KEHOE, Judge.
Appellant, petitioner below, brings these consolidated appeals (hereinafter referred to as appeal) from two orders entered by the trial court; one order dismissed with prejudice its complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief, the other denied its petition for writ of certiorari. We reverse.
Appellant was served with a cease and desist order issued by the Director of the Department of Environmental Resources Management, Metropolitan Dade County, Florida (hereinafter referred to as DERM). This order reads in pertinent part as follows:
"It has come to my attention that the Context Development Company in conjunction with the Aerojet General Corporation have submitted applications for tree removal permits, and have stated in said applications that the following areas are to be farmed:
Aerojet Corp. (Applications for Aerojet made by Context)
"Sections 11-12-13-14 and the E 1/2 of Section 10 and the E 1/2 of Section 15 all in Township 57 Range 37.
Context Development Company
"Sections 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9, the W 1/2 of Section 10 and the W 1/2 of Section 15 all in Township 57 Range 37 and the W 1/2 of Section 6 Township 57 Range 38 along with the SW 1/4 of Section 31 Township 56 Range 38.
"As you are aware, said sections of land are also known as Taylor's slough, an area of extreme ecological sensitivity, inasmuch as the pinnacle porous rock formations natural to Taylor's slough act environmentally as:
A filtering system
A prime water shed storage area
A prime recharge area
"Supplying the Everglades National Park with the water necessary to protect and maintain its plant and animal life of all kinds, and inasmuch as inspections have revealed you have already commenced to upset the ecological balance of said Taylor's slough by 'rock ploughing' the east 1/2 of Section 7 of Township 57 Range 37.
"I am, therefore, pursuant to the authority granted in Section 24-5(16) and in 24-37(2), Pollution Control Ordinance, which states, 'when in the judgment of the Director, Environmental Resources Management, the illegal operation of any facility or equipment threatens serious damage to aquatic life and property', ordering you to:
On receipt of this notice "Cease and Desist" from any further "rock ploughing" in the E 1/2 of Section 7 and/or any operation in any of the enumerated sections of land in Taylor's slough that could result in altering said land in any way whatsoever.
Until such time as you:
Submit to the Director, Environmental Resources Management, an environmental impact statement for review and study and obtain approval to commence operations again from all governmental agencies concerned.
Or:
We will file charges against the Context Development Company and against you as the responsible individual in both County and Circuit Court for each day that inspections reveal you continue to operate.
"Please note that in County Court while a corporation can be fined up to $500, the same charges against the individual can result in sixty (60) days in jail, and in Circuit Court the civil penalties can result in fines up to $5000 for failing to comply with a lawful order of the Director, Environmental Resources Management, in addition to the costs of restoring the affected land to its original condition.
"Please govern yourself accordingly."
Thereafter, appellant appealed this order to the Metropolitan Dade County Environmental Quality Control Board (hereinafter referred to as Board). After a hearing, the Board issued an order affirming DERM's cease and desist order. The Board's order reads, in pertinent part, as follows:
"THIS MATTER came on to be heard before the Board on the appeal of Context Development Company from a March 18, 1976 Order of the Director of Environmental Resources Management to 'Cease and Desist' further 'rock plowing' operations in conjunction with farming activities being done in Dade County, Florida. The Director's order alleged that actual work being done and contemplated for the future was in violation of Chapter 24 of the Code in an ecologically sensitive area of Dade County identified as Taylor Slough, a prime water shed and water recharge area of West Dade County. The Director alleged in his Order that these activities were and would continue to threaten the potable water supply of Dade County and the supply of fresh water to Everglades National Park and its related estuarine systems, if permitted to continue. The Director, therefore, ordered the cessation of these activities, pursuant to his authority under Section 24-5(16) of the Dade County Code until submission of an Environmental Impact
Statement or other evidence of ability of Context to comply with the Code. Context, in a timely manner, appealed this action of the Director pursuant to Section 24-6 of the Dade County Code. After several requests for continuances were applied for and granted to Context, the matter was heard before the Board on August 26, 1976; September 16 and 23rd, 1976; December 9, 1976; and January 13, 1977.
"The record of these proceedings is voluminous and encompasses the testimony of approximately 15 witnesses and the submission of approximately 30 exhibits. These exhibits included photographs, slides, films, videotapes, and other documents and records relevant to this cause. In all, the Board has heard and considered approximately 900 pages of testimony and arguments of counsel regarding the rock plowing and agricultural use of this 8,100 acres of environmentally sensitive land, and has spent many hours considering the premises. Counsel for both the Director and the Appellant have also been given the opportunity to fully argue and brief the subject matter herein concerned and have prepared their respective versions of the issues that they discern to be necessarily and properly determined by the Board.
"The Board does not believe that an extensive recapitulation of the testimony and the facts presented to the Board would be helpful at this juncture. Both the memorandum of trial testimony and brief of the Director and Context more than ably summarized the multitude of facts and evidence presented before the Board during the course of these hearings. The Board, therefore, incorporates by reference in this order the transcripts of testimony, exhibits, briefs, memoranda and other records and documents presented to it as a part of this order, in toto.
"Counsel for the Board has advised, and we agree, that three main issues may be decided by the Board in arriving at its ultimate decision in this cause. Each issue will be discussed below.
"Initially, this Board was called upon to determine whether the Director has met his burden of proof in showing that violations of Chapter 24 of the Code have occurred and can reasonably be anticipated to continue by the actions and plans of Context. In this regard, counsel for the Board has noted that the Director must have presented a preponderance or greater weight of the competent and substantial evidence in support of his action in order for his Order to be upheld.
"Without doubt, the evidence presented by the Director is far from conclusive as to the actual impact of this 8,100 acre development on the waters of the County, both surface, tidal and underground. All witnesses, including Context, acknowledge that more information is necessary before any degree of 'certainty' can be achieved. However, certain of the matters presented are without dispute. Thus, the Board notes that damage to the natural environment of this area, once accomplished, could take anywhere from ten years to centuries to repair if such a repair is possible at all. In fact, such damage once permitted would in all probability be irreversible in impact. The Board believes that the Director has more than ably shown by the greater weight of the competent and substantial evidence that violations of Chapter 24 of the Dade County Code, and more specifically noted in the Director's Statement of Issues before the Board, has occurred and can reasonably be anticipated to continue to occur by and through the continued rock plowing and proposed agricultural use of Context land that is the subject matter of this cause.
"The Board has also considered whether or not the Director's Order was over broad in its geographic scope as more specifically stipulated by the parties to this cause. The Board believes that the parcels of land owned by Context and the subject matter of this cause, as appears of record herein, may very well be within the confines of Taylor Slough and its interrelated drainage basin. Once again, the exact boundaries of the Slough and
its basin are not known with certainty. However, the Board believes that the Director has also shown by the greater weight of the evidence that the parcels covered by his Order are within the area of environmental sensitivity of concern to the Director and the Board.
"Finally, the Director's Order also does not ban rock plowing or farming in this area forever, but only until an Environmental Impact Statement can be prepared addressing the sensitivity of the area and the steps that could be taken to minimize or alleviate the environmental damage hereinbefore referred to and the violations of the Code that have already been found to have taken place. Context has questioned the authority of the Director to require an 'Environmental Impact Statement' by them even though Context's own expert witness has noted the need for such a statement prior to initiation of rock...
