lands shall include but need not be limited to applying to the United States Army Corps of Engineers for a state program general permit as authorized in federal regulations implementing section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, and section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, as amended. In conjunction with these activities, the Department of State Lands may continue to investigate the possibility of assuming the federal regulatory program under 33 U.S.C. 1344(g) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
(2) The department shall report periodically to the appropriate legislative committee on the progress in implementing subsection (1) of this section.