ENROLLED
       2021 Legislature            CS for CS for SB 1954, 1st Engrossed
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                                             20211954er
    1  
    2         An act relating to statewide flooding and sea level
    3         rise resilience; creating s. 380.093, F.S.; providing
    4         legislative intent; providing definitions;
    5         establishing the Resilient Florida Grant Program
    6         within the Department of Environmental Protection;
    7         authorizing the department to provide grants to local
    8         governments to fund the costs of community resilience
    9         planning, subject to appropriation; providing
   10         requirements for certain local government
   11         vulnerability assessments; requiring the department to
   12         complete a comprehensive statewide flood vulnerability
   13         and sea level rise data set and assessment by
   14         specified dates; specifying requirements for such data
   15         set and assessment; requiring the department to
   16         develop an annual Statewide Flooding and Sea Level
   17         Rise Resilience Plan and submit the plan to the
   18         Governor and Legislature by a specified date;
   19         specifying requirements for the plan; authorizing
   20         local governments, regional resilience entities, water
   21         management districts, and flood control districts to
   22         annually submit proposed projects to the department
   23         for inclusion in the plan; specifying requirements for
   24         such projects; specifying expenses that are ineligible
   25         for inclusion in the plan; requiring the department to
   26         implement a scoring system for assessing projects
   27         eligible for inclusion in the plan; limiting the total
   28         amount of funding that may be proposed for each year
   29         of the plan; requiring the Legislature, upon review
   30         and subject to appropriation, to approve funding for
   31         projects as specified in the plan; directing the
   32         department to initiate rulemaking by a specified date;
   33         authorizing the department to provide funding to
   34         regional resilience entities for specified purposes,
   35         subject to specified appropriation; creating s.
   36         380.0933, F.S.; establishing the Florida Flood Hub for
   37         Applied Research and Innovation within the University
   38         of South Florida College of Marine Science for a
   39         specified purpose; providing duties of the hub;
   40         providing for an executive director; requiring the hub
   41         to submit an annual report to the Governor and
   42         Legislature by a specified date; amending s. 403.928,
   43         F.S.; requiring the Office of Economic and Demographic
   44         Research to include specified information relating to
   45         inland and coastal flood control in certain
   46         assessments; providing an effective date.
   47          
   48  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   49  
   50         Section 1. Section 380.093, Florida Statutes, is created to
   51  read:
   52         380.093Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience
   53  Plan.—
   54         (1)LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—
   55         (a)The Legislature recognizes that the state is
   56  particularly vulnerable to adverse impacts from flooding
   57  resulting from increases in frequency and duration of rainfall
   58  events, storm surge from more frequent and severe weather
   59  systems, and sea level rise. Such adverse impacts pose economic,
   60  social, environmental, and public health and safety challenges
   61  to the state. To most effectively address these challenges,
   62  funding should be allocated in a manner that prioritizes
   63  addressing the most significant risks.
   64         (b)The Legislature further recognizes that the adverse
   65  impacts of flooding and sea level rise affect coastal and inland
   66  communities all across the state. Consequently, a coordinated
   67  approach is necessary to maximize the benefit of efforts to
   68  address such impacts and to improve the state’s resilience to
   69  flooding and sea level rise.
   70         (c)The Legislature further recognizes that to effectively
   71  and efficiently address and prepare for the adverse impacts of
   72  flooding and sea level rise in the state, it is necessary to
   73  conduct a comprehensive statewide assessment of the specific
   74  risks posed to the state by flooding and sea level rise and
   75  develop a statewide coordinated approach to addressing such
   76  risks.
   77         (2)DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
   78         (a)“Critical asset” includes:
   79         1.Transportation assets and evacuation routes, including
   80  airports, bridges, bus terminals, ports, major roadways,
   81  marinas, rail facilities, and railroad bridges.
   82         2.Critical infrastructure, including wastewater treatment
   83  facilities and lift stations, stormwater treatment facilities
   84  and pump stations, drinking water facilities, water utility
   85  conveyance systems, electric production and supply facilities,
   86  solid and hazardous waste facilities, military installations,
   87  communications facilities, and disaster debris management sites.
