Florida 2023 2023 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H1379 Comm Sub / Bill

Filed 03/29/2023

                       
 
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A bill to be entitled 1 
An act relating to environmental protection; amending 2 
s. 163.3177, F.S.; revising the required components of 3 
a local government comprehensive plan capital 4 
improvements element and general sanitary sewer, solid 5 
waste, drainage, potable water, and natural 6 
groundwater aquifer r echarge element; making technical 7 
changes; requiring the update of comprehensive plans 8 
by a specified date; providing applicability; amending 9 
s. 253.025, F.S.; revising the real property purchase 10 
agreements that must be submitted to and approved by 11 
the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement 12 
Trust Fund; increasing the estimated threshold that a 13 
parcel to be acquired must meet before additional 14 
appraisals are required; amending s. 259.032, F.S.; 15 
authorizing the board to acquire interests in lands 16 
that complete certain linkages within the Florida 17 
wildlife corridor; conforming a provision to changes 18 
made by the act; making technical changes; creating s. 19 
373.469, F.S.; providing legislative findings and 20 
intent; defining terms; providing the components of 21 
the Indian River Lagoon Protection Program; requiring 22 
the department to evaluate and update the basin 23 
management action plans within the program at 24 
specified intervals; requiring the department, in 25     
 
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coordination with specified entities, to identify and 26 
prioritize strategies and projects to achieve certain 27 
water quality standards and total maximum daily loads; 28 
requiring the department, in coordination with 29 
specified entities, to implement the Indian River 30 
Lagoon Watershed Research and Water Quality Monitoring 31 
Program for specified purposes; prohibiting the 32 
installation of new onsite sewage treatment and 33 
disposal systems beginning on a specified date under 34 
certain circumstances; requiring that commercial or 35 
residential properties with existing onsite sewage 36 
treatment and disposal systems be connected to central 37 
sewer or be upgraded to a certain system by a 38 
specified date; providing construction; authorizing 39 
the department and the governing boards of the St. 40 
Johns River Water Management District and the South 41 
Florida Water Management District to adopt rules; 42 
amending s. 373.501, F.S.; requiring, rather than 43 
authorizing, the department to transfer appropriated 44 
funds to the water management districts for specified 45 
purposes; requiring the districts to annually report 46 
to the department on the use of such funds; amending 47 
s. 373.802, F.S.; defining the term "enhanced 48 
nutrient-reducing onsite sewage treatment and disposal 49 
system"; amending s. 373.807, F.S.; conforming a 50     
 
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cross-reference; revising requirements for onsite 51 
sewage treatment and disposal system remediation plans 52 
for springs; amending s. 373.811, F.S.; prohibiting 53 
new onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems 54 
within basin management action plans in effect for 55 
Outstanding Florida Springs under certain 56 
circumstances; authorizing the installation of 57 
enhanced or alternative systems for certain lots; 58 
amending s. 381.0065, F.S.; defining the term 59 
"enhanced nutrient-reducing onsite sewage treatment 60 
and disposal system"; amending s. 381.00655, F.S.; 61 
encouraging local go vernmental agencies that receive 62 
funding for connecting onsite sewage treatment and 63 
disposal systems to central sewer facilities to 64 
provide notice of the funding availability to certain 65 
owners of onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems 66 
and to maintain a website with certain information 67 
regarding the funding; reordering and amending s. 68 
403.031, F.S.; defining and revising terms; amending 69 
s. 403.067, F.S.; revising requirements for new or 70 
revised basin management action plans; requiring that 71 
basin management action plans include 5 -year 72 
milestones for implementation; requiring certain 73 
entities to identify projects or strategies to meet 74 
such milestones; prohibiting the installation of new 75     
 
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onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems within 76 
specified areas under certain circumstances; requiring 77 
the installation of enhanced or alternative systems 78 
for certain lots; revising requirements for a basin 79 
management action plan's cooperative agricultural 80 
regional water quality improvement element; amending 81 
s. 403.0673, F.S.; renaming the wastewater grant 82 
program as the water quality improvement grant 83 
program; revising the purposes of the grant program; 84 
specifying the projects for which the department may 85 
provide grants under the program; requiring the 86 
department to prioritize certain projects; requiring 87 
the department to coordinate with each water 88 
management district to annually identify projects; 89 
requiring the department to coordinate with specified 90 
entities to identify projects; revising reporting 91 
requirements; amendi ng s. 403.086, F.S.; revising the 92 
waters that sewage disposal facilities are prohibited 93 
from disposing wastes into; amending ss. 201.15, 94 
259.105, 373.019, 373.4132, 373.414, 373.4142, 95 
373.430, 373.4592, 403.890, 403.892, 403.9301, and 96 
403.9302, F.S.; confo rming cross-references and 97 
provisions to changes made by the act; reenacting s. 98 
259.045(6), F.S., relating to the purchase of lands in 99 
areas of critical state concern, to incorporate the 100     
 
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amendment made to s. 259.032, F.S., in a reference 101 
thereto; providing a declaration of important state 102 
interest; providing an effective date. 103 
 104 
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 105 
 106 
 Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) and paragraph 107 
(c) of subsection (6) of section 163.3177, Florida Statute s, are 108 
amended to read: 109 
 163.3177  Required and optional elements of comprehensive 110 
plan; studies and surveys. — 111 
 (3)(a)  The comprehensive plan must shall contain a capital 112 
improvements element designed to consider the need for and the 113 
location of public fa cilities in order to encourage the 114 
efficient use of such facilities and set forth all of the 115 
following: 116 
 1.  A component that outlines principles for construction, 117 
extension, or increase in capacity of public facilities, as well 118 
as a component that outline s principles for correcting existing 119 
public facility deficiencies, which are necessary to implement 120 
the comprehensive plan. The components must shall cover at least 121 
a 5-year period. 122 
 2.  Estimated public facility costs, including a 123 
delineation of when faci lities will be needed, the general 124 
location of the facilities, and projected revenue sources to 125     
 
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fund the facilities. 126 
 3.  Standards to ensure the availability of public 127 
facilities and the adequacy of those facilities to meet 128 
established acceptable levels o f service. 129 
 4.  A schedule of capital improvements which includes any 130 
publicly funded projects of federal, state, or local government, 131 
and which may include privately funded projects for which the 132 
local government has no fiscal responsibility. Projects 133 
necessary to ensure that any adopted level -of-service standards 134 
are achieved and maintained for the 5 -year period must be 135 
identified as either funded or unfunded and given a level of 136 
priority for funding. 137 
 5. The schedule must: 138 
 a. Include transportation im provements included in the 139 
applicable metropolitan planning organization's transportation 140 
improvement program adopted pursuant to s. 339.175(8) to the 141 
extent that such improvements are relied upon to ensure 142 
concurrency and financial feasibility ;. 143 
 b.  Where applicable, include a list of projects necessary 144 
to achieve the pollutant load reductions attributable to the 145 
local government, as established in a basin management action 146 
plan pursuant to s. 403.067(7); and 147 
 c. The schedule must Be coordinated with the applicable 148 
metropolitan planning organization's long -range transportation 149 
plan adopted pursuant to s. 339.175(7). 150     
 
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 (6)  In addition to the requirements of subsections (1) -151 
(5), the comprehensive plan shall include the following 152 
elements: 153 
 (c)  A general sanitary sewer, solid waste, drainage, 154 
potable water, and natural groundwater aquifer recharge element 155 
correlated to principles and guidelines for future land use, 156 
indicating ways to provide for future potable water, drainage, 157 
sanitary sewer, solid waste, and aquifer recharge protection 158 
requirements for the area. The element may be a detailed 159 
engineering plan including a topographic map depicting areas of 160 
prime groundwater recharge. 161 
 1.  Each local government shall address in the data and 162 
analyses required by this section those facilities that provide 163 
service within the local government's jurisdiction. Local 164 
governments that provide facilities to serve areas within other 165 
local government jurisdictions shall also address those 166 
facilities in the data and analy ses required by this section, 167 
using data from the comprehensive plan for those areas for the 168 
purpose of projecting facility needs as required in this 169 
subsection. For shared facilities, each local government shall 170 
indicate the proportional capacity of the s ystems allocated to 171 
serve its jurisdiction. 172 
 2.  The element must shall describe the problems and needs 173 
and the general facilities that will be required for solution of 174 
the problems and needs, including correcting existing facility 175     
 
