Florida Senate - 2021                                    SB 7062
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources
       
       
       
       
       
       592-03181-21                                          20217062__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Central Florida Water
    3         Initiative; ratifying specified rules relating to the
    4         Central Florida Water Initiative, for the sole and
    5         exclusive purpose of satisfying any condition on
    6         effectiveness pursuant to s. 120.541(3), F.S., which
    7         requires ratification of any rule exceeding any
    8         specified thresholds for likely adverse impact or
    9         increase in regulatory costs; providing applicability;
   10         requiring the Department of Environmental Protection
   11         to provide reports relating to implementation of the
   12         requirements of the Central Florida Water Initiative
   13         rules to the Legislature by specified dates; providing
   14         a declaration of important state interest; amending s.
   15         373.0465, F.S.; requiring the department, in
   16         consultation with specified water management
   17         districts, to adopt rules that include an annual
   18         supplemental irrigation requirement allocation for
   19         agricultural uses and a process for examining an
   20         agriculture user’s average annual supplemental
   21         irrigation needs; providing for the applicability of
   22         specified rules to areas with certain existing
   23         recovery strategies; creating s. 373.0466, F.S.;
   24         establishing, subject to appropriation, a Central
   25         Florida Water Initiative grant program within the
   26         department; requiring the department, in cooperation
   27         with the relevant water management districts, to
   28         distribute appropriated funds for certain projects
   29         within the Central Florida Water Initiative Area;
   30         providing requirements for the distribution; amending
   31         s. 403.8532, F.S.; requiring the department to give
   32         funding priority to certain projects relating to the
   33         Central Florida Water Initiative; providing an
   34         effective date.
   35          
   36  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   37  
   38         Section 1. (1)The following rule is ratified for the sole
   39  and exclusive purpose of satisfying any condition on
   40  effectiveness imposed under s. 120.541(3), Florida Statutes:
   41  Rules 62-41.300, 62-41.301, 62.41.302, 62-41.303, 62-41.304, and
   42  62-41.305, Florida Administrative Code, titled “Central Florida
   43  Water Initiative Area,” as published on February 9, 2021, in the
   44  Florida Administrative Register, Vol. 47, No. 26, pages 733-734.
   45         (2)This section serves no other purpose and shall not be
   46  codified in the Florida Statutes. After this act becomes a law,
   47  its enactment and effective dates shall be noted in the Florida
   48  Administrative Code or the Florida Administrative Register, or
   49  both, as appropriate. This section does not constitute
   50  legislative preemption of or exception to any provision of law
   51  governing adoption or enforcement of the rule cited, and is
   52  intended to preserve the status of any cited rule as a rule
   53  under chapter 120, Florida Statutes. This section does not cure
   54  any rulemaking defect or preempt any challenge based on a
   55  violation of the legal requirements governing the adoption of
   56  any rule cited.
   57         (3)By December 31, 2025, and December 31, 2030, the
   58  Department of Environmental Protection shall provide a report to
   59  the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
   60  Representatives which details methods the department has used to
   61  address practical and economic barriers to implementing the
   62  requirements of the Central Florida Water Initiative rules,
   63  including, but not limited to, variances, offsets, credits, and
   64  financial incentives. The report must include a list of the
   65  recipients of any such accommodations and the hardship addressed
   66  by each accommodation.
   67         (4)The Legislature determines and declares that this
   68  section fulfills an important state interest.
   69         Section 2. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section
   70  373.0465, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   71         373.0465 Central Florida Water Initiative.—
   72         (2)
   73         (d) The department, in consultation with the St. Johns
   74  River Water Management District, the South Florida Water
   75  Management District, the Southwest Florida Water Management
   76  District, and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
   77  Services, shall adopt uniform rules for application within the
   78  Central Florida Water Initiative Area that include:
