CS/HB 7177

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to water resources; amending s. 373.227,
3	F.S.; revising provisions of the comprehensive statewide
4	water conservation program to provide for a Conserve
5	Florida Clearinghouse and a Conserve Florida Clearinghouse
6	Guide to assist public water supply utilities in
7	developing goal-based water conservation plans to meet
8	water conservation requirements for obtaining consumptive
9	use permits; encouraging water management districts and
10	public water supply utilities to use the guide for water
11	conservation plans, reports, evaluations, and assessments;
12	revising requirements for goal-based water conservation
13	plans submitted by public water supply utilities as part
14	of consumptive use permit applications; deleting an
15	obsolete provision requiring the Department of
16	Environmental Protection to submit a report on the program
17	to the Governor, the Legislature, and substantive
18	legislative committees by a specified date; amending s.
19	298.66, F.S.; revising provisions prohibiting the
20	obstruction of certain drainage works; amending s.
21	373.0361, F.S.; providing for the inclusion of wastewater
22	utilities, reuse utilities, and the department in the
23	regional water supply planning process; amending s.
24	373.079, F.S.; revising provisions relating to the
25	authority of a water management district governing board
26	to employ an executive director, an inspector general,
27	professional persons, and personnel; prohibiting governing
28	board intervention during review of specified permit
29	applications; providing for expiration of such
30	prohibition; revising provisions authorizing a water
31	management district governing board to delegate certain
32	authority to the executive director; requiring the
33	governing board to provide a process for referring certain
34	denials to the board for final action; amending s.
35	373.083, F.S.; revising provisions authorizing a water
36	management district governing board to delegate certain
37	authority to the executive director; deleting a provision
38	prohibiting governing board members from intervening in
39	the review of certain applications; amending s. 373.085,
40	F.S.; requiring water management districts and
41	governmental agencies to encourage public-private
42	partnerships for procurement of materials for
43	infrastructure and restoration work projects; amending s.
44	373.118, F.S.; authorizing a water management district
45	governing board to delegate certain authority to the
46	executive director; requiring a water management district
47	governing board to provide a process for referring
48	application and petition denials to the board for final
49	action; exempting such delegations from rulemaking under
50	ch. 120; amending s. 373.236, F.S.; reducing the frequency
51	of compliance reports during the term of a consumptive use
52	permit; providing an exception; amending s. 373.250, F.S.;
53	requiring water management districts, in consultation with
54	the department, to adopt rules relating to reclaimed water
55	feasibility evaluations for consumptive use permit
56	applicants; providing rule requirements; encouraging reuse
57	utilities and water management districts to periodically
58	coordinate and share information relating to reclaimed
59	water; requiring water management districts to initiate
60	certain rulemaking by a specified date; amending s.
61	403.0877, F.S.; deleting a provision limiting the
62	authority of water management districts or the department
63	to require certification from a professional for specified
64	activities; providing an effective date.
65
66	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
67
68	Section 1.  Section 373.227, Florida Statutes, is amended
69	to read:
70	373.227  Water conservation; legislative findings;
71	legislative intent; objectives; comprehensive statewide water
72	conservation program requirements.-
73	(1)  The Legislature recognizes that the proper
74	conservation of water is an important means of achieving the
75	economical and efficient utilization of water necessary, in
76	part, to constitute a reasonable-beneficial use. The overall
77	water conservation goal of the state is to prevent and reduce
78	wasteful, uneconomical, impractical, or unreasonable use of
79	water resources. The Legislature finds that the social,
80	economic, and cultural conditions of the state relating to the
81	use of public water supply vary by service area and that public
82	water supply utilities must have the flexibility to tailor water
83	conservation measures to best suit their individual
84	circumstances. The Legislature encourages the use of efficient,
85	effective, and affordable water conservation measures. Where
86	water is provided by a public water supply utility, the
87	Legislature intends that a variety of conservation measures be
88	made available and used to encourage efficient water use. To
89	achieve these conservation objectives, the state should
90	emphasize goal-based, accountable, tailored, and measurable
91	water conservation programs for public water supply. For
92	purposes of this section, the term "public water supply utility"
93	includes both publicly owned and privately owned public water
94	supply utilities that sell potable water on a retail basis to
95	end users.
