Florida Senate - 2020                      CS for CS for SB 1656
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
       and Innovation, Industry, and Technology; and Senator Albritton
       
       
       
       
       585-03765-20                                          20201656c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to reclaimed water; amending s.
    3         403.064, F.S.; prohibiting domestic wastewater
    4         treatment facilities from disposing of effluent,
    5         reclaimed water, or reuse water by surface water
    6         discharge beginning on a specified date; providing
    7         exceptions; creating s. 403.8531, F.S.; providing
    8         legislative intent; defining terms; providing that
    9         reclaimed water is a water source for public water
   10         supply systems; providing specified groundwater and
   11         surface water quality protections for potable reuse
   12         projects; providing that potable reuse is an
   13         alternative water supply and that projects relating to
   14         such reuse are eligible for alternative water supply
   15         funding; requiring the Department of Environmental
   16         Protection to adopt specified rules; requiring the
   17         department to review reclaimed water and potable reuse
   18         rules and revise them as necessary; requiring the
   19         department to review aquifer recharge rules and revise
   20         them as necessary; requiring the department to
   21         initiate rulemaking and to submit such rules to the
   22         Legislature for approval by a specified date;
   23         prohibiting such rules from being published as
   24         administrative rules; requiring the department and the
   25         water management districts to develop and execute, by
   26         a specified date, a memorandum of agreement for the
   27         coordinated review of specified permits; providing
   28         that potable reuse projects are eligible for certain
   29         expedited permitting and tax credits; providing
   30         construction; creating s. 403.892, F.S.; defining
   31         terms; requiring counties, municipalities, and special
   32         districts to authorize graywater technologies under
   33         certain circumstances and to provide incentives for
   34         the implementation of such technologies; providing
   35         requirements for the use of graywater technologies;
   36         requiring the department to convene at least one
   37         technical advisory groups for a specified purpose;
   38         providing for the composition of the technical
   39         advisory group; providing for the applicability of
   40         specified reclaimed water aquifer storage and recovery
   41         well requirements; providing a directive to the
   42         Division of Law Revision; providing a declaration of
   43         important state interest; providing an effective date.
   44  
   45         WHEREAS, sustainable water supplies are important to this
   46  state’s economy, environment, and quality of life, and
   47         WHEREAS, in 2019, Floridians used nearly 6.5 billion
   48  gallons of water per day and are projected to need an additional
   49  1.1 billion gallons of water per day by 2035, and
   50         WHEREAS, more than 75 percent of this state’s water supply
   51  comes from groundwater, and the availability of additional fresh
   52  groundwater has become limited in many areas of this state, and
   53         WHEREAS, this state’s continued growth and economic success
   54  depend on the implementation of safe and sustainable alternative
   55  water supplies, and
   56         WHEREAS, the use of reclaimed water is an important
   57  component of both wastewater management and water resource
   58  management in this state, and
   59         WHEREAS, in 2018, approximately 48 percent of the total
   60  domestic wastewater flow in this state, 797 million gallons per
   61  day, was reused for beneficial purposes, and
   62         WHEREAS, the reuse of water is a critical component of
   63  meeting this state’s existing and future water supply needs, and
   64         WHEREAS, potable reuse is the augmentation of a drinking
   65  water supply with reclaimed water from a municipal wastewater
   66  source and is an alternative water supply source that can be
   67  harnessed to help meet the additional water needs of this state
   68  while protecting both the public health and the environment, and
   69         WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that through the use of
   70  advanced treatment technology, potable reuse is a safe and
   71  sustainable alternative water supply source that can be used to
   72  support a diverse, resilient, and sustainable water supply
   73  portfolio, and is considered to be in the public interest, and
   74         WHEREAS, potable reuse projects, when implemented in a
   75  properly planned way using current environmental and engineered
   76  treatment processes, have reduced, and will continue to reduce,
   77  this state’s dependence on increased withdrawals from
   78  groundwater and surface water sources, pollutant loadings to
   79  waters of the state, and the nonbeneficial use of reclaimed
   80  water, thus improving water quality and benefitting the
   81  environment and local economies that depend on this state’s
   82  natural resources, NOW, THEREFORE,
   83  
