HB 177 2023
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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 Safe Waterways Act; providing a 2
short title; amending s. 514.023, F.S.; requiring, 3
rather than authorizing, the Department of Health to 4
adopt and enforce certain rules; revising requirements 5
for such rules; requiring, rather than authorizing, 6
the department to issue health advisories under 7
certain circumstances; directing the department to 8
require closure of beach waters and public bathing 9
places under certain circumstances; requiring such 10
closures to remain in effect for a specified period; 11
including public bathing places in an existing 12
preemption of authority to the state pertaining to the 13
issuance of such health advisories and an existin g 14
notification requirement; requiring the department to 15
adopt by rule a certain health advisory sign; 16
providing requirements for the sign; requiring that 17
the sign be posted in a specified manner and 18
maintained until subsequent testing demonstrates that 19
the water's bacteria levels meet the standards 20
established by the department; providing that 21
municipalities and counties are responsible for 22
maintaining the health advisory signs around affected 23
beach waters and public bathing places that they own; 24
providing that the department is responsible for 25
HB 177 2023
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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
maintaining the health advisory signs around affected 26
beach waters and public bathing places owned by the 27
state; requiring the department to coordinate with the 28
Department of Environmental Protection and the Fish 29
and Wildlife Conservation Commission as necessary to 30
implement such signage requirements; requiring the 31
department to monitor the affected beach waters and 32
public bathing places for compliance with the signage 33
requirements; requiring the department to establis h a 34
public statewide interagency database for a specified 35
purpose; requiring the department, in coordination 36
with the Department of Environmental Protection, to 37
adopt certain rules and procedures; providing 38
requirements for the database; providing an effec tive 39
date. 40
41
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 42
43
Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Safe Waterways 44
Act." 45
Section 2. Section 514.023, Florida Statutes, is amended 46
to read: 47
514.023 Sampling of beach waters ; and public bathing 48
places; health advisories ; signage; database.— 49
(1) As used in this section, the term "beach waters" means 50
HB 177 2023
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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
the waters along the coastal and intracoastal beaches and shores 51
of this the state, and includes salt water and brackish water. 52
(2) The department shall may adopt and enforce rules to 53
protect the health, safety, and welfare of persons using the 54
beach waters and public bathing places of this the state. The 55
rules must establish health standards and prescribe procedures 56
and timeframes for bac teriological sampling of beach waters and 57
public bathing places. The rules must, at a minimum, require 58
owners of beach waters and public bathing places to both notify 59
the local county health department and resample the water within 60
24 hours after a test re sult indicates that the sample of the 61
beach waters or public bathing place fails to meet standards 62
established by the department. 63
(3) The department must may issue health advisories if the 64
quality of beach waters or a public bathing place fails to meet 65
standards established by the department and must require closure 66
of beach waters and public bathing places that fail to meet the 67
department's standards if it deems closure is necessary to 68
protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Closures 69
must remain in effect until the quality of the beach waters or 70
public bathing place is restored in accordance with the 71
department's standards and the department has removed any 72
related health advisories it issued . The issuance of health 73
advisories related to th e results of bacteriological sampling of 74
beach waters and public bathing places is preempted to the 75
HB 177 2023
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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
state. 76
(4)(a) When the department issues a health advisory 77
against swimming in beach waters or a public bathing place on 78
the basis of finding elevated lev els of fecal coliform, 79
Escherichia coli, or enterococci bacteria in a water sample, the 80
department must shall concurrently notify the municipality or 81
county in which the affected beach waters or public bathing 82
place is are located, whichever has jurisdicti on, and the local 83
office of the Department of Environmental Protection , of the 84
advisory. 85
(b) The local office of the Department of Environmental 86
Protection shall promptly investigate wastewater treatment 87
facilities within 1 mile of the affected beach wat ers or public 88
bathing place to determine if a facility experienced an incident 89
that may have contributed to the contamination and provide the 90
results of the investigation in writing or by electronic means 91
to the municipality or county, as applicable. 92
(c) The department shall adopt by rule a sign that must be 93
used when it issues a health advisory against swimming in 94
affected beach waters or public bathing places due to elevated 95
levels of fecal coliform, Escherichia coli, or enterococci 96
bacteria in the wate r. The sign must include the following 97
language: "THIS WATER BODY HAS BEEN VERIFIED TO BE CONTAMINATED 98
WITH FECAL BACTERIA. RESTORATION IN COMPLIANCE WITH STATE WATER 99
QUALITY STANDARDS IS REQUIRED. THIS WATER BODY PRESENTS A RISK 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
OF INFECTION OR ILLNESS. A VOID SWIMMING AND USE CAUTION TO AVOID 101
INGESTING THE WATER OR EXPOSING OPEN WOUNDS. SECTION 514.023, 102
FLORIDA STATUTES." The department shall require health advisory 103
signs to be displayed at beach access points and in conspicuous 104
areas around affected beach waters and public bathing places 105
until subsequent testing of the water demonstrates that the 106
bacteria levels meet the standards established by the 107
department. 108
(d) Municipalities and counties are responsible for 109
posting and maintaining health advisory si gns as described in 110
paragraph (c) around affected beach waters and public bathing 111
places that they own. The department is responsible for posting 112
and maintaining health advisory signs around affected beach 113
waters and public bathing places owned by the stat e. The 114
department shall coordinate with the Department of Environmental 115
Protection and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as 116
necessary to implement the signage requirements of this 117
subsection. 118
(e) The department shall monitor affected beach wa ters and 119
public bathing places for compliance with the signage 120
requirements of this subsection, ensuring that only department -121
approved health advisory signs are used and that such signage is 122
posted and maintained in compliance with this subsection until 123
the health advisory is no longer in effect. 124
(5) The department shall establish a public statewide 125
HB 177 2023
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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
interagency database for the reporting of fecal indicator 126
bacteria data for beach waters and public bathing places in this 127
state. The department, in coordination with the Department of 128
Environmental Protection, shall adopt rules and procedures for 129
the sharing of fecal indicator bacteria data between agencies 130
and for the reporting of such data in the database. Fecal 131
indicator bacteria data relating to sampled beach waters and 132
public bathing places must be published in the database within 5 133
business days after receipt and confirmation of the data. 134
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 135