   79         1. A single, uniform definition of the term “harmful to the
   80  water resources” consistent with the term’s usage in s. 373.219;
   81         2. A single method for calculating residential per capita
   82  water use;
   83         3. A single process for permit reviews;
   84         4. A single, consistent process, as appropriate, to set
   85  minimum flows and minimum water levels and water reservations;
   86         5. A goal for residential per capita water use for each
   87  consumptive use permit; and
   88         6. An annual conservation goal for each consumptive use
   89  permit consistent with the regional water supply plan;
   90         7.An annual supplemental irrigation requirement allocation
   91  for agricultural uses based on a 2-in-10-year drought condition,
   92  or a more frequently occurring drought condition if the
   93  applicant so requests; and
   94         8.A process for the applicable water management district
   95  to examine an agriculture user’s average annual supplemental
   96  irrigation water use over 5-year periods against the annual
   97  supplemental irrigation needs in the 5-in-10-year rainfall
   98  condition. If this examination indicates that the agricultural
   99  user’s average annual use exceeds that needed in such rainfall
  100  condition for reasons other than prolonged periods of below
  101  average rainfall, the water management district may request that
  102  the agricultural user explain the reason for the exceedance and
  103  what measures that user will employ to reduce such future
  104  average annual water use to be no greater than that needed in
  105  the 5-in-10-year rainfall condition. However, nothing in this
  106  process shall be identified as an allocation.
  107  
  108  Subparagraphs 7. and 8. do not apply to areas where existing
  109  recovery strategies within the Central Florida Water Initiative
  110  Area adopted before July 1, 2016, contain supplemental
  111  irrigation allocation requirements. The uniform rules must
  112  include existing recovery strategies within the Central Florida
  113  Water Initiative Area adopted before July 1, 2016. The
  114  department may grant variances to the uniform rules if there are
  115  unique circumstances or hydrogeological factors that make
  116  application of the uniform rules unrealistic or impractical.
  117         Section 3. Section 373.0466, Florida Statutes, is created
  118  to read:
  119         373.0466Central Florida Water Initiative Grant Program.
  120  Subject to appropriation, a grant program for the Central
  121  Florida Water Initiative is established within the Department of
  122  Environmental Protection.
  123         (1)The department, in cooperation with the relevant water
  124  management districts, shall provide grants for projects within
  125  the Central Florida Water Initiative Area which promote
  126  alternative water supplies and protect groundwater resources.
  127         (2)In allocating such funds, priority must be given to
  128  projects that use reclaimed water, enhance natural systems,
  129  recharge groundwater, optimize beneficial uses of water, expand
  130  water conservation programs, or are able to demonstrate that a
  131  significant financial hardship exists as a result of complying
  132  with rules applicable to the Central Florida Water Initiative
  133  Area.
  134         Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (9) of section
  135  403.8532, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  136         403.8532 Drinking water state revolving loan fund; use;
  137  rules.—
  138         (9) The department may adopt rules regarding the procedural
  139  and contractual relationship between the department and the
  140  corporation under s. 403.1837 and to carry out the purposes of
  141  this section and the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, as
  142  amended. Such rules shall:
  143         (a) Set forth a priority system for loans based on public
  144  health considerations, compliance with state and federal
  145  requirements relating to public drinking water systems, and
  146  affordability. The priority system must shall give special
  147  consideration to:
  148         1. Projects that provide for the development of alternative
  149  drinking water supply projects and management techniques in
  150  areas where existing source waters are limited or threatened by
  151  saltwater intrusion, excessive drawdowns, contamination, or
  152  other problems;
  153         2. Projects that provide for a dependable, sustainable
  154  supply of drinking water and that are not otherwise financially
  155  feasible; and
  156         3. Projects that contribute to the sustainability of
  157  regional water sources; and
  158         4.Projects that implement water supply plans and develop
  159  water sources as an alternative to continued reliance on the
  160  Floridan Aquifer, pursuant to s. 373.0465.
  161         Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.