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deficiencies. The elemen t must shall address coordinating the 176 
extension of, or increase in the capacity of, or upgrade in 177 
treatment of facilities to meet future needs ; prioritizing 178 
advanced waste treatment while maximizing the use of existing 179 
facilities and discouraging urban spr awl; conserving potable 180 
water resources; and protecting the functions of natural 181 
groundwater recharge areas and natural drainage features. 182 
 3.  Within the local government's jurisdiction, for any 183 
development of more than 50 residential lots, whether built or 184 
unbuilt, with more than one onsite sewage treatment and disposal 185 
system per 1 acre, the element must consider the feasibility of 186 
providing sanitary sewer services within a 10 -year planning 187 
horizon and must identify the name and location of the 188 
wastewater facility that could receive sanitary sewer flows 189 
after connection; the capacity of the facility and any 190 
associated transmission facilities; the projected wastewater 191 
flow at that facility for the next 20 years, including expected 192 
future new construction a nd connections of onsite sewage 193 
treatment and disposal systems to sanitary sewer; and a timeline 194 
for the construction of the sanitary sewer system. An onsite 195 
sewage treatment and disposal system is presumed to exist on a 196 
parcel if sanitary sewer services a re not available at or 197 
adjacent to the parcel boundary. Each comprehensive plan must be 198 
updated to include this element by July 1, 2024, and as needed 199 
thereafter to account for future applicable developments. This 200     
 
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subparagraph does not apply to a local gov ernment designated as 201 
a rural area of opportunity under s. 288.0656. 202 
 4. Within 18 months after the governing board approves an 203 
updated regional water supply plan, the element must incorporate 204 
the alternative water supply project or projects selected by the 205 
local government from those identified in the regional water 206 
supply plan pursuant to s. 373.709(2)(a) or proposed by the 207 
local government under s. 373.709(8)(b). If a local government 208 
is located within two water management districts, the local 209 
government must shall adopt its comprehensive plan amendment 210 
within 18 months aft er the later updated regional water supply 211 
plan. The element must identify such alternative water supply 212 
projects and traditional water supply projects and conservation 213 
and reuse necessary to meet the water needs identified in s. 214 
373.709(2)(a) within the l ocal government's jurisdiction and 215 
include a work plan, covering at least a 10 -year planning 216 
period, for building public, private, and regional water supply 217 
facilities, including development of alternative water supplies, 218 
which are identified in the elemen t as necessary to serve 219 
existing and new development. The work plan must shall be 220 
updated, at a minimum, every 5 years within 18 months after the 221 
governing board of a water management district approves an 222 
updated regional water supply plan. Local governmen ts, public 223 
and private utilities, regional water supply authorities, 224 
special districts, and water management districts are encouraged 225     
 
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to cooperatively plan for the development of multijurisdictional 226 
water supply facilities that are sufficient to meet proje cted 227 
demands for established planning periods, including the 228 
development of alternative water sources to supplement 229 
traditional sources of groundwater and surface water supplies. 230 
 5.4. A local government that does not own, operate, or 231 
maintain its own wat er supply facilities, including, but not 232 
limited to, wells, treatment facilities, and distribution 233 
infrastructure, and is served by a public water utility with a 234 
permitted allocation of greater than 300 million gallons per day 235 
is not required to amend its comprehensive plan in response to 236 
an updated regional water supply plan or to maintain a work plan 237 
if any such local government's usage of water constitutes less 238 
than 1 percent of the public water utility's total permitted 239 
allocation. However, any such loc al government shall is required 240 
to cooperate with, and provide relevant data to, any local 241 
government or utility provider that provides service within its 242 
jurisdiction, and shall to keep its general sanitary sewer, 243 
solid waste, potable water, and natural g roundwater aquifer 244 
recharge element updated in accordance with s. 163.3191. 245 
 Section 2.  Subsection (4) and paragraph (b) of subsection 246 
(8) of section 253.025, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 247 
 253.025  Acquisition of state lands. — 248 
 (4)  An agreement to acquire real property for the purposes 249 
described in this chapter, chapter 259, chapter 260, or chapter 250     
 
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375, title to which will vest in the board of trustees, may not 251 
bind the state before the agreement is reviewed and approved by 252 
the Department of Environmental Protection as complying with 253 
this section and any rules adopted pursuant to this section. If 254 
any of the following conditions exist, the agreement must shall 255 
be submitted to and approved by the board of trustees: 256 
 (a)  The purchase price agreed to by the seller exceeds the 257 
value as established pursuant to the rules of the board of 258 
trustees.; 259 
 (b)  The contract price agreed to by the seller and the 260 
acquiring agency exceeds $5 $1 million.; 261 
 (c)  The acquisition is the initial purchase in a Florida 262 
Forever project; or 263 
 (d) Other conditions that the board of trustees may adopt 264 
by rule. Such conditions may include, but are not limited to, 265 
Florida Forever projects when title to the property being 266 
acquired is considered nonmarketable or is encumbered i n such a 267 
way as to significantly affect its management. 268 
 269 
If approval of the board of trustees is required pursuant to 270 
this subsection, the acquiring agency must provide a 271 
justification as to why it is in the public's interest to 272 
acquire the parcel or Flori da Forever project. Approval of the 273 
board of trustees is also required for Florida Forever projects 274 
the department recommends acquiring pursuant to subsections (11) 275     
 
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and (22). Review and approval of agreements for acquisitions for 276 
Florida Greenways and Trai ls Program properties pursuant to 277 
chapter 260 may be waived by the department in any contract with 278 
nonprofit corporations that have agreed to assist the department 279 
with this program. If the contribution of the acquiring agency 280 
exceeds $100 million in any o ne fiscal year, the agreement must 281 
shall be submitted to and approved by the Legislative Budget 282 
Commission. 283 
 (8)  Before approval by the board of trustees, or, when 284 
applicable, the Department of Environmental Protection, of any 285 
agreement to purchase land p ursuant to this chapter, chapter 286 
259, chapter 260, or chapter 375, and before negotiations with 287 
the parcel owner to purchase any other land, title to which will 288 
vest in the board of trustees, an appraisal of the parcel shall 289 
be required as follows: 290 
 (b)  Each parcel to be acquired must shall have at least 291 
one appraisal. Two appraisals are required when the estimated 292 
value of the parcel exceeds $5 $1 million. However, if both 293 
appraisals exceed $5 $1 million and differ significantly, a 294 
third appraisal may be obtained. If a parcel is estimated to be 295 
worth $100,000 or less and the director of the Division of State 296 
Lands finds that the cost of an outside appraisal is not 297 
justified, a comparable sales analysis, an appraisal prepared by 298 
the division, or other reaso nably prudent procedures may be used 299 
by the division to estimate the value of the parcel, provided 300     
 
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the public's interest is reasonably protected. The state is not 301 
required to appraise the value of lands and appurtenances that 302 
are being donated to the state . 303 
 304 
Notwithstanding this subsection, on behalf of the board of 305 
trustees and before the appraisal of parcels approved for 306 
purchase under this chapter or chapter 259, the Secretary of 307 
Environmental Protection or the director of the Division of 308 
State Lands may enter into option contracts to buy such parcels. 309 
Any such option contract shall state that the final purchase 310 
price is subject to approval by the board of trustees or, if 311 
applicable, the Secretary of Environmental Protection, and that 312 
the final purchase p rice may not exceed the maximum offer 313 
allowed by law. Any such option contract presented to the board 314 
of trustees for final purchase price approval shall explicitly 315 
state that payment of the final purchase price is subject to an 316 
appropriation from the Legi slature. The consideration for such 317 
an option may not exceed $1,000 or 0.01 percent of the estimate 318 
by the department of the value of the parcel, whichever amount 319 
is greater. 320 
 Section 3.  Subsections (2) and (7), paragraph (b) of 321 
subsection (8), and para graph (d) of subsection (9) of section 322 
259.032, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 323 
 259.032  Conservation and recreation lands. — 324 
 (2)  The Governor and Cabinet, sitting as the Board of 325     
 
