Florida Senate - 2009 SB 2080
By Senator Alexander
17-01808-09 20092080__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the West-Central Florida Water
3 Restoration Action Plan; creating s. 373.0363, F.S.;
4 providing definitions; providing legislative findings
5 and intent; providing criteria for the Southwest
6 Florida Water Management District to meet in
7 implementing the West-Central Florida Water
8 Restoration Action Plan; requiring that the district
9 coordinate with regional water supply authorities and
10 governmental entities to maximize opportunities
11 concerning the efficient expenditure of public funds;
12 specifying the plan's purpose; specifying the
13 initiatives that are included in the plan; providing
14 criteria for implementing the Central West Coast
15 Surface Water Enhancement Initiative, the Facilitating
16 Agricultural Resource Management Systems Initiative,
17 the Ridge Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Upper
18 Peace River Watershed Restoration Initiative, and the
19 Central Florida Water Resource Development Initiative
20 and certain components or projects included in such
21 initiatives; requiring that the district implement
22 certain initiatives in cooperation with the Peace
23 River-Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority or Polk
24 County; requiring that the Southwest Florida Water
25 Management District prepare a report that meets
26 specified criteria concerning implementation of the
27 plan, regional conditions, and the use of funds;
28 requiring that the district prepare the report in
29 cooperation with coordinating agencies and affected
30 local governments and submit the report and
31 legislative proposals to the Governor and the
32 Legislature by a specified date; amending s. 403.087,
33 F.S.; prohibiting the permitting of landfills under
34 certain conditions; providing an effective date.
35
36 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
37
38 Section 1. Section 373.0363, Florida Statutes, is created
39 to read:
40 (1) As used in this section, the term:
41 (a) “Central Florida Coordination Area” means all of Polk,
42 Osceola, Orange, and Seminole Counties, and southern Lake
43 County, as designated by the Southwest Florida Water Management
44 District, the South Florida Water Management District, and the
45 St. Johns River Water Management District.
46 (b) “District” means the Southwest Florida Water Management
47 District.
48 (c) “Southern Water Use Caution Area” means an area that
49 the district designated, after extensive collection of data and
50 numerous studies, in order to comprehensively manage water
51 resources in the Southern West-Central Groundwater Basin, which
52 includes all of Desoto, Hardee, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties
53 and parts of Charlotte, Highlands, Hillsborough, and Polk
54 Counties.
55 (d) “Southern Water Use Caution Area Recovery Strategy”
56 means the district's planning, regulatory, and financial
57 strategy for ensuring that adequate water supplies are available
58 to meet growing demands while protecting and restoring the water
59 and related natural resources of the area.
60 (e) “West-Central Florida Water Restoration Action Plan”
61 means the district's regional environmental restoration and
62 water-resource sustainability program for the Southern Water Use
63 Caution Area.
64 (2) The Legislature finds that:
65 (a) In response to the growing demands from public supply,
66 agriculture, mining, power generation, and recreational users,
67 ground water withdrawals in the Southern Water Use Caution Area
68 have steadily increased for nearly a century before peaking in
69 the mid-1970s. These withdrawals resulted in declines in aquifer
70 levels throughout the ground water basin, which in some areas
71 exceeded 50 feet.
72 (b) While ground water withdrawals have since stabilized as
73 a result of the district's management efforts, depressed aquifer
74 levels continue to result in saltwater intrusion, reduced flows
75 in the Upper Peace River, lowered water levels, and adverse
76 water quality impacts for some lakes in the Lake Wales Ridge
77 areas of Polk and Highlands Counties.
78 (c) In response to these resource concerns, and as directed
79 by s. 373.036, the district determined that traditional sources
80 of water in the region are not adequate to supply water for all
81 existing and projected reasonable and beneficial uses and to
82 sustain the water resources and related natural systems.
83 (d) The expeditious implementation of the Southern Water
84 Use Caution Area Recovery Strategy is needed to meet the minimum
85 flow requirement for the Upper Peace River, slow saltwater
86 intrusion, provide for improved lake levels and water quality
87 along the Lake Wales Ridge, and ensure sufficient water supplies
88 for all existing and projected reasonable and beneficial uses.
89 (e) Sufficient research has been conducted and sufficient
90 plans developed to immediately expand and accelerate programs to
91 sustain the water resources and related natural systems in the
92 Southern Water Use Caution Area.
93 (f) The implementation of components of the Southern Water
94 Use Caution Area Recovery Strategy, which are contained in the
95 West-Central Florida Water Restoration Action Plan, is for the
96 benefit of the public health, safety, and welfare and is in the
97 public interest.