   88         3.Critical community and emergency facilities, including
   89  schools, colleges, universities, community centers, correctional
   90  facilities, disaster recovery centers, emergency medical service
   91  facilities, emergency operation centers, fire stations, health
   92  care facilities, hospitals, law enforcement facilities, local
   93  government facilities, logistical staging areas, affordable
   94  public housing, risk shelter inventory, and state government
   95  facilities.
   96         4.Natural, cultural, and historical resources, including
   97  conservation lands, parks, shorelines, surface waters, wetlands,
   98  and historical and cultural assets.
   99         (b)“Department” means the Department of Environmental
  100  Protection.
  101         (3)RESILIENT FLORIDA GRANT PROGRAM.—
  102         (a)The Resilient Florida Grant Program is established
  103  within the department.
  104         (b)Subject to appropriation, the department may provide
  105  grants to a county or municipality to fund the costs of
  106  community resilience planning and necessary data collection for
  107  such planning, including comprehensive plan amendments and
  108  necessary corresponding analyses that address the requirements
  109  of s. 163.3178(2)(f); vulnerability assessments that identify or
  110  address risks of flooding and sea level rise; the development of
  111  projects, plans, and policies that allow communities to prepare
  112  for threats from flooding and sea level rise; and projects to
  113  adapt critical assets to the effects of flooding and sea level
  114  rise.
  115         (c) A vulnerability assessment conducted pursuant to
  116  paragraph (b) must encompass the entire county or municipality;
  117  include all critical assets owned or maintained by the grant
  118  applicant; and use the most recent publicly available Digital
  119  Elevation Model and generally accepted analysis and modeling
  120  techniques. An assessment may encompass a smaller geographic
  121  area or include only a portion of the critical assets owned or
  122  maintained by the grant applicant with appropriate rationale and
  123  upon approval by the department. Locally collected elevation
  124  data may also be included as part of the assessment as long as
  125  it is submitted to the department pursuant to this paragraph.
  126         1. The assessment must include an analysis of the
  127  vulnerability of and risks to critical assets, including
  128  regionally significant assets, owned or managed by the county or
  129  municipality.
  130         2. Upon completion of a vulnerability assessment, the
  131  county or municipality shall submit to the department the
  132  following:
  133         a. A report detailing the findings of the assessment.
  134         b. All electronic mapping data used to illustrate flooding
  135  and sea level rise impacts identified in the assessment. When
  136  submitting such data, the county or municipality shall include:
  137         (I) Geospatial data in an electronic file format suitable
  138  for input to the department’s mapping tool.
  139         (II) Geographic information system data that has been
  140  projected into the appropriate Florida State Plane Coordinate
  141  System and that is suitable for the department’s mapping tool.
  142  The county or municipality must also submit metadata using
  143  standards prescribed by the department.
  144         c. A list of critical assets, including regionally
  145  significant assets, that are impacted by flooding and sea level
  146  rise.
  147         (d) A vulnerability assessment conducted pursuant to
  148  paragraph (b) must include all of the following, if applicable:
  149         1. Peril of flood comprehensive plan amendments that
  150  address the requirements of s. 163.3178(2)(f), if the county or
  151  municipality is subject to such requirements and has not
  152  complied with such requirements as determined by the Department
  153  of Economic Opportunity.
  154         2. The depth of:
  155         a. Tidal flooding, including future high tide flooding,
  156  which must use thresholds published and provided by the
  157  department. To the extent practicable, the analysis should also
  158  geographically display the number of tidal flood days expected
  159  for each scenario and planning horizon.
  160         b. Current and future storm surge flooding using publicly
  161  available National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or
  162  Federal Emergency Management Agency storm surge data. The
  163  initial storm surge event used must equal or exceed the current
  164  100-year flood event. Higher frequency storm events may be
  165  analyzed to understand the exposure of a critical asset.
  166         c. To the extent practicable, rainfall-induced flooding
  167  using spatiotemporal analysis or existing hydrologic and
  168  hydraulic modeling results. Future boundary conditions should be
  169  modified to consider sea level rise and high tide conditions.