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Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, may expend 326 
moneys appropriated by the Legislature to acquire the fee or any 327 
lesser interest in lands for any of the following public 328 
purposes: 329 
 (a)  To conserve and protect environmentally unique and 330 
irreplaceable lands that contain native, relatively unaltered 331 
flora and fauna representing a natural area unique to, or scarce 332 
within, a region of this state or a larger geographic area .; 333 
 (b)  To conserve and protect lands within designated areas 334 
of critical state concern, if the proposed acquisition relates 335 
to the natural resource protection purposes of the designation .; 336 
 (c)  To conserve and protect native species habitat or 337 
endangered or threatened species, emphasizing long -term 338 
protection for endangered or threatened species designated G -1 339 
or G-2 by the Florida Natural Are as Inventory, and especially 340 
those areas that are special locations for breeding and 341 
reproduction.; 342 
 (d)  To conserve, protect, manage, or restore important 343 
ecosystems, landscapes, and forests, if the protection and 344 
conservation of such lands is necessary to enhance or protect 345 
significant surface water, groundwater, coastal, recreational, 346 
timber, or fish or wildlife resources which cannot otherwise be 347 
accomplished through local and state regulatory programs .; 348 
 (e)  To promote water resource development that benefits 349 
natural systems and citizens of the state .; 350     
 
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 (f)  To facilitate the restoration and subsequent health 351 
and vitality of the Florida Everglades .; 352 
 (g)  To provide areas, including recreational trails, for 353 
natural resource-based recreation and other outdoor recreation 354 
on any part of any site compatible with conservation purposes .; 355 
 (h)  To preserve significant archaeological or historic 356 
sites.; 357 
 (i)  To conserve urban open spaces suitable for greenways 358 
or outdoor recreation which are compatible with c onservation 359 
purposes.; or 360 
 (j)  To preserve agricultural lands under threat of 361 
conversion to development through less -than-fee acquisitions. 362 
 (k)  To complete critical linkages that will help preserve 363 
and protect this state's green infrastructure and vital habitat 364 
for wide-ranging wildlife, such as the Florida panther, within 365 
the Florida wildlife corridor. 366 
 (7)(a) All lands managed under this chapter and s. 253.034 367 
must shall be: 368 
 1.(a) Managed in a manner that will provide the greatest 369 
combination of benefits to the public and to the resources. 370 
 2.(b) Managed for public outdoor recreation which is 371 
compatible with the conservation and protection of public lands. 372 
Such management may include, but not be limited to, the 373 
following public recreational uses: fi shing, hunting, camping, 374 
bicycling, hiking, nature study, swimming, boating, canoeing, 375     
 
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horseback riding, diving, model hobbyist activities, birding, 376 
sailing, jogging, and other related outdoor activities. 377 
 (b)(c) Concurrent with its adoption of the annual list of 378 
acquisition projects pursuant to s. 259.035, the board shall 379 
adopt a management prospectus for each project. The management 380 
prospectus shall delineate: 381 
 1.  The management goals for the property; 382 
 2.  The conditions that will affect the intensity of 383 
management; 384 
 3.  An estimate of the revenue -generating potential of the 385 
property, if appropriate; 386 
 4.  A timetable for implementing the various stages of 387 
management and for providing access to the public, if 388 
applicable; 389 
 5.  A description of potential m ultiple-use activities as 390 
described in this section and s. 253.034; 391 
 6.  Provisions for protecting existing infrastructure and 392 
for ensuring the security of the project upon acquisition; 393 
 7.  The anticipated costs of management and projected 394 
sources of revenue, including legislative appropriations, to 395 
fund management needs; and 396 
 8.  Recommendations as to how many employees will be needed 397 
to manage the property, and recommendations as to whether local 398 
governments, volunteer groups, the former landowner, or ot her 399 
interested parties can be involved in the management. 400     
 
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 (c)(d) Concurrent with the approval of the acquisition 401 
contract pursuant to s. 253.025(4) s. 253.025(4)(c) For any 402 
interest in lands except those lands acquired pursuant to s. 403 
259.1052, the board shall designate an agency or agencies to 404 
manage such lands. The board shall evaluate and amend, as 405 
appropriate, the management policy statement for the project as 406 
provided by s. 259.035 to ensure that the policy statement is 407 
compatible with conservation, recreation, or both. For any fee 408 
simple acquisition of a parcel which is or will be leased back 409 
for agricultural purposes, or any acquisition of a less than fee 410 
interest in land that is or will be used for agricultural 411 
purposes, the board shall first consider having a soil and water 412 
conservation district, created pursuant to chapter 582, manage 413 
and monitor such interests. 414 
 (d)(e) State agencies designated to manage lan ds acquired 415 
under this chapter or with funds deposited into the Land 416 
Acquisition Trust Fund, except those lands acquired under s. 417 
259.1052, may contract with local governments and soil and water 418 
conservation districts to assist in management activities, 419 
including the responsibility of being the lead land manager. 420 
Such land management contracts may include a provision for the 421 
transfer of management funding to the local government or soil 422 
and water conservation district from the land acquisition trust 423 
fund of the lead land managing agency in an amount adequate for 424 
the local government or soil and water conservation district to 425     
 
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perform its contractual land management responsibilities and 426 
proportionate to its responsibilities, and which otherwise would 427 
have been expended by the state agency to manage the property. 428 
 (e)(f) Immediately following the acquisition of any 429 
interest in conservation and recreation lands, the department, 430 
acting on behalf of the board, may issue to the lead managing 431 
entity an interim assig nment letter to be effective until the 432 
execution of a formal lease. 433 
 (8) 434 
 (b)  Individual management plans required by s. 253.034(5), 435 
for parcels over 160 acres, shall be developed with input from 436 
an advisory group. Members of this advisory group shall inc lude, 437 
at a minimum, representatives of the lead land managing agency, 438 
comanaging entities, local private property owners, the 439 
appropriate soil and water conservation district, a local 440 
conservation organization, and a local elected official. If 441 
habitat or potentially restorable habitat for imperiled species 442 
is located on state lands, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation 443 
Commission and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer 444 
Services shall be included on any advisory group required under 445 
chapter 253, and the short-term and long-term management goals 446 
required under chapter 253 must advance the goals and objectives 447 
of imperiled species management without restricting other uses 448 
identified in the management plan. The advisory group shall 449 
conduct at least one publ ic hearing within the county in which 450     
 
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the parcel or project is located. For those parcels or projects 451 
that are within more than one county, at least one areawide 452 
public hearing shall be acceptable and the lead managing agency 453 
shall invite a local elected o fficial from each county. The 454 
areawide public hearing shall be held in the county in which the 455 
core parcels are located. Notice of such public hearing shall be 456 
posted on the parcel or project designated for management, 457 
advertised in a paper of general circ ulation, and announced at a 458 
scheduled meeting of the local governing body before the actual 459 
public hearing. The management prospectus required pursuant to 460 
paragraph (7)(b) (7)(c) shall be available to the public for a 461 
period of 30 days before the public he aring. 462 
 463 
By July 1 of each year, each governmental agency and each 464 
private entity designated to manage lands shall report to the 465 
Secretary of Environmental Protection on the progress of 466 
funding, staffing, and resource management of every project for 467 
which the agency or entity is responsible. 468 
 (9) 469 
 (d)  Up to one-fifth of the funds appropriated for the 470 
purposes identified in paragraph (b) shall be reserved by the 471 
board for interim management of acquisitions and for associated 472 
contractual services, to ensure t he conservation and protection 473 
of natural resources on project sites and to allow limited 474 
public recreational use of lands. Interim management activities 475     
 
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may include, but not be limited to, resource assessments, 476 
control of invasive, nonnative species, habi tat restoration, 477 
fencing, law enforcement, controlled burning, and public access 478 
consistent with preliminary determinations made pursuant to 479 
paragraph (7)(e) (7)(f). The board shall make these interim 480 
funds available immediately upon purchase. 481 
 Section 4.  Section 373.469, Florida Statutes, is created 482 
to read: 483 
 373.469  Indian River Lagoon Protection Program. — 484 
 (1)  FINDINGS AND INTENT. — 485 
 (a)  The Legislature finds that: 486 
 1.  The Indian River Lagoon is a critical water resource of 487 
this state which provides many economic, natural habitat, and 488 
biodiversity functions that benefit the public interest, 489 
including fishing, navigation, recreation, and habitat to 490 
endangered and threatened species and other flora and fauna. 491 
 2.  Among other causes, land use c hanges, onsite sewage 492 
treatment and disposal systems, aging infrastructure, stormwater 493 
runoff, agriculture, and residential fertilizer have resulted in 494 
excess nutrients entering the Indian River Lagoon and adversely 495 
impacting the lagoon's water quality. 496 
 3.  Improvement to the hydrology, water quality, and 497 
associated aquatic habitats within the Indian River Lagoon is 498 
essential to the protection of the resource. 499 
 4.  It is imperative for the state, local governments, and 500     
 