98 (g) The implementation of the West-Central Florida Water
99 Restoration Action Plan is necessary to meet the minimum flow
100 requirement for the Upper Peace River, slow saltwater intrusion,
101 provide for improved lake levels and water quality along the
102 Lake Wales Ridge, and ensure sufficient water supplies for all
103 existing and projected reasonable and beneficial uses.
104 (h) A continuing source of funding is needed to effectively
105 implement the West-Central Florida Water Restoration Action
106 Plan.
107 (3) The district shall implement the West-Central Florida
108 Water Restoration Action Plan in a manner that furthers
109 progressive strategies for the management of water resources, is
110 watershed-based, provides for consideration of water quality
111 issues, and includes monitoring, the development and
112 implementation of best-management practices, and structural and
113 nonstructural projects, including public works projects. The
114 district shall coordinate its implementation of the plan with
115 regional water supply authorities, public and private
116 partnerships, and local, state, and federal partners in order to
117 maximize opportunities for the most efficient and timely
118 expenditures of public funds.
119 (4) The West-Central Florida Water Restoration Action Plan
120 includes:
121 (a) The Central West Coast Surface Water Enhancement
122 Initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to make additional
123 surface waters available for public supply through restoration
124 of surface waters, natural water flows, and freshwater wetland
125 communities. The initiative is designed to allow limits on
126 ground water withdrawals in order to slow the rate of saltwater
127 intrusion. The initiative shall be an ongoing program in
128 cooperation with the Peace River-Manasota Regional Water Supply
129 Authority created under s. 373.1962. The initiative must include
130 the following components, if feasible:
131 1. The Dona Bay-Cow Pen Slough Component. The component is
132 anticipated to increase the capacity to store excess freshwater
133 flows for the purpose of supplying potable water and of
134 restoring wetland ecosystems, including the quality and clarity
135 of water in the system and the subsequent rejuvenation of the
136 system's mollusks, oyster beds, seagrasses, and salinity.
137 2. The Shell Creek Watershed Component. The component is
138 anticipated to increase water storage capacity upstream,
139 redirect the stored water to its natural and historical flow
140 pattern resulting in a benefit to the downstream ecosystem, and
141 capture high flows for use as public supply during low-flow
142 periods.
143 3. The Upper Myakka River-Flatford Swamp Component. The
144 component is anticipated to reduce the amount of water entering
145 the swamp so that normal hydroperiods are restored, to create a
146 historically more natural system, and to increase the
147 availability of water for public supply.
148 (b) The Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management
149 Systems Initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to expedite
150 the implementation of production-scale, best-management
151 practices in the agricultural sector which will result in
152 reductions in ground water withdrawals and improvements in water
153 quality, water resources, and ecology. The initiative is a cost
154 share reimbursement program to provide funding incentives to
155 agricultural landowners for the implementation of best
156 management practices. The initiative shall be implemented by the
157 district in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture and
158 Consumer Services.
159 (c) The Ridge Lakes Restoration Initiative. The purpose of
160 the initiative is to protect, restore, and enhance natural
161 systems and flood protection by improving and protecting the
162 water quality of approximately 130 lakes located along the Lake
163 Wales Ridge in Polk County and Highlands County, which is
164 threatened by stormwater runoff, wastewater effluent, fertilizer
165 applications, ground water pollution, degradation of shoreline
166 habitats, and hydrologic alterations. The initiative shall be
167 accomplished through the construction of systems designed to
168 treat the stormwater runoff that threatens the water quality of
169 such lakes. Such systems include swales, retention basins, and
170 long infiltration basins, if feasible.
171 (d) The Upper Peace River Watershed Restoration Initiative.
