HB 909 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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