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agricultural and environmental commun ities to commit to 501 
restoring and protecting the surface water resources of the 502 
Indian River Lagoon, and a holistic approach to address these 503 
issues must be developed and implemented immediately. 504 
 5.  The expeditious implementation of the Banana River 505 
Lagoon Basin Management Action Plan, Central Indian River Lagoon 506 
Basin Management Action Plan, North Indian River Lagoon Basin 507 
Management Action Plan, and Mosquito Lagoon Reasonable Assurance 508 
Plan are necessary to improve the quality of water in the Indian 509 
River Lagoon ecosystem and to provide a reasonable means of 510 
achieving the total maximum daily load requirements and 511 
achieving and maintaining compliance with state water quality 512 
standards. 513 
 6.  The implementation of the programs contained in this 514 
section will benefit the public health, safety, and welfare and 515 
is in the public interest. 516 
 (b)  The Legislature intends for this state to protect and 517 
restore surface water resources and achieve and maintain 518 
compliance with water quality standards in the Indian River 519 
Lagoon through the phased, comprehensive, and innovative 520 
protection program set forth in this section, including long -521 
term solutions based upon the total maximum daily loads 522 
established in accordance with s. 403.067. This program is 523 
watershed-based, provides for the consideration of all water 524 
quality issues needed to meet the total maximum daily load, and 525     
 
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includes research and monitoring, development and implementation 526 
of best management practices, refinement of existing 527 
regulations, and structural and nonst ructural projects, 528 
including public works. 529 
 (2)  DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 530 
 (a)  "Best management practice" means a practice or 531 
combination of practices determined by the coordinating 532 
agencies, based on research, field -testing, and expert review, 533 
to be the most effective and practicable on -location means, 534 
including economic and technological considerations, for 535 
improving water quality in agricultural and urban discharges. 536 
Best management practices for agricultural discharges must 537 
reflect a balance between water quality improvements and 538 
agricultural productivity. 539 
 (b)  "Enhanced nutrient -reducing onsite sewage treatment 540 
and disposal system" means an onsite sewage treatment and 541 
disposal system approved by the department as capable of meeting 542 
or exceeding a 50 percent total nitrogen reduction before 543 
disposal of wastewater in the drainfield, or at least 65 percent 544 
total nitrogen reduction combined from onsite sewage tank or 545 
tanks and drainfield. 546 
 (c)  "Total maximum daily load" means the sum of the 547 
individual wasteload allocations for point sources and the load 548 
allocations for nonpoint sources and natural background adopted 549 
pursuant to s. 403.067. Before determining individual wasteload 550     
 
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allocations and load allocations, the maximum amount of a 551 
pollutant that a waterbody or water segment can assimilate from 552 
all sources without exceeding water quality standards must first 553 
be calculated. 554 
 (3)  THE INDIAN RIVER LAGOON PROTECTION PROGRAM. —The Indian 555 
River Lagoon Protection Program consists of t he Banana River 556 
Lagoon Basin Management Action Plan, Central Indian River Lagoon 557 
Basin Management Action Plan, North Indian River Lagoon Basin 558 
Management Action Plan, and Mosquito Lagoon Reasonable Assurance 559 
Plan, and such plans are the components of the I ndian River 560 
Lagoon Protection Program which achieve phosphorous and nitrogen 561 
load reductions for the Indian River Lagoon. 562 
 (a)  Evaluation.—Every 5 years, the department shall 563 
evaluate and update the Banana River Lagoon Basin Management 564 
Action Plan, Central Indian River Lagoon Basin Management Action 565 
Plan, and North Indian River Lagoon Basin Management Action Plan 566 
and identify any further load reductions necessary to achieve 567 
compliance with the relevant total maximum daily loads 568 
established pursuant to s. 4 03.067. As provided in s. 569 
403.067(7)(a)6., such plans must include 5 -year milestones for 570 
implementation and water quality improvement and a water quality 571 
monitoring component sufficient to evaluate whether reasonable 572 
progress in pollutant load reductions i s being achieved over 573 
time. 574 
 (b)  Water quality standards and total maximum daily 575     
 
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loads.—The department, in coordination with the St. Johns River 576 
Water Management District, South Florida Water Management 577 
District, local governments, the Indian River Lagoon National 578 
Estuary Program, and other stakeholders, shall identify and 579 
prioritize strategies and projects necessary to achieve water 580 
quality standards within the Indian River Lagoon watershed and 581 
meet the total maximum daily loads. Projects identified from 582 
this evaluation must be incorporated into the Banana River 583 
Lagoon Basin Management Action Plan, Central Indian River Lagoon 584 
Basin Management Action Plan, North Indian River Lagoon Basin 585 
Management Action Plan, and Mosquito Lagoon Reasonable Assurance 586 
Plan, as appropriate. 587 
 (c)  Indian River Lagoon Watershed Research and Water 588 
Quality Monitoring Program. —The department, in coordination with 589 
the St. Johns River Water Management District, the South Florida 590 
Water Management District, and the Indian River Lagoon National 591 
Estuary Program, shall implement the Indian River Lagoon 592 
Watershed Research and Water Quality Monitoring Program to 593 
establish a comprehensive water quality monitoring network 594 
throughout the Indian River Lagoon and fund research pertaining 595 
to water quality, ecosystem restoration, and seagrass impacts 596 
and restoration. The department shall use the results from the 597 
program to prioritize projects and to make modifications to the 598 
Banana River Lagoon Basin Management Action Plan, Central Indian 599 
River Lagoon Basin Management Action Plan, North Indian River 600     
 
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Lagoon Basin Management Action Plan, and Mosquito Lagoon 601 
Reasonable Assurance Plan, as appropriate. 602 
 (d)  Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems. — 603 
 1.  Beginning on January 1, 2024, unless previous ly 604 
permitted, the installation of new onsite sewage treatment and 605 
disposal systems is prohibited within the Banana River Lagoon 606 
Basin Management Action Plan, Central Indian River Lagoon Basin 607 
Management Action Plan, North Indian River Lagoon Basin 608 
Management Action Plan, and Mosquito Lagoon Reasonable Assurance 609 
Plan areas where a publicly owned or investor -owned sewerage 610 
system is available as defined in s. 381.0065(2)(a). Where 611 
central sewerage is not available, only enhanced nutrient -612 
reducing onsite sewag e treatment and disposal systems or other 613 
wastewater treatment systems that achieve at least 50 percent 614 
nutrient reduction compared to a standard onsite sewage 615 
treatment and disposal system are authorized. 616 
 2.  By July 1, 2030, any commercial or residentia l property 617 
with an existing onsite sewage treatment and disposal system 618 
located within the Banana River Lagoon Basin Management Action 619 
Plan, Central Indian River Lagoon Basin Management Action Plan, 620 
North Indian River Lagoon Basin Management Action Plan, a nd 621 
Mosquito Lagoon Reasonable Assurance Plan areas must connect to 622 
central sewer if available or upgrade to an enhanced nutrient -623 
reducing onsite sewage treatment and disposal system or other 624 
wastewater treatment system that achieves at least 50 percent 625     
 