  170         d. To the extent practicable, compound flooding or the
  171  combination of tidal, storm surge, and rainfall-induced
  172  flooding.
  173         3. The following scenarios and standards:
  174         a. All analyses in the North American Vertical Datum of
  175  1988.
  176         b. At least two local sea level rise scenarios, which must
  177  include the 2017 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  178  intermediate-low and intermediate-high sea level rise
  179  projections.
  180         c. At least two planning horizons that include planning
  181  horizons for the years 2040 and 2070.
  182         d. Local sea level data that has been interpolated between
  183  the two closest National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  184  tide gauges. Local sea level data may be taken from one such
  185  gauge if the gauge has a higher mean sea level. Data taken from
  186  an alternate tide gauge may be used with appropriate rationale
  187  and department approval, as long as it is publicly available or
  188  submitted to the department pursuant to paragraph (b).
  189         (4) COMPREHENSIVE STATEWIDE FLOOD VULNERABILITY AND SEA
  190  LEVEL RISE DATA SET AND ASSESSMENT.—
  191         (a) By July 1, 2022, the department shall complete the
  192  development of a comprehensive statewide flood vulnerability and
  193  sea level rise data set sufficient to conduct a comprehensive
  194  statewide flood vulnerability and sea level rise assessment. In
  195  developing the data set, the department shall compile, analyze,
  196  and incorporate, as appropriate, information related to
  197  vulnerability assessments submitted to the department pursuant
  198  to subsection (3) or any previously completed assessments that
  199  meet the requirements of subsection (3).
  200         1. The Chief Science Officer shall, in coordination with
  201  necessary experts and resources, develop statewide sea level
  202  rise projections that incorporate temporal and spatial
  203  variability, to the extent practicable, for inclusion in the
  204  data set. This subparagraph does not supersede regionally
  205  adopted projections.
  206         2. The data set must include information necessary to
  207  determine the risks to inland and coastal communities,
  208  including, but not limited to, elevation, tidal levels, and
  209  precipitation.
  210         (b) By July 1, 2023, the department shall complete a
  211  comprehensive statewide flood vulnerability and sea level rise
  212  assessment that identifies inland and coastal infrastructure,
  213  geographic areas, and communities in the state that are
  214  vulnerable to flooding and sea level rise and the associated
  215  risks.
  216         1. The department shall use the comprehensive statewide
  217  flood vulnerability and sea level rise data set to conduct the
  218  assessment.
  219         2. The assessment must incorporate local and regional
  220  analyses of vulnerabilities and risks, including, as
  221  appropriate, local mitigation strategies and postdisaster
  222  redevelopment plans.
  223         3. The assessment must include an inventory of critical
  224  assets, including regionally significant assets, that are
  225  essential for critical government and business functions,
  226  national security, public health and safety, the economy, flood
  227  and storm protection, water quality management, and wildlife
  228  habitat management, and must identify and analyze the
  229  vulnerability of and risks to such critical assets. When
  230  identifying critical assets for inclusion in the assessment, the
  231  department shall also take into consideration the critical
  232  assets identified by local governments and submitted to the
  233  department pursuant to subsection (3).
  234         (c) The department shall update the comprehensive statewide
  235  flood vulnerability and sea level rise data set and assessment
  236  every 5 years. The department may update the data set and
  237  assessment more frequently if it determines that updates are
  238  necessary to maintain the validity of the data set and
  239  assessment.
  240         (5) STATEWIDE FLOODING AND SEA LEVEL RISE RESILIENCE PLAN.—
  241         (a) By December 1, 2021, and each December 1 thereafter,
  242  the department shall develop a Statewide Flooding and Sea Level
  243  Rise Resilience Plan on a 3-year planning horizon and submit it
  244  to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
  245  the House of Representatives. The plan must consist of ranked
  246  projects that address risks of flooding and sea level rise to
  247  coastal and inland communities in the state.