96	(2)  To implement the findings in subsection (1), the
97	department, in cooperation with the water management districts
98	and other stakeholders, shall develop a comprehensive statewide
99	water conservation program for public water supply. The program
100	should:
101	(a)  Encourage utilities to implement water conservation
102	programs that are economically efficient, effective, affordable,
103	and appropriate;
104	(b)  Allow no reduction in, and increase where possible,
105	utility-specific water conservation effectiveness over current
106	programs;
107	(c)  Be goal-based, accountable, measurable, and
108	implemented collaboratively with water suppliers, water users,
109	and water management agencies;
110	(d)  Include cost and benefit data on individual water
111	conservation practices to assist in tailoring practices to be
112	effective for the unique characteristics of particular utility
113	service areas, focusing upon cost-effective measures;
114	(e)  Use standardized public water supply conservation
115	definitions and standardized quantitative and qualitative
116	performance measures for an overall system of assessing and
117	benchmarking the effectiveness of water conservation programs
118	and practices;
119	(f)  Create a Conserve Florida Clearinghouse or inventory
120	for water conservation programs and practices available to
121	public water supply utilities which will provide an integrated
122	statewide database for the collection, evaluation, and
123	dissemination of quantitative and qualitative information on
124	public water supply conservation programs and practices and
125	their effectiveness. The clearinghouse or inventory should have
126	technical assistance capabilities to aid in the design,
127	refinement, and implementation of water conservation programs
128	and practices. The clearinghouse or inventory shall also provide
129	for continual assessment of the effectiveness of water
130	conservation programs and practices;
131	(g)  Develop a standardized water conservation planning
132	process for utilities; and
133	(h)  Develop and maintain a Florida-specific Conserve
134	Florida Clearinghouse Guide water conservation guidance document
135	containing a menu of affordable and effective water conservation
136	practices to assist public water supply utilities in the design
137	and implementation of goal-based, utility-specific water
138	conservation plans tailored for their individual service areas
139	as provided in subsection (5) (4).
140	(3)  The Conserve Florida Clearinghouse Guide is recognized
141	as an appropriate tool to assist public water supply utilities
142	in developing goal-based water conservation plans to meet the
143	water conservation requirements for obtaining consumptive use
144	permits. Water management districts and public water supply
145	utilities are encouraged to use the guide in developing water
146	conservation plans, reporting on the implementation of water
147	conservation practices and measures included in consumptive use
148	permits, evaluating proposals for financial cost sharing of
149	water conservation activities, and assessing the effectiveness
150	of water conservation projects.
151	(4)(3)  Regarding the use of water conservation or drought
152	rate structures as a conservation practice, a water management
153	district shall afford a public water supply utility wide
154	latitude in selecting a rate structure and shall limit its
155	review to whether the utility has provided reasonable assurance
156	that the rate structure contains a schedule of rates designed to
157	promote efficient use of water by providing economic incentives.
158	A water management district shall not fix or revise rates.
159	(5)(4)  As part of an application for a consumptive use
160	permit, a public water supply utility may propose a goal-based
161	water conservation plan that is tailored to its individual
162	circumstances as a partial or entire alternative to the water
163	conservation requirements adopted by the appropriate water
164	management district. The public water supply utility is
165	encouraged, but not required, to use the Conserve Florida
166	Clearinghouse Guide in developing its goal-based water
167	conservation plan. The plan shall include a schedule for
168	implementing the water conservation goal or goals. The plan must
169	include a means for measuring progress towards the water
170	conservation goal or goals must be measurable.