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nutrient reduction compared to a standard onsite sewage 626 
treatment and disposal system. 627 
 (4)  RELATIONSHIP TO STATE WATER QUALITY STANDARDS. —This 628 
section may not be construed to modify any existing state water 629 
quality standard or to modify s. 403.067(6) and (7 )(a). 630 
 (5)  PRESERVATION OF AUTHORITY. —This section may not be 631 
construed to restrict the authority otherwise granted to 632 
agencies pursuant to this chapter and chapter 403, and this 633 
section is supplemental to the authority granted to agencies 634 
pursuant to this chapter and chapter 403. 635 
 (6)  RULES.—The department and governing boards of the St. 636 
Johns River Water Management District and South Florida Water 637 
Management District may adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) 638 
and 120.54 to implement this section. 639 
 Section 5.  Subsection (1) of section 373.501, Florida 640 
Statutes, is amended to read: 641 
 373.501  Appropriation of funds to water management 642 
districts.— 643 
 (1)  The department shall transfer may allocate to the 644 
water management districts , from funds appropriated t o the 645 
districts through the department in, such sums as may be deemed 646 
necessary to defray the costs of the administrative, regulatory, 647 
and other operational activities of the districts. The governing 648 
boards shall submit annual budget requests for such purp oses to 649 
the department, and the department shall consider such budgets 650     
 
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in preparing its budget request for the Legislature. The 651 
districts shall annually report to the department on the use of 652 
the funds. 653 
 Section 6.  Present subsections (2) through (8) of section 654 
373.802, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (3) 655 
through (9), respectively, and a new subsection (2) is added to 656 
that section, to read: 657 
 373.802  Definitions. —As used in this part, the term: 658 
 (2)  "Enhanced nutrient -reducing onsite sewage treatment 659 
and disposal system" means an onsite sewage treatment and 660 
disposal system approved by the department as capable of meeting 661 
or exceeding a 50 percent total nitrogen reduction before 662 
disposal of wastewater in the drainfield, or at least 65 p ercent 663 
total nitrogen reduction combined from onsite sewage tank or 664 
tanks and drainfield. 665 
 Section 7.  Subsections (2) and (3) of section 373.807, 666 
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 667 
 373.807  Protection of water quality in Outstanding Florida 668 
Springs.—By July 1, 2016, the department shall initiate 669 
assessment, pursuant to s. 403.067(3), of Outstanding Florida 670 
Springs or spring systems for which an impairment determination 671 
has not been made under the numeric nutrient standards in effect 672 
for spring vents. Assessments must be completed by July 1, 2018. 673 
 (2)  By July 1, 2017, each local government, as defined in 674 
s. 373.802(3) s. 373.802(2), that has not adopted an ordinance 675     
 
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pursuant to s. 403.9337, shall develop, enact, and implement an 676 
ordinance pursuant to that section. It is the intent of the 677 
Legislature that ordinances required to be adopted under this 678 
subsection reflect the latest scientific information, 679 
advancements, and technological improvements in the industry. 680 
 (3)  As part of a basin management a ction plan that 681 
includes an Outstanding Florida Spring, the department, relevant 682 
local governments, and relevant local public and private 683 
wastewater utilities shall develop an onsite sewage treatment 684 
and disposal system remediation plan for a spring if the 685 
department determines onsite sewage treatment and disposal 686 
systems within a basin management action plan priority focus 687 
area contribute at least 20 percent of nonpoint source nitrogen 688 
pollution or if the department determines remediation is 689 
necessary to achieve the total maximum daily load. The plan must 690 
shall identify cost-effective and financially feasible projects 691 
necessary to reduce the nutrient impacts from onsite sewage 692 
treatment and disposal systems and shall be completed and 693 
adopted as part of the basin management action plan no later 694 
than the first 5-year milestone required by subparagraph 695 
(1)(b)8. The department is the lead agency in coordinating the 696 
preparation of and the adoption of the plan. The department 697 
shall: 698 
 (a)  Collect and evaluate cred ible scientific information 699 
on the effect of nutrients, particularly forms of nitrogen, on 700     
 
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springs and springs systems; and 701 
 (b)  Develop a public education plan to provide area 702 
residents with reliable, understandable information about onsite 703 
sewage treatment and disposal systems and springs. 704 
 705 
In addition to the requirements in s. 403.067, the plan must 706 
shall include options for repair, upgrade, replacement, 707 
drainfield modification, addition of effective nitrogen reducing 708 
features, connection to a central s ewerage system, or other 709 
action for an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system or 710 
group of systems within a basin management action plan priority 711 
focus area that contribute at least 20 percent of nonpoint 712 
source nitrogen pollution or if the department determines 713 
remediation is necessary to achieve a total maximum daily load. 714 
For these systems, the department shall include in the plan a 715 
priority ranking for each system or group of systems that 716 
requires remediation and shall award funds to implement the 717 
remediation projects contingent on an appropriation in the 718 
General Appropriations Act, which may include all or part of the 719 
costs necessary for repair, upgrade, replacement, drainfield 720 
modification, addition of effective nitrogen reducing features, 721 
initial connection to a central sewerage system, or other 722 
action. In awarding funds, the department may consider expected 723 
nutrient reduction benefit per unit cost, size and scope of 724 
project, relative local financial contribution to the project, 725     
 
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and the financial impact on property owners and the community. 726 
The department may waive matching funding requirements for 727 
proposed projects within an area designated as a rural area of 728 
opportunity under s. 288.0656. 729 
 Section 8.  Section 373.811, Florida Statutes, is amende d 730 
to read: 731 
 373.811  Prohibited activities within a basin management 732 
action plan priority focus area.—The following activities are 733 
prohibited within a basin management action plan priority focus 734 
area in effect for an Outstanding Florida Spring: 735 
 (1)  New domestic wastewater disposal facilities, including 736 
rapid infiltration basins, with permitted capacities of 100,000 737 
gallons per day or more, except for those facilities that meet 738 
an advanced wastewater treatment standard of no more than 3 mg/l 739 
total nitrogen, expressed as N, on an annual permitted basis, or 740 
a more stringent treatment standard if the department determines 741 
the more stringent standard is necessary to attain a total 742 
maximum daily load for the Outstanding Florida Spring. 743 
 (2)  New onsite sewage tr eatment and disposal systems where 744 
connection to a publicly owned or investor -owned sewerage system 745 
is available as defined in s. 381.0065(2)(a). On lots of 1 acre 746 
or less, if a publicly owned or investor -owned sewerage system 747 
is not available, only the in stallation of enhanced nutrient -748 
reducing onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems or other 749 
wastewater treatment systems that achieve at least 50 percent 750     
 
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nutrient reduction compared to a standard onsite sewage 751 
treatment and disposal system are authorize d on lots of less 752 
than 1 acre, if the addition of the specific systems conflicts 753 
with an onsite treatment and disposal system remediation plan 754 
incorporated into a basin management action plan in accordance 755 
with s. 373.807(3). 756 
 (3)  New facilities for the d isposal of hazardous waste. 757 
 (4)  The land application of Class A or Class B domestic 758 
wastewater biosolids not in accordance with a department 759 
approved nutrient management plan establishing the rate at which 760 
all biosolids, soil amendments, and sources of n utrients at the 761 
land application site can be applied to the land for crop 762 
production while minimizing the amount of pollutants and 763 
nutrients discharged to groundwater or waters of the state. 764 
 (5)  New agriculture operations that do not implement best 765 
management practices, measures necessary to achieve pollution 766 
reduction levels established by the department, or groundwater 767 
monitoring plans approved by a water management district or the 768 
department. 769 
 Section 9.  Present paragraphs (f) through (r) of 770 
subsection (2) of section 381.0065, Florida Statutes, are 771 
redesignated as paragraphs (g) through (s), respectively, a new 772 
paragraph (f) is added to that subsection, and paragraph (n) of 773 
subsection (4) of that section is amended, to read: 774 
 381.0065  Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems; 775     
 
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regulation.— 776 
 (2)  DEFINITIONS.—As used in ss. 381.0065 -381.0067, the 777 
term: 778 
 (f)  "Enhanced nutrient -reducing onsite sewage treatment 779 
and disposal system" means an onsite sewage treatment and 780 
disposal system approved by the department as capable of meeting 781 
or exceeding a 50 percent total nitrogen reduction before 782 
disposal of wastewater in the drainfield, or at least 65 percent 783 
total nitrogen reduction combined from onsite sewage tank or 784 
tanks and drainfield. 785 
 (4)  PERMITS; INSTALLATION; CONDITIONS. —A person may not 786 
construct, repair, modify, abandon, or operate an onsite sewage 787 
treatment and disposal system without first obtaining a permit 788 
approved by the department. The department may issue permits to 789 
carry out this section, except that the issuance of a permit for 790 
work seaward of the coastal construction control line 791 
established under s. 161.053 is shall be contingent upon receipt 792 
of any required coastal construction control line permit from 793 
the department. A construction per mit is valid for 18 months 794 
after the date of issuance and may be extended by the department 795 
for one 90-day period under rules adopted by the department. A 796 
repair permit is valid for 90 days after the date of issuance. 797 
An operating permit must be obtained b efore the use of any 798 
aerobic treatment unit or if the establishment generates 799 
commercial waste. Buildings or establishments that use an 800     
 