172 The purpose of the initiative is to improve the quality of
173 waters and ecosystems in the watershed of the Upper Peace River
174 by recharging aquifers, restoring the flow of surface waters,
175 and restoring the capacity of natural systems to store surface
176 waters. The Legislature finds that such improvements are
177 necessary because the quantity and quality of the fresh water
178 that flows to the basin of the Peace River and Charlotte Harbor
179 are adversely affected by the significant alteration and
180 degradation of the watershed of the Upper Peace River, and
181 because restoration of the watershed of the Upper Peace River is
182 a critical component of the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary
183 Program's Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan, the
184 Southwest Florida Water Management District's Surface Water
185 Improvement and Management Plan, and the Southern Water Use
186 Caution Area Recovery Strategy. The initiative must include an
187 Upper-Peace-River component. In addition to the initiative's
188 other purposes, such component will provide a critical link to a
189 major greenway that extends from the lower southwest coast of
190 the state through the watershed of the Peace River and the Green
191 Swamp and further north to the Ocala National Forest. Projects
192 that are included in the Upper-Peace-River component include:
193 1. The Lake Hancock Component. The purpose of the component
194 is to help meet the minimum-flow requirements in the Upper Peace
195 River and to improve water quality. The component must include
196 modifications of a structure to control the elevation of water
197 levels in Lake Hancock and the treatment of outfall from the
198 lake.
199 2. The Peace Creek Canal Restoration Project. The purpose
200 of the project is to enhance the recharge of aquifers, restore
201 the capacity of natural systems to store waters, and provide
202 flood protection. The project shall be implemented by
203 undertaking the actions needed to meet the minimum-flow
204 requirements in s. 373.042 and, thereafter, holding excess
205 surface water from the Peace Creek Canal in storage for public
206 water supply or commercial or industrial water users.
207 (e) The Central Florida Water Resource Development
208 Initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to create and
209 implement a long-term plan that takes a comprehensive approach
210 to limit ground water withdrawals in the Southern Water Use
211 Caution Area and to identify and develop alternative water
212 supplies for Polk County. The project components developed
213 pursuant to the initiative are eligible for state and regional
214 funding under s. 373.196 as an alternative water supply, as
215 defined in s. 373.019, or as a supplemental water supply under
216 the rules of the Southwest Florida Water Management District or
217 the South Florida Water Management District. The initiative
218 shall be implemented by the district as an ongoing program in
219 cooperation with Polk County and the South Florida Water
220 Management District. The initiative must include:
221 1. The Kissimmee River component. The component shall
222 include developing, if feasible, a public water supply from
223 surface waters in the Kissimmee Basin near Lake Kissimmee,
224 blending such supply with other potable water supplies, and
225 distributing such potable waters by connecting to the water
226 distribution systems of municipal water utilities. This project
227 is intended to increase the amount of water available for
228 meeting public demand for water in the Central Florida
229 Coordination Area.
230 2. The Upper Peace River component. The component shall be
231 implemented by investigating the feasibility of using an off
232 stream reservoir that may include the storage of water on
233 private lands to capture water from the Peace River during high
234 flow periods for use as a public water supply. If it is
235 determined that the most feasible location of an off-stream
236 reservoir is outside Polk County, the district shall promote
237 Polk County's participation in the development and use of such
238 reservoir so long as such development and use satisfies all
239 requirements of this chapter and the rules of the district.
240 (5) By March 1 each year, the district shall report on the
241 implementation of this section as part of the consolidated
242 annual report required in s. 373.036(7). The district shall
243 annually submit a copy of the implementation report and
244 recommended legislative proposals to the Governor, the President
245 of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
246 The district shall prepare the implementation report in
247 cooperation with the other coordinating agencies and affected
248 local governments. The implementation report must include, at a
249 minimum:
250 (a) A summary of the conditions of the Southern Water Use
251 Caution Area, including the status of the components of the
252 West-Central Florida Water Restoration Action Plan; and
253 (b) An annual accounting of the expenditure of funds. The
254 accounting must, at a minimum, provide details of expenditures
255 separately by plan component and any subparts of a plan
256 component, and include specific information about amount and use
257 of funds from federal, state, and local government sources. In
258 detailing the use of these funds, the district shall indicate
259 those funds that are designated to meet requirements for
260 matching funds.
261 Section 2. Subsections (9) and (10) of section 403.087,
262 Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (10) and (11),
263 respectively, and a new subsection (9) is added to that section,
264 to read:
265 403.087 Permits; general issuance; denial; revocation;
266 prohibition; penalty.—
267 (9) The department may not issue any permit for a Class I
268 landfill that will be located on or adjacent to a Class III
269 landfill that was permitted on or before January 1, 2006, and
270 that is located in the Southern Water Use Caution Area
271 designated by rule by the Southwest Florida Water Management
272 District. This subsection applies to all applications for any
273 Class I landfill permit submitted after January 1, 2006, for
274 which the department has not issued a final permit.
275 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.