171	(6)  If a public water supply utility elects to develop a
172	goal-based water conservation plan, the utility shall submit the
173	goal or goals and the plan to the appropriate water management
174	district. The plan must be designed to achieve the water
175	conservation goal or goals approved by the district in a cost-
176	effective manner, considering the utility's customers, service
177	area, and other individual circumstances of the utility. The
178	water management district shall review the goal or goals and
179	approve them if they are consistent with s. 373.223(1) and
180	approve the plan if it meets the requirements of this section.
181	If the utility provides reasonable assurance that the plan will
182	achieve effective water conservation at least as well as the
183	water conservation requirements adopted by the appropriate water
184	management district and is otherwise consistent with s. 373.223,
185	the district must approve the plan which shall satisfy water
186	conservation requirements imposed as a condition of obtaining a
187	consumptive use permit. The conservation measures included in an
188	approved goal-based water conservation plan may be reviewed
189	periodically and updated as needed to ensure efficient water use
190	for the duration of the permit. If the plan fails to meet the
191	water conservation goal or goals by the timeframes specified in
192	the permit, the public water supply utility shall revise the
193	plan to address the deficiency or employ the water conservation
194	requirements that would otherwise apply in the absence of an
195	approved goal-based plan.
196	(5)  By December 1, 2005, the department shall submit a
197	written report to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of
198	the House of Representatives, and the appropriate substantive
199	committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives on the
200	progress made in implementing the comprehensive statewide water
201	conservation program for public water supply required by this
202	section. The report must include any statutory changes and
203	funding requests necessary for the continued development and
204	implementation of the program.
205	(7)(6)  The department or a water management district may
206	adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to carry out
207	the purposes of this section.
208	Section 2.  Section 298.66, Florida Statutes, is amended to
209	read:
210	298.66  Obstruction of drainage canals, etc., prohibited;
211	damages; penalties.-
212	(1)  A No person may not willfully, or otherwise, obstruct
213	any public canal, drain, ditch, or watercourse or damage or
214	destroy any public drainage works constructed in or maintained
215	by any district.
216	(2)(1)  Any person who shall willfully obstructs obstruct
217	any public canal, drain, ditch or watercourse or damages or
218	destroys shall damage or destroy any public drainage works
219	constructed in or maintained by any district is, shall be liable
220	to any person injured thereby for the full amount of the injury
221	occasioned to any land or crops or other property by reason of
222	such misconduct, and is shall be liable to the district
223	constructing the drainage said work for double the cost of
224	removing the such obstruction or repairing the such damage.
225	(3)(2)  Any person who Whoever shall willfully, or
226	otherwise, obstructs obstruct any public canal, drain, ditch, or
227	watercourse, impedes or obstructs impede or obstruct the flow of
228	water therein, or damages or destroys shall damage or destroy
229	any public drainage works constructed in or maintained by any
230	district commits shall be guilty of a felony of the third
231	degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s.
232	775.084.
233	Section 3.  Subsection (1) of section 373.0361, Florida
234	Statutes, is amended to read:
235	373.0361  Regional water supply planning.-
236	(1)  The governing board of each water management district
237	shall conduct water supply planning for any water supply
238	planning region within the district identified in the
239	appropriate district water supply plan under s. 373.036, where
240	it determines that existing sources of water are not adequate to
241	supply water for all existing and future reasonable-beneficial
242	uses and to sustain the water resources and related natural
243	systems for the planning period. The planning must be conducted
244	in an open public process, in coordination and cooperation with
245	local governments, regional water supply authorities,
246	government-owned and privately owned water and wastewater
247	utilities, multijurisdictional water supply entities, self-
248	suppliers, reuse utilities, the department, and other affected
249	and interested parties. The districts shall actively engage in
250	public education and outreach to all affected local entities and
251	their officials, as well as members of the public, in the
252	planning process and in seeking input. During preparation, but
253	prior to completion of the regional water supply plan, the
254	district must conduct at least one public workshop to discuss
255	the technical data and modeling tools anticipated to be used to
256	support the regional water supply plan. The district shall also
257	hold several public meetings to communicate the status, overall
258	conceptual intent, and impacts of the plan on existing and
259	future reasonable-beneficial uses and related natural systems.