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aerobic treatment unit or generate commercial waste shall be 801 
inspected by the department at least annually to assure 802 
compliance with the terms of the operating permit. The operating 803 
permit for a commercial wastewater system is valid for 1 year 804 
after the date of issuance and must be renewed annually. The 805 
operating permit for an aerobic treatment unit is valid for 2 806 
years after the date of issuance and must be renewed every 2 807 
years. If all information pertaining to the siting, location, 808 
and installation conditions or repair of an onsite sewage 809 
treatment and disposal system remains the same, a construction 810 
or repair permit for the onsite sewage treatment and disposal 811 
system may be transferred to another person, if the transferee 812 
files, within 60 days after the transfer of ownership, an 813 
amended application providing all corrected information and 814 
proof of ownership of the property . A fee is not associated with 815 
the processing of this supplemental information. A person may 816 
not contract to construct, modify, alter, repair, service, 817 
abandon, or maintain any portion of an onsite sewage treatment 818 
and disposal system without being registe red under part III of 819 
chapter 489. A property owner who personally performs 820 
construction, maintenance, or repairs to a system serving his or 821 
her own owner-occupied single-family residence is exempt from 822 
registration requirements for performing such constru ction, 823 
maintenance, or repairs on that residence, but is subject to all 824 
permitting requirements. A municipality or political subdivision 825     
 
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of the state may not issue a building or plumbing permit for any 826 
building that requires the use of an onsite sewage tre atment and 827 
disposal system unless the owner or builder has received a 828 
construction permit for such system from the department. A 829 
building or structure may not be occupied and a municipality, 830 
political subdivision, or any state or federal agency may not 831 
authorize occupancy until the department approves the final 832 
installation of the onsite sewage treatment and disposal system. 833 
A municipality or political subdivision of the state may not 834 
approve any change in occupancy or tenancy of a building that 835 
uses an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system until the 836 
department has reviewed the use of the system with the proposed 837 
change, approved the change, and amended the operating permit. 838 
 (n)  Evaluations for determining the seasonal high -water 839 
table elevations or the suitability of soils for the use of a 840 
new onsite sewage treatment and disposal system shall be 841 
performed by department personnel, professional engineers 842 
registered in the state, or such other persons with expertise, 843 
as defined by rule, in making such e valuations. Evaluations for 844 
determining mean annual flood lines shall be performed by those 845 
persons identified in paragraph (2)(l) (2)(k). The department 846 
shall accept evaluations submitted by professional engineers and 847 
such other persons as meet the expert ise established by this 848 
section or by rule unless the department has a reasonable 849 
scientific basis for questioning the accuracy or completeness of 850     
 
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the evaluation. 851 
 Section 10.  Subsection (3) is added to section 381.00655, 852 
Florida Statutes, to read: 853 
 381.00655  Connection of existing onsite sewage treatment 854 
and disposal systems to central sewerage system; requirements. — 855 
 (3)  Local governmental agencies, as defined in s. 856 
403.1835(2), that receive grants or loans from the department to 857 
offset the cost of connecting onsite sewage treatment and 858 
disposal systems to publicly owned or investor -owned sewerage 859 
systems are encouraged to do all of the following while such 860 
funds remain available: 861 
 (a)  Identify the owners of onsite sewage treatment and 862 
disposal systems within the jurisdiction of the respective local 863 
governmental agency who are eligible to apply for the grant or 864 
loan funds and notify such owners of the funding availability. 865 
 (b)  Maintain a publicly available website with information 866 
relating to the availability of the grant or loan funds, 867 
including the amount of funds available and information on how 868 
the owner of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system may 869 
apply for such funds. 870 
 Section 11.  Section 403.031, Florida Statutes, is 871 
reordered and amended to read: 872 
 403.031  Definitions. —In construing this chapter, or rules 873 
and regulations adopted pursuant hereto, the following words, 874 
phrases, or terms, unless the context otherwise indicates, have 875     
 
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the following meanings: 876 
 (1)  "Contaminant" is any substance which is harmful to 877 
plant, animal, or human life. 878 
 (2)  "Department" means the Department of Environmental 879 
Protection. 880 
 (3)  "Effluent limitations" means any restriction 881 
established by the department on quantities, rates, or 882 
concentrations of che mical, physical, biological, or other 883 
constituents which are discharged from sources into waters of 884 
the state. 885 
 (5)  "Enhanced nutrient -reducing onsite sewage treatment 886 
and disposal system" means an onsite sewage treatment and 887 
disposal system approved by t he department as capable of meeting 888 
or exceeding a 50 percent total nitrogen reduction before 889 
disposal of wastewater in the drainfield, or at least 65 percent 890 
total nitrogen reduction combined from onsite sewage tank or 891 
tanks and drainfield. 892 
 (6)(4) "Installation" means is any structure, equipment, 893 
or facility, or appurtenances thereto, or operation which may 894 
emit air or water contaminants in quantities prohibited by rules 895 
of the department. 896 
 (7)  "Nutrient or nutrient -related standards" means water 897 
quality standards and criteria established for total nitrogen 898 
and total phosphorous, or their organic or inorganic forms; 899 
biological variables, such as chlorophyll -a, biomass, or the 900     
 
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structure of the phytoplankton, periphyton, or vascular plant 901 
community, that respond to nutrient load or concentration in a 902 
predictable and measurable manner; or dissolved oxygen if it is 903 
demonstrated for the waterbody that dissolved oxygen conditions 904 
result in a biological imbalance and the dissolved oxygen 905 
responds to a nutrient l oad or concentration in a predictable 906 
and measurable manner. 907 
 (8)  "Onsite sewage treatment and disposal system" means a 908 
system that contains a standard subsurface, filled, or mound 909 
drainfield system; an aerobic treatment unit; a graywater system 910 
tank; a laundry wastewater system tank; a septic tank; a grease 911 
interceptor; a pump tank; a solids or effluent pump; a 912 
waterless, incinerating, or organic waste -composting toilet; or 913 
a sanitary pit privy that is installed or proposed to be 914 
installed beyond the buil ding sewer on land of the owner or on 915 
other land to which the owner has the legal right to install a 916 
system. The term includes any item placed within, or intended to 917 
be used as a part of or in conjunction with, the system. The 918 
term does not include package sewage treatment facilities and 919 
other treatment works regulated under chapter 403. 920 
 (9)(5) "Person" means the state or any agency or 921 
institution thereof, the United States or any agency or 922 
institution thereof, or any municipality, political subdivision, 923 
public or private corporation, individual, partnership, 924 
association, or other entity and includes any officer or 925     
 
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governing or managing body of the state, the United States, any 926 
agency, any municipality, political subdivision, or public or 927 
private corporation. 928 
 (10)(6) "Plant" is any unit operation, complex, area, or 929 
multiple of unit operations that produce, process, or cause to 930 
be processed any materials, the processing of which can, or may, 931 
cause air or water pollution. 932 
 (11)(7) "Pollution" is the presen ce in the outdoor 933 
atmosphere or waters of the state of any substances, 934 
contaminants, noise, or manmade or human -induced impairment of 935 
air or waters or alteration of the chemical, physical, 936 
biological, or radiological integrity of air or water in 937 
quantities or at levels which are or may be potentially harmful 938 
or injurious to human health or welfare, animal or plant life, 939 
or property or which unreasonably interfere with the enjoyment 940 
of life or property, including outdoor recreation unless 941 
authorized by applicable law. 942 
 (12)(8) "Pollution prevention" means the steps taken by a 943 
potential generator of contamination or pollution to eliminate 944 
or reduce the contamination or pollution before it is discharged 945 
into the environment. The term includes nonmandatory step s taken 946 
to use alternative forms of energy, conserve or reduce the use 947 
of energy, substitute nontoxic materials for toxic materials, 948 
conserve or reduce the use of toxic materials and raw materials, 949 
reformulate products, modify manufacturing or other proces ses, 950     
 