   84  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   85  
   86         Section 1. Subsection (17) is added to section 403.064,
   87  Florida Statutes, to read:
   88         403.064 Reuse of reclaimed water.—
   89         (17)Notwithstanding any other provisions in this section
   90  to the contrary, beginning January 1, 2026, domestic wastewater
   91  treatment facilities may not dispose of effluent, reclaimed
   92  water, or reuse water by surface water discharge, except that
   93  this prohibition does not apply to indirect potable reuse
   94  projects; domestic wastewater treatment facility discharges
   95  during wet weather which occur in accordance with the applicable
   96  department permit; discharges into a stormwater management
   97  system which are subsequently withdrawn by a user for irrigation
   98  purposes; domestic wastewater treatment facilities located in
   99  fiscally constrained counties as defined in s. 218.67(1);
  100  projects where reclaimed water is recovered from an aquifer
  101  recharge system and subsequently discharged into a surface water
  102  for potable reuse; wetlands creation, restoration, and
  103  enhancement projects; minimum flows and levels recovery or
  104  prevention strategy plan projects; domestic wastewater treatment
  105  facilities with reuse systems that provide a minimum of 90
  106  percent of a facility’s annual average flow, as determined by
  107  the department using monitoring data for the prior 5 consecutive
  108  years, for reuse purposes authorized by the department; domestic
  109  wastewater treatment facilities located in municipalities that
  110  have less than $10 million in total revenue, as determined by
  111  the most recent annual financial report submitted to the
  112  Department of Financial Services in accordance with s. 218.32;
  113  or domestic wastewater treatment facilities located in
  114  municipalities that are entirely within a rural area of
  115  opportunity designated under s. 288.0656.
  116         Section 2. Section 403.8531, Florida Statutes, is created
  117  to read:
  118         403.8531Potable reuse.—
  119         (1)Recognizing that sufficient water supply is imperative
  120  to the future of this state and that potable reuse is one source
  121  of water which may assist in meeting future demands, the
  122  Legislature intends for the department to adopt rules for
  123  potable reuse which:
  124         (a)Protect the public health and environment by ensuring
  125  that the potable reuse rules meet federal and state drinking
  126  water and water quality standards, including, but not limited
  127  to, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and water
  128  quality standards pursuant to chapter 403, and, when possible,
  129  implement such rules through existing regulatory programs.
  130         (b)Support reclaimed water being used for potable reuse
  131  purposes.
  132         (c)Implement the recommendations set forth in the Potable
  133  Reuse Commission’s 2020 report “Advancing Potable Reuse in
  134  Florida: Framework for the Implementation of Potable Reuse in
  135  Florida.”
  136         (d)Require that the point of compliance with drinking
  137  water standards for potable reuse projects is the final
  138  discharge point for finished water from the water treatment
  139  facility.
  140         (e)Protect the aquifer and Florida’s springs and surface
  141  waters by ensuring that potable reuse projects do not cause or
  142  contribute to violations of water quality standards in surface
  143  waters, including groundwater discharges that flow by interflow
  144  and affect water quality in surface waters, and that potable
  145  reuse projects shall be designed and operated to ensure
  146  compliance with groundwater quality standards.
  147         (2)As used in this section, the term:
  148         (a)“Advanced treated reclaimed water” means the water
  149  produced from an advanced water treatment process for potable
  150  reuse applications.
  151         (b)“Advanced treatment technology” means the treatment
  152  technology selected by a utility to address emerging
  153  constituents and pathogens in reclaimed water as part of a
  154  potable reuse project.
  155         (c)“Direct potable reuse” means the introduction of
  156  advanced treated reclaimed water into a raw water supply
  157  immediately upstream from a drinking water treatment facility or
  158  directly into a potable water supply distribution system.
  159         (d)“Emerging constituents” means pharmaceuticals, personal
  160  care products, and other chemicals not regulated as part of
  161  drinking water quality standards.
  162         (e)“Indirect potable reuse” means the planned delivery or
  163  discharge of reclaimed water to groundwater or surface waters
  164  for the development of, or to supplement, the potable water
  165  supply.
  166         (f)“Off-spec reclaimed water” means reclaimed water that
  167  does not meet the standards for potable reuse.
  168         (g)“Potable reuse” means the augmentation of a drinking
  169  water supply with advanced treated reclaimed water from a
  170  domestic wastewater treatment facility, and consists of direct
  171  potable reuse and indirect potable reuse.
  172         (h)“Reclaimed water” has the same meaning as in s.
  173  373.019.
  174         (3)To comply with drinking water quality standards,
  175  reclaimed water is deemed a water source for public water supply
  176  systems.