260	During the planning process, a local government may choose to
261	prepare its own water supply assessment to determine if existing
262	water sources are adequate to meet existing and projected
263	reasonable-beneficial needs of the local government while
264	sustaining water resources and related natural systems. The
265	local government shall submit such assessment, including the
266	data and methodology used, to the district. The district shall
267	consider the local government's assessment during the formation
268	of the plan. A determination by the governing board that
269	initiation of a regional water supply plan for a specific
270	planning region is not needed pursuant to this section shall be
271	subject to s. 120.569. The governing board shall reevaluate such
272	a determination at least once every 5 years and shall initiate a
273	regional water supply plan, if needed, pursuant to this
274	subsection.
275	Section 4.  Subsection (4) of section 373.079, Florida
276	Statutes, is amended to read:
277	373.079  Members of governing board; oath of office;
278	staff.-
279	(4)(a)  The governing board of the district shall is
280	authorized to employ:
281	(a)  An executive director, ombudsman, and such engineers,
282	other professional persons, and other personnel and assistants
283	as it deems necessary and under such terms and conditions as it
284	may determine and to terminate such employment. The appointment
285	of an executive director by the governing board is subject to
286	approval by the Governor and must be initially confirmed by the
287	Florida Senate. The governing board may delegate all or part of
288	its authority under this paragraph to the executive director.
289	However, the governing board shall delegate to the executive
290	director all of its authority to take final action on permit
291	applications under part II or part IV or petitions for variances
292	or waivers of permitting requirements under part II or part IV,
293	except for denials of such actions as provided in s. 373.083(5).
294	The executive director may execute such delegated authority
295	through designated staff members. Such delegations shall not be
296	subject to the rulemaking requirements of chapter 120. The
297	governing board must provide a process for referring a denial of
298	such application or petition to the governing board for the
299	purpose of taking final action. The executive director must be
300	confirmed by the Senate upon employment and must be confirmed or
301	reconfirmed by the Senate during the second regular session of
302	the Legislature following a gubernatorial election.
303	(b)  The delegation required by this subsection shall
304	expressly prohibit governing board members from individually
305	intervening in any manner during the review of an application
306	before such application is referred to the governing board for
307	final action. This paragraph does not prohibit the governing
308	board as a collegial body from acting on any permit application
309	or supervising, overseeing, or directing the activities of
310	district staff. This paragraph shall expire on June 1, 2011,
311	unless reenacted by the Legislature.
312	(c)(b)1.  The governing board of each water management
313	district shall employ An inspector general, who shall report
314	directly to the board. However, the governing boards of the
315	Suwannee River Water Management District and the Northwest
316	Florida Water Management District may jointly employ an
317	inspector general, or provide for inspector general services by
318	interagency agreement with a state agency or water management
319	district inspector general.
320	2.  An inspector general must have the same qualifications
321	prescribed and perform the applicable duties of state agency
322	inspectors general as provided in s. 20.055.
323	Section 5.  Subsection (5) of section 373.083, Florida
324	Statutes, is amended to read:
325	373.083  General powers and duties of the governing board.-
326	In addition to other powers and duties allowed it by law, the
327	governing board is authorized to:
328	(5)  Execute any of the powers, duties, and functions
329	vested in the governing board through a member or members
330	thereof, the executive director, or other district staff as
331	designated by the governing board. The governing board may
332	establish the scope and terms of any delegation. However, if the
333	governing board delegates shall delegate to the executive
334	director all of its authority to take final action on permit
335	applications under part II or part IV or petitions for variances
336	or waivers of permitting requirements under part II or part IV,
337	and the executive director may execute such delegated authority
338	through designated staff. Such delegations shall not be subject
339	to the rulemaking requirements of chapter 120. However, the
340	governing board must shall provide a process for referring a any
341	denial of such application or petition to the governing board
342	for the purpose of taking to take final action. Such process
343	shall expressly prohibit any member of a governing board from
344	intervening in any manner during the review of an application
345	prior to such application being referred to the governing board
346	for final action. The authority to delegate under in this
347	subsection is supplemental to any other provision of this
348	chapter granting authority to the governing board to delegate
349	specific powers, duties, or functions.