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improve in-plant maintenance and operations, implement 951 
environmental planning before expanding a facility, and recycle 952 
toxic or other raw materials. 953 
 (14)(9) "Sewerage system" means pipelines or conduits, 954 
pumping stations, and force mains and all oth er structures, 955 
devices, appurtenances, and facilities used for collecting or 956 
conducting wastes to an ultimate point for treatment or 957 
disposal. 958 
 (15)(10) "Source" means is any and all points of origin of 959 
a contaminant the item defined in subsection (1) , whether 960 
privately or publicly owned or operated. 961 
 (21)(11) "Treatment works" and "disposal systems" mean any 962 
plant or other works used for the purpose of treating, 963 
stabilizing, or holding wastes. 964 
 (22)(12) "Wastes" means sewage, industrial wastes, and all 965 
other liquid, gaseous, solid, radioactive, or other substances 966 
which may pollute or tend to pollute any waters of the state. 967 
 (23)(13) "Waters" include, but are not limited to, rivers, 968 
lakes, streams, springs, impoundments, wetlands, and all other 969 
waters or bodies of water, including fresh, brackish, saline, 970 
tidal, surface, or underground waters. Waters owned entirely by 971 
one person other than the state are included only in regard to 972 
possible discharge on other property or water. Underground 973 
waters include, but are not limited to, all underground waters 974 
passing through pores of rock or soils or flowing through in 975     
 
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channels, whether manmade or natural. Solely for purposes of s. 976 
403.0885, waters of the state a lso include navigable waters or 977 
waters of the contiguous zone as used in s. 502 of the Clean 978 
Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. ss. 1251 et seq., as in 979 
existence on January 1, 1993, except for those navigable waters 980 
seaward of the boundaries of the state set forth in s. 1, Art. 981 
II of the State Constitution. Solely for purposes of this 982 
chapter, waters of the state also include the area bounded by 983 
the following: 984 
 (a)  Commence at the intersection of State Road (SRD) 5 985 
(U.S. 1) and the county line dividing Miami -Dade and Monroe 986 
Counties, said point also being the mean high -water line of 987 
Florida Bay, located in section 4, township 60 south, range 39 988 
east of the Tallahassee Meridian for the point of beginning. 989 
From said point of beginning, thence run northwesterly along 990 
said SRD 5 to an intersection with the north line of section 18, 991 
township 58 south, range 39 east; thence run westerly to a point 992 
marking the southeast corner of section 12, township 58 south, 993 
range 37 east, said point also lying on the east boundary of the 994 
Everglades National Park; thence run north along the east 995 
boundary of the aforementioned Everglades National Park to a 996 
point marking the northeast corner of section 1, township 58 997 
south, range 37 east; thence run west along said park to a point 998 
marking the northwest corner of said section 1; thence run 999 
northerly along said park to a point marking the northwest 1000     
 
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corner of section 24, township 57 south, range 37 east; thence 1001 
run westerly along the south lines of sections 14, 15, and 16 to 1002 
the southwest corner of section 16; thence leaving the 1003 
Everglades National Park boundary run northerly along the west 1004 
line of section 16 to the northwest corner of section 16; thence 1005 
east along the northerly line of section 16 to a point at the 1006 
intersection of the east one-half and west one-half of section 1007 
9; thence northerly along the line separating the east one -half 1008 
and the west one-half of sections 9, 4, 33, and 28; thence run 1009 
easterly along the north line of section 28 to the northeast 1010 
corner of section 28; thence run northerly along the west line 1011 
of section 22 to the northwest corner of section 22; thence 1012 
easterly along the north line of section 22 to a point at the 1013 
intersection of the east one -half and west one-half of section 1014 
15; thence run northerly along said l ine to the point of 1015 
intersection with the north line of section 15; thence easterly 1016 
along the north line of section 15 to the northeast corner of 1017 
section 15; thence run northerly along the west lines of 1018 
sections 11 and 2 to the northwest corner of section 2; thence 1019 
run easterly along the north lines of sections 2 and 1 to the 1020 
northeast corner of section 1, township 56 south, range 37 east; 1021 
thence run north along the east line of section 36, township 55 1022 
south, range 37 east to the northeast corner of section 36; 1023 
thence run west along the north line of section 36 to the 1024 
northwest corner of section 36; thence run north along the west 1025     
 
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line of section 25 to the northwest corner of section 25; thence 1026 
run west along the north line of section 26 to the northwest 1027 
corner of section 26; thence run north along the west line of 1028 
section 23 to the northwest corner of section 23; thence run 1029 
easterly along the north line of section 23 to the northeast 1030 
corner of section 23; thence run north along the west line of 1031 
section 13 to the northwest corner of section 13; thence run 1032 
east along the north line of section 13 to a point of 1033 
intersection with the west line of the southeast one -quarter of 1034 
section 12; thence run north along the west line of the 1035 
southeast one-quarter of section 1 2 to the northwest corner of 1036 
the southeast one-quarter of section 12; thence run east along 1037 
the north line of the southeast one -quarter of section 12 to the 1038 
point of intersection with the east line of section 12; thence 1039 
run east along the south line of the northwest one-quarter of 1040 
section 7 to the southeast corner of the northwest one -quarter 1041 
of section 7; thence run north along the east line of the 1042 
northwest one-quarter of section 7 to the point of intersection 1043 
with the north line of section 7; thence run northerly along the 1044 
west line of the southeast one -quarter of section 6 to the 1045 
northwest corner of the southeast one -quarter of section 6; 1046 
thence run east along the north lines of the southeast one -1047 
quarter of section 6 and the southwest one -quarter of section 5 1048 
to the northeast corner of the southwest one -quarter of section 1049 
5; thence run northerly along the east line of the northwest 1050     
 
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one-quarter of section 5 to the point of intersection with the 1051 
north line of section 5; thence run northerly along the line 1052 
dividing the east one -half and the west one -half of Lot 5 to a 1053 
point intersecting the north line of Lot 5; thence run east 1054 
along the north line of Lot 5 to the northeast corner of Lot 5, 1055 
township 54 1/2 south, range 38 east; thence run north along the 1056 
west line of section 33, township 54 south, range 38 east to a 1057 
point intersecting the northwest corner of the southwest one -1058 
quarter of section 33; thence run easterly along the north line 1059 
of the southwest one -quarter of section 33 to the northeast 1060 
corner of the southwest one-quarter of section 33; thence run 1061 
north along the west line of the northeast one -quarter of 1062 
section 33 to a point intersecting the north line of section 33; 1063 
thence run easterly along the north line of section 33 to the 1064 
northeast corner of se ction 33; thence run northerly along the 1065 
west line of section 27 to a point intersecting the northwest 1066 
corner of the southwest one -quarter of section 27; thence run 1067 
easterly to the northeast corner of the southwest one -quarter of 1068 
section 27; thence run nor therly along the west line of the 1069 
northeast one-quarter of section 27 to a point intersecting the 1070 
north line of section 27; thence run west along the north line 1071 
of section 27 to the northwest corner of section 27; thence run 1072 
north along the west lines of s ections 22 and 15 to the 1073 
northwest corner of section 15; thence run easterly along the 1074 
north lines of sections 15 and 14 to the point of intersection 1075     
 
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with the L-31N Levee, said intersection located near the 1076 
southeast corner of section 11, township 54 south , range 38 1077 
east; thence run northerly along Levee L -31N crossing SRD 90 1078 
(U.S. 41 Tamiami Trail) to an intersection common to Levees L -1079 
31N, L-29, and L-30, said intersection located near the 1080 
southeast corner of section 2, township 54 south, range 38 east; 1081 
thence run northeasterly, northerly, and northeasterly along 1082 
Levee L-30 to a point of intersection with the Miami -1083 
Dade/Broward Levee, said intersection located near the northeast 1084 
corner of section 17, township 52 south, range 39 east; thence 1085 
run due east to a point of intersection with SRD 27 (Krome 1086 
Ave.); thence run northeasterly along SRD 27 to an intersection 1087 
with SRD 25 (U.S. 27), said intersection located in section 3, 1088 
township 52 south, range 39 east; thence run northerly along 1089 
said SRD 25, entering in to Broward County, to an intersection 1090 
with SRD 84 at Andytown; thence run southeasterly along the 1091 
aforementioned SRD 84 to an intersection with the southwesterly 1092 
prolongation of Levee L -35A, said intersection being located in 1093 
the northeast one-quarter of section 5, township 50 south, range 1094 
40 east; thence run northeasterly along Levee L -35A to an 1095 
intersection of Levee L -36, said intersection located near the 1096 
southeast corner of section 12, township 49 south, range 40 1097 
east; thence run northerly along Levee L -36, entering into Palm 1098 
Beach County, to an intersection common to said Levees L -36, L-1099 
39, and L-40, said intersection located near the west quarter 1100     
 
