Florida Senate - 2026 CS for CS for SB 1230
By the Committees on Fiscal Policy; and Environment and Natural
Resources; and Senators Harrell, Truenow, and Berman
594-02989-26 20261230c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl
3 substances; providing a short title; creating s.
4 376.911, F.S.; defining the terms “aqueous film
5 forming foam” and “department”; prohibiting, beginning
6 on a specified date, certain use and the sale,
7 purchase, or distribution of aqueous film-forming foam
8 in this state; requiring, beginning on a specified
9 date, certain entities to submit aqueous film-forming
10 foam inventories and disposal plans to the Department
11 of Environmental Protection; prohibiting, beginning on
12 a specified date, the possession and use of aqueous
13 film-forming foam in this state; providing
14 applicability; providing duties of the department;
15 authorizing the department to administer certain
16 grants or cost-share programs; providing penalties and
17 injunctive relief; amending s. 403.086, F.S.;
18 requiring certain public entities disposing of
19 domestic wastewater biosolids and treated effluent to
20 quarterly conduct specified samplings and submit the
21 results to the department; requiring that such
22 sampling be conducted in accordance with department
23 rules; providing that such sampling is for
24 informational purposes only, and may not be the basis
25 for enforcement action or other causes of action,
26 until the department adopts certain water quality
27 standards; providing an effective date.
28
29 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
30
31 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Joe Casello Act.”
32 Section 2. Section 376.911, Florida Statutes, is created to
33 read:
34 376.911 Aqueous film-forming foam.—
35 (1) As used in this section, the term:
36 (a) “Aqueous film-forming foam” means any firefighting foam
37 containing intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and
38 polyfluoroalkyl substances, including perfluorooctanoic acid and
39 perfluorooctane sulfonate as defined by the United States
40 Environmental Protection Agency.
41 (b) “Department” means the Department of Environmental
42 Protection.
43 (2) Effective July 1, 2026:
44 (a) Aqueous film-forming foam may not be used for any
45 nonemergency instruction, training, or testing.
46 (b) All entities in possession of aqueous film-forming foam
47 must report inventories to the department.
48 (3) Effective July 1, 2027:
49 (a) The sale, purchase, or distribution of aqueous film
50 forming foam within this state is prohibited.
51 (b) All entities with remaining inventories of aqueous
52 film-forming foam must submit a disposal plan to the department.
53 (4) Effective July 1, 2029, the possession and use of
54 aqueous film-forming foam is prohibited in this state.
55 (5) The prohibition under subsection (4) does not apply to:
56 (a) Airports as defined in s. 330.27.
57 (b) Military applications where alternatives do not exist.
58 (c) Emergency firefighting situations where alternative
59 firefighting foam is not available, including mutual aid where
60 state or local firefighting authorities may not have adequate
61 equipment to dispense alternatives.
62 (d) Specific aqueous film-forming foam retrofit projects
63 submitted under an application with state or local firefighting
64 authorities.
65 (6) The department shall:
66 (a) Adopt rules for containment, collection, and disposal
67 of aqueous film-forming foam.
68 (b) Maintain a registry of firefighting foam alternatives
69 that do not contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl
70 substances.
71 (c) Provide technical assistance and grants for transition
72 to products that do not contain perfluoroalkyl and
73 polyfluoroalkyl substances.
74 (7) The department may administer grants or cost-share
75 programs to assist local fire departments and airports in
76 transitioning to products that do not contain perfluoroalkyl and
77 polyfluoroalkyl substances.
78 (8) A person who violates this act is subject to:
79 (a) Civil penalties not to exceed $10,000 for each
80 violation for each day the violation persists.
81 (b) Additional penalties for failure to report inventories
82 or submit disposal plans.
83 (9) The department may seek injunctive relief to enforce
84 compliance with this section.
85 Section 3. Subsection (12) is added to section 403.086,
86 Florida Statutes, to read:
87 403.086 Sewage disposal facilities; advanced and secondary
88 waste treatment.—
89 (12)(a) All public entities disposing of domestic
90 wastewater biosolids and treated effluent that have a designed
91 average daily flow of 25,000 or more gallons per day must
92 quarterly conduct at least one biosolids and treated effluent
93 sampling, as applicable, for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl
94 substances, including perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane
95 sulfonate, and submit the results to the department. The
96 sampling must be conducted in accordance with department rules.
97 (b) Until water quality standards for perfluoroalkyl and
98 polyfluoroalkyl substances are established by the United States
99 Environmental Protection Agency and adopted by the department,
100 the sampling and reporting conducted pursuant to paragraph (a)
101 is for informational purposes only and may not be the basis for
102 any department enforcement action or other cause of action.
103 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.