  248         (b) The plan submitted by December 1, 2021, before the
  249  comprehensive statewide flood vulnerability and sea level rise
  250  assessment is completed, will be a preliminary plan that
  251  addresses risks of flooding and sea level rise identified in
  252  available local government vulnerability assessments. The plan
  253  submitted by December 1, 2022, will be an update to the
  254  preliminary plan. The plan submitted by December 1, 2023, and
  255  each plan submitted by December 1 thereafter, shall address
  256  risks of flooding and sea level rise identified in the
  257  comprehensive statewide flood vulnerability and sea level rise
  258  assessment.
  259         (c) Each plan submitted by the department pursuant to this
  260  subsection must include the following information for each
  261  recommended project:
  262         1. A description of the project.
  263         2. The location of the project.
  264         3. An estimate of how long the project will take to
  265  complete.
  266         4. An estimate of the cost of the project.
  267         5. The cost-share percentage available for the project.
  268         6. A summary of the priority score assigned to the project.
  269         7. The project sponsor.
  270         (d)1. By September 1, 2021, and each September 1
  271  thereafter, counties and municipalities may submit to the
  272  department a list of proposed projects that address risks of
  273  flooding or sea level rise identified in vulnerability
  274  assessments that meet the requirements of subsection (3). A
  275  regional resilience entity may also submit such proposed
  276  projects to the department on behalf of one or more member
  277  counties or municipalities.
  278         2. By September 1, 2021, and each September 1 thereafter,
  279  each water management district and flood control district may
  280  submit to the department a list of any proposed projects that
  281  mitigate the risks of flooding or sea level rise on water
  282  supplies or water resources of the state and a corresponding
  283  evaluation of each project.
  284         3. Each project submitted to the department by a county,
  285  municipality, regional resilience entity, water management
  286  district, or flood control district for consideration by the
  287  department for inclusion in the plan must include:
  288         a. A description of the project.
  289         b. The location of the project.
  290         c. An estimate of how long the project will take to
  291  complete.
  292         d. An estimate of the cost of the project.
  293         e. The cost-share percentage available for the project.
  294         f. The project sponsor.
  295         (e) Each project included in the plan must have a minimum
  296  50 percent cost-share unless the project assists or is within a
  297  financially disadvantaged small community. For purposes of this
  298  section, the term “financially disadvantaged small community”
  299  means:
  300         1. A municipality that has a population of 10,000 or fewer,
  301  according to the most recent April 1 population estimates posted
  302  on the Office of Economic and Demographic Research’s website,
  303  and a per capita annual income that is less than the state’s per
  304  capita annual income as shown in the most recent release from
  305  the Bureau of the Census of the United States Department of
  306  Commerce that includes both measurements; or
  307         2. A county that has a population of 50,000 or fewer,
  308  according to the most recent April 1 population estimates posted
  309  on the Office of Economic and Demographic Research’s website,
  310  and a per capita annual income that is less than the state’s per
  311  capita annual income as shown in the most recent release from
  312  the Bureau of the Census of the United States Department of
  313  Commerce that includes both measurements.
  314         (f) To be eligible for inclusion in the plan, a project
  315  must have been submitted by a county, municipality, regional
  316  resilience entity, water management district, or flood control
  317  district pursuant to paragraph (d) or must have been identified
  318  in the comprehensive statewide flood vulnerability and sea level
  319  rise assessment, as applicable.
  320         (g) Expenses ineligible for inclusion in the plan include,
  321  but are not limited to, expenses associated with:
  322         1. Aesthetic vegetation.
  323         2. Recreational structures such as piers, docks, and
  324  boardwalks.
  325         3. Water quality components of stormwater and wastewater
  326  management systems, except for expenses to mitigate water
  327  quality impacts caused by the project or expenses related to
  328  water quality which are necessary to obtain a permit for the
  329  project.
  330         4.Maintenance and repair of over-walks.
  331         5.Park activities and facilities, except expenses to
  332  control flooding or erosion.
  333         6.Navigation construction, operation, and maintenance
  334  activities.
  335         7.Projects that provide only recreational benefits.