  177         (4)Existing water quality protections that prohibit
  178  discharges from causing or contributing to violations of water
  179  quality standards in groundwater and surface water apply to
  180  potable reuse projects. In addition, when reclaimed water is
  181  released or discharged into groundwater or surface water for
  182  potable reuse purposes, there shall be a consideration of
  183  emerging constituents and impacts to other users of such
  184  groundwater or surface water.
  185         (5)Potable reuse is an alternative water supply as defined
  186  in s. 373.019, and potable reuse projects are eligible for
  187  alternative water supply funding. The use of potable reuse water
  188  may not be excluded from regional water supply planning under s.
  189  373.709.
  190         (6)The department shall:
  191         (a)Adopt rules that authorize potable reuse projects that
  192  are consistent with this section.
  193         (b)Review existing rules governing reclaimed water and
  194  potable reuse to identify obsolete and inconsistent requirements
  195  and adopt rules that revise existing potable reuse rules to
  196  eliminate such inconsistencies, while maintaining existing
  197  public health and environmental protections.
  198         (c)Review aquifer recharge rules and, if revisions are
  199  necessary to ensure continued compliance with existing public
  200  health and environmental protection rules when reclaimed water
  201  is used for aquifer recharge, adopt such rules.
  202         (d)Initiate rulemaking by December 31, 2020, and submit
  203  the adopted rules to the President of the Senate and the Speaker
  204  of the House of Representatives by December 12, 2021, for
  205  approval and incorporation into chapter 403 by the Legislature.
  206  Such rules may not be published as administrative rules by the
  207  department.
  208         (7)The department and the water management districts shall
  209  develop and execute a memorandum of agreement providing for the
  210  procedural requirements of a coordinated review of all permits
  211  associated with the construction and operation of an indirect
  212  potable reuse project. The memorandum of agreement must provide
  213  that the coordinated review will occur only if requested by a
  214  permittee. The purpose of the coordinated review is to share
  215  information, avoid the redundancy of information requested from
  216  the permittee, and ensure consistency in the permit for the
  217  protection of the public health and the environment. The
  218  department and the water management districts shall develop and
  219  execute the memorandum of agreement by December 31, 2022.
  220         (8)To encourage investment in the development of potable
  221  reuse projects by private entities, a potable reuse project
  222  developed as a qualifying project pursuant to s. 255.065 is:
  223         (a)Beginning January 1, 2025, eligible for expedited
  224  permitting under s. 403.973.
  225         (b)Granted an annual credit against the tax imposed by
  226  chapter 220 in an amount equal to 5 percent of the eligible
  227  capital costs generated by a qualifying project for a period not
  228  to exceed 20 years after the date that project operations begin.
  229  The tax credit applies only to the corporate income tax
  230  liability or the premium tax liability generated by or arising
  231  out of the qualifying project, and the sum of all tax credits
  232  provided pursuant to this section may not exceed 100 percent of
  233  the eligible capital costs as defined in s. 220.191(1)(c). Any
  234  credit granted pursuant to this paragraph may not be carried
  235  forward or backward.
  236         (c)Granted a 3-year extension of any deadlines imposed
  237  under s. 403.064(17).
  238         (d)Consistent with s. 373.707, eligible for priority
  239  funding in the same manner as other alternative water supply
  240  projects from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, under the
  241  Water Protection and Sustainability Program, and for water
  242  management district cooperative funding.
  243         (9)This section is not intended and may not be construed
  244  to supersede s. 373.250(3).
  245         Section 3. Section 403.892, Florida Statutes, is created to
  246  read:
  247         403.892 Incentives for the use of graywater technologies.—
  248         (1)As used in this section, the term:
  249         (a)“Developer” has the same meaning as in s. 380.031.
  250         (b)“Graywater” has the same meaning as in s.
  251  381.0065(2)(e).
  252         (2)To promote the beneficial reuse of water in this state,
  253  a county, municipality, or special district shall:
  254         (a)Authorize the use of residential graywater technologies
  255  in its jurisdiction which meet the applicable requirements of
  256  subsections (3) through (7), the Florida Building Code, and the
  257  Department of Health and which have received all applicable
  258  regulatory permits or authorizations; and
  259         (b)Provide incentives to developers to fully offset the
  260  capital costs of the technology, including the costs of
  261  installation if the developer submits a proof of purchase within
  262  6 months after incurring such costs, to fully realize the
  263  beneficial reuse of water contribution where the developer or
  264  homebuilder installs graywater technology and meets the
  265  requirements of subsections (3) through (7) in at least 25
  266  residential units of a proposed development. Incentives may
  267  include, but need not be limited to, density or intensity bonus
  268  incentives or more air-conditioned and living space.
