Florida 2022 2022 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0909 Introduced / Bill

Filed 12/13/2021

                       
 
HB 909  	2022 
 
 
 
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A bill to be entitled 1 
An act relating to the development of current or 2 
former agricultural land; creating s. 376.3065, F.S.; 3 
defining terms; providing legislative findings; 4 
providing that the application of pesticides as part 5 
of agricultural operations is presumed to be a lawfu l 6 
application under certain circumstances; authorizing 7 
pesticide mixing areas to be legally subdivided for 8 
certain purposes; requiring the Department of 9 
Environmental Protection to investigate claims and 10 
provide certain remedies as applicable; providing si te 11 
assessment and remedial activity requirements for 12 
current or former agricultural land; providing 13 
applicability; providing that current or former 14 
agricultural land that meets certain requirements is 15 
exempt from further regulation by the department; 16 
authorizing property owners to voluntarily apply for 17 
brownfield site rehabilitation activities; authorizing 18 
lenders to rely on certain provisions under certain 19 
circumstances; requiring property owners to provide 20 
the department with reasonable assurances that ce rtain 21 
risk management techniques have been implemented 22 
before redeveloping their property; requiring the 23 
property owner to notify the department upon 24 
completion of the risk management techniques; 25     
 
HB 909  	2022 
 
 
 
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prohibiting the department from requiring additional 26 
environmental management activities for certain 27 
property owners except in cases of fraud, the 28 
discovery of new information regarding a specified 29 
contaminant, failed management efforts, or substantial 30 
changes in exposure conditions; amending s. 403.182, 31 
F.S.; providing that the Secretary of Environmental 32 
Protection has exclusive jurisdiction in evaluating 33 
environmental conditions and assessing potential 34 
liability for the presence of contaminants on certain 35 
lands; prohibiting the secretary from delegating such 36 
authority to a local governmental entity; providing an 37 
effective date. 38 
 39 
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 40 
 41 
 Section 1.  Section 376.3065, Florida Statutes, is created 42 
to read: 43 
 376.3065  Development of current or former agricultura l 44 
land.— 45 
 (1)  DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 46 
 (a)  "Current or former agricultural land" means land that 47 
is or was classified as agricultural land pursuant to s. 48 
193.461. 49 
 (b)  "Lawful application" means the application of 50     
 
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pesticides that have been properly mixed and applied in 51 
accordance with the manufacturer specifications and United 52 
States Environmental Protection Agency approvals on the labels 53 
of properly registered products. 54 
 (c)  "Pesticide" has the same meaning as in 7 U.S.C. s. 55 
136(u). 56 
 (d)  "Pesticide mixing area" means the area on the property 57 
where pesticide storage, mixing, or equipment maintenance 58 
facilities are located. 59 
 (e)  "Qualified property" means a parcel of land that is 60 
part of a broader, regional, or multi property are a impacted by 61 
pesticides. 62 
 (2)  LAWFUL APPLICATION OF PESTICIDES. — 63 
 (a)  The Legislature finds that state and federal 64 
regulations prescribe lawful application of pesticides and limit 65 
their use in the operation of bona fide agricultural activities. 66 
 (b)  For purposes of this section, the application of 67 
pesticides as part of agricultural operations is presumed to be 68 
a lawful application, unless a discharge as defined in s. 69 
376.301 exists, and is presumed not to be a recognized 70 
environmental condition pursuant to 40 CFR part 312. 71 
 (c)  Notwithstanding any other state or local law or 72 
regulation to the contrary, pesticide mixing areas may be 73 
legally subdivided as separate parcels of land for environmental 74 
evaluation and remediation. 75     
 
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 (d)  Upon receiving a report of a discovery of verifiable 76 
pesticide impacts to potable water systems or potable private 77 
wells caused by a property, the department shall investigate the 78 
claim pursuant to s. 376.30(3) and provide any appropriate 79 
remedies pursuant to s. 376.307(5). 80 
 (3)  SITE ASSESSMENT AND REMEDIAL ACTIVITIES FOR CURRENT OR 81 
FORMER AGRICULTURAL LAND. — 82 
 (a)  Notwithstanding any existing state or local law or 83 
regulation for site assessment and remedial activity applicable 84 
to current or former agricultural land, this section shall be 85 
used for evaluating environmental conditions and prescribing 86 
remedial activity for a contaminated site for such current or 87 
former agricultural land. This section does not apply to former 88 
agricultural land that has obtained local government -approved 89 
permits to initiate redevelopment or has completed redevelopment 90 
as of July 1, 2022. 91 
 (b)  Current or former agricultural land that meets the 92 
requirements of this section is exempt from regulation by 93 
department rules for site assessment and remedial act ivity 94 
associated with lawful applications. 95 
 (c)  A property owner may voluntarily apply for brownfield 96 
site rehabilitation activities in accordance with the 97 
Brownfields Redevelopment Act, ss. 376.77 -376.85. 98 
 (d)  Lenders may rely on this section if: 99 
 1.  The lender is serving as a trustee, a personal 100     
 