  336         (h)The department shall implement a scoring system for
  337  assessing each project eligible for inclusion in the plan
  338  pursuant to this subsection. The scoring system must include the
  339  following tiers and associated criteria:
  340         1.Tier 1 must account for 40 percent of the total score
  341  and consist of all of the following criteria:
  342         a.The degree to which the project addresses the risks
  343  posed by flooding and sea level rise identified in the local
  344  government vulnerability assessments or the comprehensive
  345  statewide flood vulnerability and sea level rise assessment, as
  346  applicable.
  347         b.The degree to which the project addresses risks to
  348  regionally significant assets.
  349         c.The degree to which the project reduces risks to areas
  350  with an overall higher percentage of vulnerable critical assets.
  351         d.The degree to which the project contributes to existing
  352  flooding mitigation projects that reduce upland damage costs by
  353  incorporating new or enhanced structures or restoration and
  354  revegetation projects.
  355         2.Tier 2 must account for 30 percent of the total score
  356  and consist of all of the following criteria:
  357         a.The degree to which flooding and erosion currently
  358  affect the condition of the project area.
  359         b.The overall readiness of the project to proceed in a
  360  timely manner, considering the project’s readiness for the
  361  construction phase of development, the status of required
  362  permits, the status of any needed easement acquisition, and the
  363  availability of local funding sources.
  364         c.The environmental habitat enhancement or inclusion of
  365  nature-based options for resilience, with priority given to
  366  state or federal critical habitat areas for threatened or
  367  endangered species.
  368         d.The cost-effectiveness of the project.
  369         3.Tier 3 must account for 20 percent of the total score
  370  and consist of all of the following criteria:
  371         a.The availability of local, state, and federal matching
  372  funds, considering the status of the funding award, and federal
  373  authorization, if applicable.
  374         b.Previous state commitment and involvement in the
  375  project, considering previously funded phases, the total amount
  376  of previous state funding, and previous partial appropriations
  377  for the proposed project.
  378         c.The exceedance of the flood-resistant construction
  379  requirements of the Florida Building Code and applicable flood
  380  plain management regulations.
  381         4.Tier 4 must account for 10 percent of the total score
  382  and consist of all of the following criteria:
  383         a.The proposed innovative technologies designed to reduce
  384  project costs and provide regional collaboration.
  385         b.The extent to which the project assists financially
  386  disadvantaged communities.
  387         (i)The total amount of funding proposed for each year of
  388  the plan may not exceed $100 million. Upon review and subject to
  389  appropriation, the Legislature shall approve funding for the
  390  projects as specified in the plan. Multi-year projects that
  391  receive funding for the first year of the project must be
  392  included in subsequent plans and funded until the project is
  393  complete, provided that the project sponsor has complied with
  394  all contractual obligations and funds are available.
  395         (j)The department shall initiate rulemaking by August 1,
  396  2021, to implement this section.
  397         (6)REGIONAL RESILIENCE ENTITIES.—Subject to specific
  398  legislative appropriation, the department may provide funding
  399  for the following purposes to regional entities that are
  400  established by general purpose local governments and whose
  401  responsibilities include planning for the resilience needs of
  402  communities and coordinating intergovernmental solutions to
  403  mitigate adverse impacts of flooding and sea level rise:
  404         (a)Providing technical assistance to counties and
  405  municipalities.
  406         (b)Coordinating multijurisdictional vulnerability
  407  assessments.
  408         (c)Developing project proposals to be submitted for
  409  inclusion in the Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise
  410  Resilience Plan.
  411         Section 2. Section 380.0933, Florida Statutes, is created
  412  to read:
  413         380.0933Florida Flood Hub for Applied Research and
  414  Innovation.—
  415         (1)The Florida Flood Hub for Applied Research and
  416  Innovation is established within the University of South Florida
  417  College of Marine Science to coordinate efforts between the
  418  academic and research institutions of the state. The University
  419  of South Florida College of Marine Science or its successor
  420  entity will serve as the lead institution and engage other
  421  academic and research institutions, private partners, and
  422  financial sponsors to coordinate efforts to support applied
  423  research and innovation to address the flooding and sea level
  424  rise challenges of the state.
  425         (2)The hub shall, at a minimum:
  426         (a)Organize existing data needs for a comprehensive
  427  statewide flood vulnerability and sea level rise analysis and
  428  perform a gap analysis to determine data needs.