  269         (3)The residential graywater technologies must be wholly
  270  located on an individual residential lot or structure and used
  271  solely to reuse graywater for use in toilets located within the
  272  residential lot or structure. The quality of the water
  273  discharged by the system for reuse must meet the NSF 350
  274  standard for toilet flushing.
  275         (4) The developer shall provide to the applicable
  276  governmental entity, as part of its application for development
  277  approval for the proposed residential properties, a
  278  manufacturer’s warranty or data providing reasonable assurance
  279  that the proposed residential graywater system will function as
  280  designed, including an estimate of anticipated potable water
  281  savings for each system. A submittal of the manufacturer’s
  282  warranty or data from a building code official or governmental
  283  entity that has monitored or measured the residential graywater
  284  system is acceptable as reasonable assurance.
  285         (5)The developer shall provide to the applicable
  286  governmental entity, as part of the developer’s application for
  287  development approval for the proposed residential units,
  288  documentation that the individual graywater system will be
  289  maintained for the life of the system in accordance with the
  290  manufacturer’s or installer’s recommendations.
  291         (6)The residential property owner, homeowners
  292  association, or manufacturer is responsible for the maintenance
  293  of the system.
  294         (7) The developer shall provide an operation and
  295  maintenance manual for the system to the initial residential
  296  property owner. The manual must provide a method of contacting
  297  the installer or manufacturer and must include directions to the
  298  owner or occupant that the manual must remain with the residence
  299  throughout the life cycle of the system.
  300         (8) The installation of residential graywater systems in a
  301  county or municipality in accordance with this section shall
  302  qualify as a water conservation measure in a public water
  303  utility’s water conservation plan pursuant to s. 373.227. The
  304  efficiency of the conservation measure must be commensurate with
  305  the amount of potable water savings estimated for each system
  306  provided by the developer pursuant to subsection (4).
  307         Section 4. (1)In implementing s. 403.8531, Florida
  308  Statutes, as created by this act, the Department of
  309  Environmental Protection, in coordination with one or more
  310  technical advisory groups pursuant to subsection (2), shall
  311  adopt rules for the implementation of potable reuse projects.
  312  The department shall:
  313         (a)Revise the appropriate chapters in the Florida
  314  Administrative Code, including chapter 62-610, Florida
  315  Administrative Code, to ensure that all rules implementing
  316  potable reuse are in the Florida Administrative Code division 62
  317  governing drinking water regulation.
  318         (b)Revise existing drinking water rules to include
  319  reclaimed water as a source water for the public water supply
  320  and require such treatment of the water as is necessary to meet
  321  existing drinking water rules, including rules for pathogens.
  322  The potable reuse rules must include the implementation of a log
  323  reduction credit system using advanced treatment technology to
  324  meet pathogen treatment requirements, and must require a public
  325  water supplier to provide an approach to meet the pathogen
  326  treatment requirements in an engineering report as part of its
  327  public water supply permit application for authorization of
  328  potable reuse. To ensure protection of the public health, as
  329  part of the public water supply permit application to authorize
  330  potable reuse, a public water supplier shall provide a
  331  department-specified level of treatment or propose an approach
  332  to achieving the log reduction targets based on source water
  333  characterization that is sufficient for a pathogen risk of
  334  infection which meets the national drinking water criteria of
  335  less than 1 x 10-4 annually.
  336         (c)Prescribe the means for using appropriate treatment
  337  technology to address emerging constituents in potable reuse
  338  projects. The advanced treatment technology must be technically
  339  and economically feasible and must provide for flexibility in
  340  the specific treatment processes employed to recognize different
  341  project scenarios, emerging constituent concentrations, desired
  342  finished water quality, and the treatment capability of the
  343  facility. The advanced treatment technology may also be used for
  344  pathogen removal or reduction.
  345         1.The rules must require appropriate monitoring to
  346  evaluate the performance of the advanced treatment technology,
  347  including the monitoring of surrogate parameters and controls,
  348  which monitoring must occur either before or after the advanced
  349  treatment technology process, or both, as appropriate.
  350         2.For direct potable reuse projects, the rules must
  351  require reclaimed water to be included in the source water
  352  characterization for a drinking water treatment facility and, if
  353  that source water characterization indicates the presence of
  354  emerging constituents at levels of public health interest, must
  355  specify how appropriate treatment technology will be used to
  356  address those emerging constituents.
