HB 639

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to reclaimed water; amending s.
3	373.019, F.S.; revising the definition of the term
4	"water" or "waters in the state" to exclude reclaimed
5	water; amending s. 373.250, F.S.; providing
6	legislative findings relating to the use of reclaimed
7	water; providing that reclaimed water is an
8	alternative water supply and eligible for such
9	funding; authorizing specified contract provisions for
10	the development of reclaimed water as an alternative
11	water supply; deleting a definition for the term
12	"uncommitted"; providing for the determination of
13	uncommitted reclaimed water capacity by certain
14	utilities; prohibiting water management districts from
15	requiring permits for the use of reclaimed water;
16	authorizing permit conditions for certain surface
17	water and groundwater sources; authorizing water
18	management districts to require the use of reclaimed
19	water under certain conditions; prohibiting water
20	management districts from requiring or restricting
21	services provided by reuse utilities; providing an
22	exception; clarifying which permit applicants are
23	required to submit certain information; requiring the
24	Department of Environmental Protection and each water
25	management district to initiate rulemaking to adopt
26	specified revisions to the water resource
27	implementation rule; revising applicability; providing
28	an effective date.
29
30	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
31
32	Section 1.  Subsection (20) of section 373.019, Florida
33	Statutes, is amended to read:
34	373.019  Definitions.-When appearing in this chapter or in
35	any rule, regulation, or order adopted pursuant thereto, the
36	term:
37	(20)  "Water" or "waters in the state" means any and all
38	water on or beneath the surface of the ground or in the
39	atmosphere, including natural or artificial watercourses, lakes,
40	ponds, or diffused surface water and water percolating,
41	standing, or flowing beneath the surface of the ground, as well
42	as all coastal waters within the jurisdiction of the state.
43	Reclaimed water, as defined by the department, is not water or
44	waters in the state until it has been discharged into waters as
45	defined in s. 403.031(13).
46	Section 2.  Section 373.250, Florida Statutes, is amended
47	to read:
48	373.250  Reuse of reclaimed water.-
49	(1)(a)  The encouragement and promotion of water
50	conservation and reuse of reclaimed water, as defined by the
51	department and used in this chapter, are state objectives and
52	considered to be in the public interest. The Legislature finds
53	that the use of reclaimed water provided by domestic wastewater
54	treatment plants permitted and operated under a reuse program
55	approved by the department is environmentally acceptable and not
56	a threat to public health and safety.
57	(b)  The Legislature recognizes that the interest of the
58	state to sustain water resources for the future through the use
59	of reclaimed water must be balanced with the need of reuse
60	utilities to operate and manage reclaimed water systems in
61	accordance with a variety and range of circumstances, including
62	regulatory and financial considerations, which influence the
63	development and operation of reclaimed water systems across the
64	state.
65	(2)  Reclaimed water is an alternative water supply as
66	defined in s. 373.019(1) and is eligible for alternative water
67	supply funding. A contract for state or district funding
68	assistance for the development of reclaimed water as an
69	alternative water supply may include provisions listed under s.
70	373.707(9).
71	(3)(2)(a)  For purposes of this section, "uncommitted"
72	means the average amount of reclaimed water produced during the
73	three lowest-flow months minus the amount of reclaimed water
74	that a reclaimed water provider is contractually obligated to
75	provide to a customer or user.
76	(b)  Reclaimed water may be presumed available to a
77	consumptive use permit applicant when a utility exists which
78	provides reclaimed water, which has determined that it has
79	uncommitted reclaimed water capacity, and which has distribution
80	facilities, which are initially provided by the utility at its
81	cost, to the site of the affected applicant's proposed use.
82	(b)  A water management district may not require a permit
83	for the use of reclaimed water. However, when a use includes
84	surface water or groundwater, the permit for such sources may
85	include conditions that govern the use of the permitted sources
86	in relation to the feasibility or use of reclaimed water.
87	(c)  A water management district may require the use of
88	reclaimed water in lieu of all or a portion of a proposed use of
89	surface water or groundwater by an applicant when the use of
90	uncommitted reclaimed water is available; is environmentally,
91	economically, and technically feasible; and is of such quality
92	and reliability as is necessary to the user. However, a water
93	management district may neither specify any user to whom the
94	reuse utility must provide reclaimed water nor restrict the use
95	of reclaimed water provided by a reuse utility to a customer in
96	a permit, water shortage order, or water shortage emergency
97	order unless requested by the reuse utility this paragraph does
98	not authorize a water management district to require a provider
99	of reclaimed water to redirect reclaimed water from one user to
100	another or to provide uncommitted water to a specific user if
101	such water is anticipated to be used by the provider, or a
102	different user selected by the provider, within a reasonable
103	amount of time.
104	(d)  The South Florida Water Management District shall
105	require the use of reclaimed water made available by the
106	elimination of wastewater ocean outfall discharges as provided
107	for in s. 403.086(9) in lieu of surface water or groundwater
108	when the use of uncommitted reclaimed water is available; is
109	environmentally, economically, and technically feasible; and is
110	of such quality and reliability as is necessary to the user.