  429         (b)Develop statewide open source hydrologic models for
  430  physically based flood frequency estimation and real-time
  431  forecasting of floods, including hydraulic models of floodplain
  432  inundation mapping, real-time compound and tidal flooding
  433  forecasts, future groundwater elevation conditions, and economic
  434  damage and loss estimates.
  435         (c)Coordinate research funds from the state, the federal
  436  government, or other funding sources for related hub activities
  437  across all participating entities.
  438         (d)Establish community-based programs to improve flood
  439  monitoring and prediction along major waterways, including
  440  intracoastal waterways and coastlines, of the state and to
  441  support ongoing flood research.
  442         (e)Coordinate with agencies, including, but not limited
  443  to, the Department of Environmental Protection and water
  444  management districts.
  445         (f)Share its resources and expertise.
  446         (g)Assist in the development of training and a workforce
  447  in the state that is knowledgeable about flood and sea level
  448  rise research, prediction, and adaptation and mitigation
  449  strategies.
  450         (h)Develop opportunities to partner with other flood and
  451  sea level rise research and innovation leaders for sharing
  452  technology or research.
  453         (i)Conduct the activities under this subsection in
  454  cooperation with various local, state, and federal government
  455  entities as well as other flood and sea level rise research
  456  centers.
  457         (3)The hub shall employ an executive director.
  458         (4)By July 1, 2022, and each July 1 thereafter, the hub
  459  shall provide an annual comprehensive report to the Governor,
  460  the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
  461  Representatives that outlines its clearly defined goals and its
  462  efforts and progress on reaching such goals.
  463         Section 3. Subsections (3) through (7) of section 403.928,
  464  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  465         403.928 Assessment of water resources and conservation
  466  lands.—The Office of Economic and Demographic Research shall
  467  conduct an annual assessment of Florida’s water resources and
  468  conservation lands.
  469         (3) ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS.—The assessment must:
  470         (a)shall Include analyses on a statewide, regional, or
  471  geographic basis, as appropriate, and shall identify analytical
  472  challenges in assessing information across the different regions
  473  of the state.
  474         (b)(4)The assessment must Identify any overlap in the
  475  expenditures for water resources and conservation lands.
  476         (4)INLAND AND COASTAL FLOOD CONTROL.—Beginning with the
  477  assessment due by January 1, 2022, the Office of Economic and
  478  Demographic Research shall include in the assessment an analysis
  479  of future expenditures by federal, state, regional, and local
  480  governments required to achieve the Legislature’s intent of
  481  minimizing the adverse economic effects of inland and coastal
  482  flooding, thereby decreasing the likelihood of severe
  483  dislocations or disruptions in the economy and preserving the
  484  value of real and natural assets to the extent economically
  485  feasible. To the extent possible, the analysis must evaluate the
  486  cost of the resilience efforts necessary to address inland and
  487  coastal flooding associated with sea level rise, high tide
  488  events, storm surge, flash flooding, stormwater runoff, and
  489  increased annual precipitation over a 50-year planning horizon.
  490  At such time that dedicated revenues are provided in law for
  491  these purposes or that recurring expenditures are made, the
  492  analysis must also identify the gap, if any, between the
  493  estimated revenues and the projected expenditures.
  494         (5) ASSESSMENT ASSISTANCE.—
  495         (a) The water management districts, the Department of
  496  Environmental Protection, the Department of Agriculture and
  497  Consumer Services, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
  498  Commission, counties, municipalities, and special districts
  499  shall provide assistance to the Office of Economic and
  500  Demographic Research related to their respective areas of
  501  expertise.
  502         (b)(6) The Office of Economic and Demographic Research must
  503  be given access to any data held by an agency as defined in s.
  504  112.312 if the Office of Economic and Demographic Research
  505  considers the data necessary to complete the assessment,
  506  including any confidential data.
  507         (6)(7)ASSESSMENT SUBMISSION.—The assessment shall be
  508  submitted to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
  509  House of Representatives by January 1, 2017, and by January 1 of
  510  each year thereafter.
  511         Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.