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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 environmental management; creating 2
s. 373.4134, F.S.; providing legislative findings; 3
providing definitions; providing for water quality 4
enhancement areas, enhancement service areas, and 5
enhancement credits; providing requirements for such 6
water quality enhancement area permits, enhancement 7
service areas, and enhancement credits; directing the 8
Department of Environmental Protection and wate r 9
management districts to authorize the sale and use of 10
enhancement credits for specified purposes; providing 11
that the authority of the act is supplemental; 12
directing the department to maintain enhancement 13
credit ledgers; authorizing the department to adop t 14
rules; amending s. 403.892, F.S.; correcting a cross -15
reference; revising requirements for developers and 16
homebuilders to qualify for graywater technology 17
incentives; providing that certain occupancy is not 18
eligibility criterion for such incentives; requi ring 19
the department to adopt and modify specified rules; 20
providing rulemaking requirements; providing an 21
effective date. 22
23
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 24
25
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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
Section 1. Section 373.4134, Florida Statutes, is created 26
to read: 27
373.4134 Water quality enhancement areas. - 28
(1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. -The Legislature finds 29
that: 30
(a) Water quality will be improved and adverse water 31
quality impacts of activities regulated under this part may be 32
offset by the construction , operation, maintenance, and long -33
term management of water quality enhancement areas that provide 34
offsite compensatory treatment. 35
(b) An expansion of existing authority for regional 36
treatment to include offsite compensatory treatment in water 37
quality enhancement areas to make enhancement credits available 38
for purchase by governmental entities to offset impacts 39
regulated under this part is needed. 40
(c) The construction, operation, maintenance, and long -41
term management of water quality enhancement areas u nder this 42
section will improve the certainty and long -term viability of 43
water quality treatment systems. 44
(d) Water quality enhancement areas are a valuable tool to 45
assist governmental entities in satisfying the net improvement 46
performance standards under s. 373.414(1)(b)3. to ensure 47
significant reduction of pollutant loadings. 48
(e) Water quality enhancement areas that provide water 49
quality enhancement credits to governmental entities seeking 50
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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
permits under this part and governmental entities seeking to 51
meet an assigned basin management action plan allocation or 52
reasonable assurance plan under s. 403.067 are considered an 53
appropriate and permittable option. 54
(2) DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section, the term: 55
(a) "Enhancement credit" means a standard uni t of measure 56
that represents a quantity of pollutant removed. 57
(b) "Enhancement service area" means the geographic area 58
in which the water quality enhancement area can reasonably be 59
expected to offset adverse water quality impacts. 60
(c) "Governmental ent ity" means any political subdivision, 61
including any state agency, department, agency of the state, 62
county, municipality, special district, school district, utility 63
authority, or other authority or any instrumentality, agency, 64
unit, or department thereof. 65
(d) "Planning unit" means the total maximum daily load 66
planning unit that is an individual tributary basin or a group 67
of smaller adjacent tributary basins with similar 68
characteristics. 69
(e) "Water quality enhancement area" means a natural 70
system constructed, operated, managed, and maintained under a 71
permit issued under this section for the purpose of providing 72
offsite, compensatory regional treatment within an identified 73
enhancement service area for which enhancement credits may be 74
provided. 75
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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
(f) "Water quality enhancement area permit" means a permit 76
issued for a water quality enhancement area which authorizes the 77
construction, operation, management, and maintenance of a water 78
quality enhancement area and the purchase and sale of 79
enhancement credits. 80
(3) WATER QUALITY ENHANCEMENT AREAS. - 81
(a) The construction, operation, management, and 82
maintenance of a water quality enhancement area must be approved 83
through the environmental resource permitting process. 84
Department rules pertaining to environmental reso urce permits 85
apply to water quality enhancement areas and enhancement 86
credits. 87
(b) Water quality enhancement credits may only be sold to 88
governmental entities. 89
(c) A water quality enhancement area must address the 90
contributions of pollutants for those parameters in an 91
enhancement service area that does not meet state water quality 92
standards. 93
(d) A water quality enhancement area must use, create, or 94
improve natural systems in order to improve water quality. 95
(e) A governmental entity may use a water q uality 96
enhancement area for its own water quality needs. However, a 97
governmental entity may not act as a sponsor to construct, 98
operate, manage, or maintain a water quality enhancement area or 99
market enhancement credits to third parties. 100
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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
(f) A local government may not require a permit or 101
otherwise impose regulations governing the operation of a water 102
quality enhancement area. 103
(4) WATER QUALITY ENHANCEMENT AREA PERMIT. - 104
(a) To obtain a water quality enhancement area permit, the 105
applicant must provide re asonable assurances that the proposed 106
water quality enhancement area will: 107
1. Meet the requirements for issuance of an environmental 108
resource permit. 109
2. Benefit water quality in the enhancement service area. 110
3. Achieve defined performance or success criteria for the 111
reduction of pollutants or other constituents that prevent 112
receiving waters from meeting state water quality standards. 113
4. Ensure long-term pollutant reduction through effective 114
operation and maintenance in perpetuity by designation of a 115
responsible long-term maintenance entity supported by an 116
endowment or other long -term financial assurance sufficient to 117
ensure perpetual operation and maintenance. 118
5. Demonstrate sufficient legal or equitable interest in 119
the property to ensure access an d perpetual protection and 120
management of the land within the water quality enhancement 121
area. 122
6. Provide for permanent preservation of the water quality 123
enhancement area under s. 704.06. 124
(b) The water quality enhancement area permit must provide 125
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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
for the assessment, valuation, and award of credits based on 126
units of pollutants removed. To assist the department in 127
determining enhancement credits, a water quality enhancement 128
area application must include the following information: 129