111	Such reclaimed water may also be required in lieu of other
112	alternative sources. In determining whether or not to require
113	such reclaimed water in lieu of other alternative sources, the
114	water management district shall consider existing infrastructure
115	investments in place or obligated to be constructed by an
116	executed contract or similar binding agreement as of July 1,
117	2011, for the development of other alternative sources.
118	(4)(3)  The water management district shall, in
119	consultation with the department, adopt rules to implement this
120	section. Such rules shall include, but not be limited to:
121	(a)  Provisions to permit use of water from other sources
122	in emergency situations or if reclaimed water becomes
123	unavailable, for the duration of the emergency or the
124	unavailability of reclaimed water. These provisions shall also
125	specify the method for establishing the quantity of water to be
126	set aside for use in emergencies or when reclaimed water becomes
127	unavailable. The amount set aside is subject to periodic review
128	and revision. The methodology shall take into account the risk
129	that reclaimed water may not be available in the future, the
130	risk that other sources may be fully allocated to other uses in
131	the future, the nature of the uses served with reclaimed water,
132	the extent to which the applicant intends to rely upon reclaimed
133	water, and the extent of economic harm which may result if other
134	sources are not available to replace the reclaimed water. It is
135	the intent of this paragraph to ensure that users of reclaimed
136	water have the same access to ground or surface water and will
137	otherwise be treated in the same manner as other users of the
138	same class not relying on reclaimed water.
139	(b)  A water management district shall not adopt any rule
140	which gives preference to users within any class of use
141	established under s. 373.246 who do not use reclaimed water over
142	users within the same class who use reclaimed water.
143	(b)(c)  Provisions to require permit applicants that are
144	not reuse utilities to provide, as part of their reclaimed water
145	feasibility evaluation for a nonpotable use, written
146	documentation from a reuse utility addressing the availability
147	of reclaimed water. This requirement shall apply when the
148	applicant's proposed use is within an area that is or may be
149	served with reclaimed water by a reuse utility within a 5-year
150	horizon, as established by the reuse utility and provided to the
151	district. If the applicable reuse utility fails to respond or
152	does not provide the information required under paragraph (c)
153	(d) within 30 days after receipt of the request, the applicant
154	shall provide to the district a copy of the written request and
155	a statement that the utility failed to provide the requested
156	information. The district is not required to adopt, by rule, the
157	area where written documentation from a reuse utility is
158	required, but the district shall publish the area, and any
159	updates thereto, on the district's website. This paragraph may
160	not be construed to limit the ability of a district to require
161	the use of reclaimed water or to limit a utility's ability to
162	plan reclaimed water infrastructure.
163	(c)(d)  Provisions specifying the content of the
164	documentation required in paragraph (b) (c), including
165	sufficient information regarding the availability and costs
166	associated with the connection to and the use of reclaimed
167	water, to facilitate the permit applicant's reclaimed water
168	feasibility evaluation.
169
170	A water management district may not adopt any rule that gives
171	preference to users within any class of use established under s.
172	373.246 who do not use reclaimed water over users within the
173	same class who use reclaimed water.
174	(5)(a)  No later than October 1, 2012, the department shall
175	initiate rulemaking to adopt revisions to the water resource
176	implementation rule, as defined in s. 373.019(23), which shall
177	include:
178	1.  Criteria for the use of a proposed impact offset
179	derived from the use of reclaimed water when a water management
180	district evaluates an application for a consumptive use permit.
181	As used in this subparagraph, the term "impact offset" means the
182	use of reclaimed water to reduce or eliminate a harmful impact
183	that has occurred or would otherwise occur as a result of other
184	surface water or groundwater withdrawals.
185	2.  Criteria for the use of substitution credits where a
186	water management district has adopted rules establishing
187	withdrawal limits from a specified water resource within a
188	defined geographic area. As used in this subparagraph, the term
189	"substitution credit" means the use of reclaimed water to
190	replace all or a portion of an existing permitted use of
191	resource-limited surface water or groundwater, allowing a
192	different user or use to initiate a withdrawal or increase its
193	withdrawal from the same resource-limited surface water or
194	groundwater source provided that the withdrawal creates no net
195	adverse impact on the limited water resource or creates a net
196	positive impact if required by water management district rule as
197	part of a strategy to protect or recover a water resource.
198	(b)  Within 60 days after the final adoption by the
199	department of the revisions to the water resource implementation
200	rule required under paragraph (a), each water management
201	district shall initiate rulemaking to incorporate those
202	revisions by reference into the rules of the district.
203	(6)(4)  Reuse utilities and the applicable water management
204	district or districts are encouraged to periodically coordinate
205	and share information concerning the status of reclaimed water
206	distribution system construction, the availability of reclaimed
207	water supplies, and existing consumptive use permits in areas
208	served by the reuse utility.
209	(7)(5)  Nothing in This section does not impair or limit
210	the authority of shall impair a water management district
211	district's authority to plan for and regulate consumptive uses
212	of water under this chapter or regulate the use of surface water
213	or groundwater to supplement a reclaimed water system.
214	(8)(6)  This section applies to applications for new
215	consumptive use permits and renewals and modifications of
216	existing consumptive use permits.
217	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.