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representative, or another type of fiduciary; 101 
 2.  The lender holds indicia of ownership in the site 102 
primarily to protect a security interest; or 103 
 3.  The lender held a security interest in the site and has 104 
foreclosed or otherwise acted to acquire title primarily to 105 
protect its security interest; seeks to sell, transfer, or 106 
otherwise divest the assets for subsequent sale at the earliest 107 
possible time, taking all relevant facts and circumstances into 108 
account; and has not undertaken management activities beyond 109 
those necessary to protect its financial interest, to effectuate 110 
compliance with environmental statutes and rules. 111 
 (e)  This section applies regardless of when a contaminant 112 
was discovered if the real prope rty owner of the current or 113 
former agricultural land: 114 
 1.  Completes environmental management activities pursuant 115 
to subsection (4) as part of the property's redevelopment. The 116 
incentives of this subsection do not apply to formerly 117 
cultivated land that has obtained local government -approved 118 
permits to initiate redevelopment or has completed redevelopment 119 
as of July 1, 2022, and such redeveloped properties are not 120 
required to complete the risk management activities pursuant to 121 
subsection (4); 122 
 2.  Has not been proved to have operated in a grossly 123 
negligent manner. Discharges as defined in s. 376.301 do not 124 
exist on the current or former agricultural land; 125     
 
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 3.  Has not willfully concealed a discharge as defined in 126 
s. 376.301; and 127 
 4.  Provides reasonable assurances that the property does 128 
not include: 129 
 a.  A pesticide mixing area; or 130 
 b.  An area, including surface or groundwater, designated 131 
as a contaminated site whose classification as a contaminated 132 
site was the result of its proximity to a pesticide mix ing area. 133 
 (f)  Current or former bona fide agricultural operations 134 
are presumed to have lawfully applied pesticides in this state, 135 
unless evidence of a point source of impacts or a discharge as 136 
defined in s. 376.301 exists. 137 
 (4)  ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT. — 138 
 (a)  Before redevelopment of current or former agricultural 139 
land that qualifies as a contaminated site, the property owner 140 
or authorized representative shall provide the department with 141 
reasonable assurances that all of the following applicable risk 142 
management techniques have been implemented: 143 
 1.  A soil management plan that includes, at a minimum, 144 
exposed soils on site that are subject to human exposure, that 145 
are found between land surface and 2 feet below land surface, 146 
and that meet or exceed soil cle anup target levels established 147 
by department rule. The soils must be managed using appropriate 148 
institutional or engineering controls consistent with the 149 
proposed land reuse, which may be accomplished using non -150     
 
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contaminated fill material or by mixing or ble nding the soil 151 
during construction. Soil reuse or relocation must be conducted 152 
in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local 153 
regulations. A soil management plan must follow guidance 154 
developed by the department. 155 
 2.  If surface water or ground water sampling for the 156 
current or former agricultural land indicates the presence of 157 
contaminants at concentrations exceeding cleanup target levels 158 
established by department rule, a water management plan for the 159 
property that incorporates institutional con trols as defined in 160 
s. 376.301(21) or s. 376.79(11). Stormwater conveyance 161 
construction and dewatering requirements must be completed 162 
pursuant to applicable department permits. Proposed or existing 163 
improvements to a property with human occupancy which is s erved 164 
by a municipal drinking water supply system or which accesses 165 
drinking water must meet water management district well 166 
permitting rules. 167 
 (b)  The property owner shall notify the department upon 168 
completion of the risk management techniques, with an 169 
affirmative demonstration that the owner has met the 170 
requirements of this section. 171 
 (c)  Qualified properties are not required to meet any off -172 
property sampling requirements under this chapter and a property 173 
owner of such a property is only responsible for e nvironmental 174 
risk management within the qualified property's legal 175     
 
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boundaries. 176 
 (5)  REOPENERS.—Upon completion of environmental management 177 
activities in compliance with subsection (4), the property may 178 
not be required to complete additional environmental management 179 
activities unless: 180 
 (a)  The department determines that fraud was committed in 181 
demonstrating land or real property conditions or in completing 182 
environmental management activities; 183 
 (b)  New information confirms the existence of a 184 
contaminant that exceeds the environmental management criteria 185 
established in accordance with subsection (4) or that otherwise 186 
poses the threat of real and substantial harm to public health, 187 
safety, and the environment; 188 
 (c)  Environmental management efforts failed to ac hieve the 189 
criteria established under this section; or 190 
 (d)  Substantial changes in exposure conditions have 191 
increased the level of risk beyond the acceptable risk 192 
established under subsection (4). The department may require a 193 
person who changes the land use of the property which causes the 194 
level of risk to increase beyond the acceptable risk level to 195 
undertake additional environmental management measures to assure 196 
the protection of human health and the environment. 197 
 Section 2.  Subsection (11) is added to section 403.182, 198 
Florida Statutes, to read: 199 
 403.182  Local pollution control programs. — 200     
 
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 (11)  Notwithstanding s. 403.182 or any existing local 201 
pollution control programs, the Secretary of Environmental 202 
Protection has exclusive jurisdiction in all matt ers related to 203 
evaluating environmental conditions and assessing potential 204 
liability for the presence of contaminants on land that is or 205 
was classified as agricultural land pursuant to s. 193.461, 206 
including defining what constitutes all appropriate inquiri es. 207 
The secretary may not delegate the authority to a county, a 208 
municipality, or another unit of local government through a 209 
local pollution control program under s. 403.182. 210 
 Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 211