350	Section 6.  Subsection (1) of section 373.085, Florida
351	Statutes, is amended to read:
352	373.085  Use of works or land by other districts or private
353	persons.-
354	(1)(a)  In order to promote water quantity and water
355	resource development, projects that improve flood control, and
356	conservation of lands, the district and other governmental
357	agencies shall encourage public-private partnerships by
358	collaborating, when possible, with those partnerships when
359	procuring materials for infrastructure and restoration work
360	projects, consistent with district and state procurement
361	procedures.
362	(b)  The governing board has authority to prescribe the
363	manner in which local works provided by other districts or by
364	private persons will connect with and make use of the works or
365	land of the district, to issue permits therefor, and to cancel
366	the permits for noncompliance with the conditions thereof or for
367	other cause. It is unlawful to connect with or make use of the
368	works or land of the district without consent in writing from
369	its governing board, and the board has authority to prevent or,
370	if done, estop or terminate the same. The use of the works or
371	land of the district for access is governed by this section and
372	is not subject to the provisions of s. 704.01. However, any land
373	or works of the district which have historically been used for
374	public access to the ocean by means of the North New River Canal
375	and its tributaries may not be closed for this purpose unless
376	the district can demonstrate that significant harm to the
377	resource would result from such public use.
378	Section 7.  Subsection (5) is added to section 373.118,
379	Florida Statutes, to read:
380	373.118  General permits; delegation.-
381	(5)  To improve efficiency, the governing board may
382	delegate its powers and duties pertaining to general permits to
383	the executive director. The executive director may execute such
384	delegated authority through designated staff. However, when
385	delegating the authority to take final action on permit
386	applications under part II or petitions for variances or waivers
387	of permitting requirements under part II, the governing board
388	must provide a process for referring a denial of such
389	application or petition to the governing board for the purpose
390	of taking final action. Such delegations shall not be subject to
391	the rulemaking requirements of chapter 120.
392	Section 8.  Subsection (4) of section 373.236, Florida
393	Statutes, is amended to read:
394	373.236  Duration of permits; compliance reports.-
395	(4)  Where necessary to maintain reasonable assurance that
396	the conditions for issuance of a 20-year permit can continue to
397	be met, the governing board or department, in addition to any
398	conditions required pursuant to s. 373.219, may require a
399	compliance report by the permittee every 10 5 years during the
400	term of a permit. The Suwannee River Water Management District
401	may require a compliance report by the permittee every 5 years
402	through July 1, 2015, and thereafter every 10 years during the
403	term of the permit. This report shall contain sufficient data to
404	maintain reasonable assurance that the initial conditions for
405	permit issuance are met. Following review of this report, the
406	governing board or the department may modify the permit to
407	ensure that the use meets the conditions for issuance. Permit
408	modifications pursuant to this subsection shall not be subject
409	to competing applications, provided there is no increase in the
410	permitted allocation or permit duration, and no change in
411	source, except for changes in source requested by the district.
412	This subsection shall not be construed to limit the existing
413	authority of the department or the governing board to modify or
414	revoke a consumptive use permit.