  357         3.For indirect potable reuse projects, the department
  358  shall amend the existing monitoring requirements contained
  359  within part V of chapter 62-610, Florida Administrative Code, to
  360  require monitoring for one or more representative emerging
  361  constituents. The utility responsible for the indirect potable
  362  reuse project shall develop an emerging constituent monitoring
  363  protocol consisting of the selection of one or more
  364  representative emerging constituents for monitoring and the
  365  identification of action levels associated with such emerging
  366  constituents. The monitoring protocol must provide that, if
  367  elevated levels of the representative emerging constituent are
  368  detected, the utility must report the elevated detection to the
  369  department and investigate the source and cause of such elevated
  370  emerging constituent. The utility shall submit the monitoring
  371  protocol to the department for review and approval and shall
  372  implement the monitoring protocol as approved by the department.
  373  If the monitoring protocol detects an elevated emerging
  374  constituent, and if the utility’s investigation indicates that
  375  the use of the reclaimed water is the cause of such elevated
  376  emerging constituent, the utility must develop a plan to address
  377  or remedy that cause. The utility’s monitoring results,
  378  investigation of any detected elevated emerging constituent
  379  levels, determination of cause, and any plan developed to
  380  address or remedy the cause must be submitted to the department
  381  for review and approval.
  382         (d)Specify industrial pretreatment requirements for
  383  potable reuse projects. These industrial pretreatment
  384  requirements must match the industrial pretreatment requirements
  385  contained in chapter 62-625, Florida Administrative Code, as of
  386  the effective date of this act. If necessary, the department
  387  also must require the utility operating a potable reuse project
  388  to implement a source control program, and the utility shall
  389  identify the sources that need to be addressed.
  390         (e)Provide off-spec reclaimed water requirements for
  391  potable reuse projects which include the immediate disposal,
  392  temporary storage, alternative nonpotable reuse, or retreatment
  393  or disposal of off-spec reclaimed water based on operating
  394  protocols established by the public water supplier and approved
  395  by the department.
  396         (f)Revise existing rules to specify the point of
  397  compliance with drinking water standards for potable reuse
  398  projects as the point where the finished water is finally
  399  discharged from the drinking water treatment facility to the
  400  water distribution system.
  401         (g)Ensure that, as rules for potable reuse projects are
  402  implemented, chapter 62-610.850, Florida Administrative Code, is
  403  applicable.
  404         (h)Revise the definition of the term “indirect potable
  405  reuse” provided in chapter 62-610, Florida Administrative Code,
  406  to match the definition provided in s. 403.8531, Florida
  407  Statutes.
  408         (2)The department shall convene and lead one or more
  409  technical advisory groups to coordinate the rulemaking and
  410  review of rules required by s. 403.8531, Florida Statutes. The
  411  technical advisory group, which shall assist in the development
  412  of such rules, must be composed of knowledgeable representatives
  413  of a broad group of interested stakeholders, including, but not
  414  limited to, representatives from the water management districts,
  415  the wastewater utility industry, the water utility industry, the
  416  environmental community, the business community, the public
  417  health community, and the agricultural community, and consumers.
  418         Section 5. To further promote the reuse of reclaimed water
  419  for irrigation purposes, the rules that apply when reclaimed
  420  water is injected into a receiving groundwater that has 1,000 to
  421  3,000 mg/L total dissolved solids are applicable to reclaimed
  422  water aquifer storage and recovery wells injecting into a
  423  receiving groundwater of less than 1,000 mg/L total dissolved
  424  solids if the applicant demonstrates that it is injecting into a
  425  confined aquifer, that there are no public supply wells within
  426  3,500 feet of the aquifer storage and recovery wells, and that
  427  it has implemented institutional controls to prevent the future
  428  construction of public supply wells within 3,500 feet of the
  429  aquifer storage and recovery wells. This section may not be
  430  construed to exempt the reclaimed water aquifer storage and
  431  recovery wells from requirements that prohibit the causing or
  432  contribution to violations of water quality standards in surface
  433  water, including groundwater discharges that flow by interflow
  434  and affect water quality in surface water.
  435         Section 6. The Division of Law Revision is directed to
  436  replace the phrase “the effective date of this act” wherever it
  437  occurs in this act with the date the act becomes a law.
  438         Section 7. The Legislature determines and declares that
  439  this act fulfills an important state interest.
  440         Section 8. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.