1. Rainfall data over the longest period of record 130
available collected from the closest site to the proposed water 131
quality enhancement area, preferably within the same drainage 132
basin. 133
2. Anticipated average annual water quality and quantity 134
inflows to the proposed water quality enhancement area, based on 135
published local data collected over a period of record that most 136
closely matches the rainfall data under this paragraph. 137
3. Site-specific conditions affecting the anticipated 138
performance of the proposed water quality enhancemen t area, 139
including the proposed treatment type and the anticipated 140
associated reduction rates, as demonstrated by the performance 141
of other areas where the treatment type has been established and 142
operating over a minimum of two consecutive wet and dry season s. 143
4. Data from collection stations, approved in advance by 144
the department, in sites that the department deems sufficient to 145
determine flows and local water quality conditions. 146
(c) The issuance of a water quality enhancement area 147
permit under this subsection does not preclude the 148
responsibility of an applicant to obtain other applicable 149
federal, state, and local permits for construction activities 150
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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
associated with the water quali ty enhancement area. 151
(5) ENHANCEMENT SERVICE AREA. - 152
(a) An enhancement service area shall be based on a basin 153
management action plan or reasonable assurance plan boundary 154
adopted by the department. If the department does not adopt a 155
basin management action plan or reasonable assurance plan 156
boundary, the enhancement service area shall be the planning 157
unit. 158
(b) A water quality enhancement area may only provide 159
enhancement credits in an enhancement service area, except for: 160
1. Projects with adverse impacts located partially within 161
the enhancement service area. 162
2. Linear projects, such as roadways, transmission lines, 163
distribution lines, pipelines, railways, or seaports listed in 164
s. 311.09(1). 165
(c) Once an enhancement service area has been establis hed 166
by the department, the enhancement service area shall be 167
accepted by all water management districts and local 168
governments. 169
(6) ENHANCEMENT CREDITS. - 170
(a) The department or water management district shall 171
authorize the sale and use of enhancement cre dits to 172
governmental entities to offset adverse water quality impacts of 173
activities regulated under this part or to assist governmental 174
entities seeking to meet an assigned basin management action 175
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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
plan allocation or reasonable assurance plan pursuant to s. 176
403.067. 177
(b) Water quality improvement projects using natural 178
systems or land use modifications, including, but not limited 179
to, constructed wetlands or minor impoundments that reduce 180
pollutants to a receiving water body may be used by an applicant 181
to generate enhancement credits if approved by the department. 182
(c) The department shall provide for and maintain a ledger 183
that tracks the award, release, and use of enhancement credits. 184
1. The operator of a water quality enhancement area shall 185
notify the department of the amount of enhancement credits sold 186
or used within 30 days after the date the enhancement credit 187
transaction is completed. 188
2. A water management district that authorizes applicants 189
seeking permits under this part to use enhancement credits to 190
offset water quality impacts must report to the department the 191
amount of enhancement credits used by the applicant. 192
(d) Reductions in pollutant loading required under any 193
state regulatory program are not eligible to be considered as 194
enhancement credits. 195
(e) Enhancement credits may not be used by point source 196
dischargers to satisfy regulatory requirements other than those 197
necessary to obtain an environmental resource permit for 198
construction and operation of the surface water management 199
system of the site. 200
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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
(f) Use of enhancement credits made available by a water 201
quality enhancement area shall be voluntary. 202
(g) Any landowner, discharger, or other responsible person 203
regulated under this part or s. 403.067 that is implementing 204
applicable management st rategies specified in an adopted basin 205
management action plan or reasonable assurance plan may not be 206
required by any permit or other enforcement action to use 207
enhancement credits to reduce pollutant loads to achieve the 208
pollutant reductions established pu rsuant to s. 403.067. 209
(h) A local government may not deny the use of enhancement 210
credits due to the location of the water quality enhancement 211
area outside the jurisdiction of the local government. 212
(7) AUTHORITY.-The authority granted to the department 213
under this section is supplemental to the authority granted 214
under s. 403.067(8). 215
(8) RULES.-The department may adopt rules to implement 216
this section. 217
Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and paragraphs 218
(a) and (d) of subsection (3) of section 4 03.892, Florida 219
Statutes, are amended, and subsection (6) is added to that 220
section, to read: 221
403.892 Incentives for the use of graywater technologies. — 222
(1) As used in this section, the term: 223
(b) "Graywater" has the same meaning as in s. 224
381.0065(2)(f) s. 381.0065(2)(e). 225
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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
(3) To qualify for the incentives under subsection (2), 226
the developer or homebuilder must certify to the applicable 227
governmental entity as part of its application for development 228
approval or amendment of a development order that all of the 229
following conditions are met: 230
(a) The proposed or existing development has at least 25 231
single-family residential homes that are either detached or 232
multifamily dwellings. This paragraph does not apply to 233
multifamily projects over five stories in he ight. 234
(d) The required maintenance of the graywater system will 235
be the responsibility of the owner residential homeowner . 236
(6) This section does not apply to multifamily projects 237
over five stories in height. Whether a dwelling is owner 238
occupied is not an eligibility criterion for a developer or 239
homebuilder to receive the incentives authorized under this 240
section. 241
Section 3. The Department of Environmental Protection 242
shall adopt and modify rules adopted pursuant to ss. 373.4136 243
and 373.414, Florida Sta tues, to ensure that required financial 244
assurances are equivalent and sufficient to provide for the 245
long-term management of mitigation permitted under ss. 373.4136 246
and 373.414, Florida Statues. The department, in consultation 247
with the water management dist ricts, shall include the 248
rulemaking required by this section in existing active 249
rulemaking, or shall complete rule development by June 30, 2023. 250
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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
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 251