415	Section 9.  Paragraphs (c) and (d) are added to subsection
416	(3) of section 373.250, Florida Statutes, subsections (4) and
417	(5) of that section are renumbered as subsections (5) and (6),
418	respectively, and a new subsection (4) is added to that section,
419	to read:
420	373.250  Reuse of reclaimed water.-
421	(3)  The water management district shall, in consultation
422	with the department, adopt rules to implement this section. Such
423	rules shall include, but not be limited to:
424	(c)  Provisions to require permit applicants to provide, as
425	part of their reclaimed water feasibility evaluation for a
426	nonpotable use, written documentation from a reuse utility
427	addressing the availability of reclaimed water. This requirement
428	shall apply when the applicant's proposed use is within an area
429	that is or may be served with reclaimed water by a reuse utility
430	within a 5-year horizon, as established by the reuse utility and
431	provided to the district. If the applicable reuse utility fails
432	to respond or does not provide the information required under
433	paragraph (d) within 30 days after receipt of the request, the
434	applicant shall provide to the district a copy of the written
435	request and a statement that the utility failed to provide the
436	requested information. The district is not required to adopt, by
437	rule, the area where written documentation from a reuse utility
438	is required, but the district shall publish the area, and any
439	updates thereto, on the district's website. This paragraph may
440	not be construed to limit the ability of a district to require
441	the use of reclaimed water or to limit a utility's ability to
442	plan reclaimed water infrastructure.
443	(d)  Provisions specifying the content of the documentation
444	required in paragraph (c), including sufficient information
445	regarding the availability and costs associated with the
446	connection to and the use of reclaimed water, to facilitate the
447	permit applicant's reclaimed water feasibility evaluation.
448	(4)  Reuse utilities and the applicable water management
449	district or districts are encouraged to periodically coordinate
450	and share information concerning the status of reclaimed water
451	distribution system construction, the availability of reclaimed
452	water supplies, and existing consumptive use permits in areas
453	served by the reuse utility.
454	Section 10.  The water management districts shall initiate
455	rulemaking no later than July 1, 2011, to implement the
456	requirements of s. 373.250(3)(c) and (d), Florida Statutes, as
457	created by this act.
458	Section 11.  Section 403.0877, Florida Statutes, is amended
459	to read:
460	403.0877  Certification by professionals regulated by the
461	Department of Business and Professional Regulation.-
462	(1)  Nothing in this section shall be construed as specific
463	authority for a water management district or the department to
464	require certification by a professional engineer licensed under
465	chapter 471, a professional landscape architect licensed under
466	part II of chapter 481, a professional geologist licensed under
467	chapter 492, or a professional surveyor and mapper licensed
468	under chapter 472, for an activity that is not within the
469	definition or scope of practice of the regulated profession.
470	(1)(2)  If an application for a permit or license to
471	conduct an activity regulated under this chapter, chapter 373,
472	chapter 376, or any permitting program delegated to a water
473	management district by a state agency, or to undertake
474	corrective action of such activity or program ordered by the
475	department or a water management district, requires the services
476	of a professional as enumerated in subsection (1), the
477	department or governing board of a water management district may
478	require, by rule, in conjunction with such an application or any
479	submittals required as a condition of granting a permit or
480	license, or in conjunction with the order of corrective action,
481	such certification by the professional as is necessary to ensure
482	that the proposed activity or corrective action is designed,
483	constructed, operated, and maintained in accordance with
484	applicable law and rules of the department or district and in
485	conformity with proper and sound design principles, or other
486	such certification by the professional as may be necessary to
487	ensure compliance with applicable law or rules of the department
488	or district. The department or governing board of a water
489	management district may further require as a condition of
490	granting a permit or license, or in conjunction with ordering
491	corrective action that the professional certify upon completion
492	of the permitted or licensed activity or corrective action that
493	such activity or corrective action has, to the best of his or
494	her knowledge, been completed in substantial conformance with
495	the plans and specifications approved by the department or
496	board.
497	(2)(3)  The cost of such certifications by the professional
498	shall be borne by the permittee or the person ordered to correct
499	the permitted activity.
500	(3)(4)  A permitted or licensed activity or corrective
501	action that is required to be so certified upon completion of
502	the activity or action may not be placed into use or operation
503	until the professional's certificate is filed with the
504	department or board.
505	Section 12.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.

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