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corner of section 19, township 47 south, range 41 east; thence 1101 
run northeasterly, easterly, and northerly a long Levee L-40, 1102 
said Levee L-40 being the easterly boundary of the Loxahatchee 1103 
National Wildlife Refuge, to an intersection with SRD 80 (U.S. 1104 
441), said intersection located near the southeast corner of 1105 
section 32, township 43 south, range 40 east; thence run 1106 
westerly along the aforementioned SRD 80 to a point marking the 1107 
intersection of said road and the northeasterly prolongation of 1108 
Levee L-7, said Levee L-7 being the westerly boundary of the 1109 
Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge; thence run southwesterly 1110 
and southerly along said Levee L -7 to an intersection common to 1111 
Levees L-7, L-15 (Hillsborough Canal), and L -6; thence run 1112 
southwesterly along Levee L -6 to an intersection common to Levee 1113 
L-6, SRD 25 (U.S. 27), and Levee L -5, said intersection being 1114 
located near the northwest corner of section 27, township 47 1115 
south, range 38 east; thence run westerly along the 1116 
aforementioned Levee L -5 to a point intersecting the east line 1117 
of range 36 east; thence run northerly along said range line to 1118 
a point marking the n ortheast corner of section 1, township 47 1119 
south, range 36 east; thence run westerly along the north line 1120 
of township 47 south, to an intersection with Levee L -23/24 1121 
(Miami Canal); thence run northwesterly along the Miami Canal 1122 
Levee to a point intersecting the north line of section 22, 1123 
township 46 south, range 35 east; thence run westerly to a point 1124 
marking the northwest corner of section 21, township 46 south, 1125     
 
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range 35 east; thence run southerly to the southwest corner of 1126 
said section 21; thence run wester ly to a point marking the 1127 
northwest corner of section 30, township 46 south, range 35 1128 
east, said point also being on the line dividing Palm Beach and 1129 
Hendry Counties; from said point, thence run southerly along 1130 
said county line to a point marking the inter section of Broward, 1131 
Hendry, and Collier Counties, said point also being the 1132 
northeast corner of section 1, township 49 south, range 34 east; 1133 
thence run westerly along the line dividing Hendry and Collier 1134 
Counties and continuing along the prolongation there of to a 1135 
point marking the southwest corner of section 36, township 48 1136 
south, range 29 east; thence run southerly to a point marking 1137 
the southwest corner of section 12, township 49 south, range 29 1138 
east; thence run westerly to a point marking the southwest 1139 
corner of section 10, township 49 south, range 29 east; thence 1140 
run southerly to a point marking the southwest corner of section 1141 
15, township 49 south, range 29 east; thence run westerly to a 1142 
point marking the northwest corner of section 24, township 49 1143 
south, range 28 east, said point lying on the west boundary of 1144 
the Big Cypress Area of Critical State Concern as described in 1145 
rule 28-25.001, Florida Administrative Code; thence run 1146 
southerly along said boundary crossing SRD 84 (Alligator Alley) 1147 
to a point marking the southwest corner of section 24, township 1148 
50 south, range 28 east; thence leaving the aforementioned west 1149 
boundary of the Big Cypress Area of Critical State Concern run 1150     
 
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easterly to a point marking the northeast corner of section 25, 1151 
township 50 south, range 28 east; thence run southerly along the 1152 
east line of range 28 east to a point lying approximately 0.15 1153 
miles south of the northeast corner of section 1, township 52 1154 
south, range 28 east; thence run southwesterly 2.4 miles more or 1155 
less to an intersection with SRD 90 (U.S. 41 Tamiami Trail), 1156 
said intersection lying 1.1 miles more or less west of the east 1157 
line of range 28 east; thence run northwesterly and westerly 1158 
along SRD 90 to an intersection with the west line of section 1159 
10, township 52 south, r ange 28 east; thence leaving SRD 90 run 1160 
southerly to a point marking the southwest corner of section 15, 1161 
township 52 south, range 28 east; thence run westerly crossing 1162 
the Faka Union Canal 0.6 miles more or less to a point; thence 1163 
run southerly and paralle l to the Faka Union Canal to a point 1164 
located on the mean high -water line of Faka Union Bay; thence 1165 
run southeasterly along the mean high -water line of the various 1166 
bays, rivers, inlets, and streams to the point of beginning. 1167 
 (b)  The area bounded by the li ne described in paragraph 1168 
(a) generally includes those waters to be known as waters of the 1169 
state. The landward extent of these waters shall be determined 1170 
by the delineation methodology ratified in s. 373.4211. Any 1171 
waters which are outside the general bound ary line described in 1172 
paragraph (a) but which are contiguous thereto by virtue of the 1173 
presence of a wetland, watercourse, or other surface water, as 1174 
determined by the delineation methodology ratified in s. 1175     
 
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373.4211, shall be a part of this waterbody water body. Any 1176 
areas within the line described in paragraph (a) which are 1177 
neither a wetland nor surface water, as determined by the 1178 
delineation methodology ratified in s. 373.4211, shall be 1179 
excluded therefrom. If the Florida Environmental Regulation 1180 
Commission designates the waters within the boundaries an 1181 
Outstanding Florida Water, waters outside the boundaries may 1182 
shall not be included as part of such designation unless a 1183 
hearing is held pursuant to notice in each appropriate county 1184 
and the boundaries of such lands are specifically considered and 1185 
described for such designation. 1186 
 (16)(14) "State water resource implementation rule" means 1187 
the rule authorized by s. 373.036, which sets forth goals, 1188 
objectives, and guidance for the development and review of 1189 
programs, rules, and plans relating to water resources, based on 1190 
statutory policies and directives. The waters of the state are 1191 
among its most basic resources. Such waters should be managed to 1192 
conserve and protect water resources and to realize the full 1193 
beneficial use of these resources. 1194 
 (17)(15) "Stormwater management program" means the 1195 
institutional strategy for stormwater management, including 1196 
urban, agricultural, and other stormwater. 1197 
 (18)(16) "Stormwater management system" means a system 1198 
which is designed and constructed or implemented to control 1199 
discharges that which are necessitated by rainfall events, 1200     
 
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incorporating methods to collect, convey, store, absorb, 1201 
inhibit, treat, use, or reuse water to prevent or reduce 1202 
flooding, overdrainage, environmental deg radation and water 1203 
pollution or otherwise affect the quantity and quality of 1204 
discharges from the system. 1205 
 (19)(17) "Stormwater utility" means the funding of a 1206 
stormwater management program by assessing the cost of the 1207 
program to the beneficiaries based on their relative 1208 
contribution to its need. It is operated as a typical utility 1209 
which bills services regularly, similar to water and wastewater 1210 
services. 1211 
 (24)(18) "Watershed" means the land area that which 1212 
contributes to the flow of water into a receiving body of water. 1213 
 (13)(19) "Regulated air pollutant" means any pollutant 1214 
regulated under the federal Clean Air Act. 1215 
 (4)(20) "Electrical power plant" means, for purposes of 1216 
this part of this chapter, any electrical generating facility 1217 
that uses any process or fuel and that is owned or operated by 1218 
an electric utility, as defined in s. 403.503(14), and includes 1219 
any associated facility that directly supports the operation of 1220 
the electrical power plant. 1221 
 (20)(21) "Total maximum daily load" is defined as the su m 1222 
of the individual wasteload allocations for point sources and 1223 
the load allocations for nonpoint sources and natural 1224 
background. Prior to determining individual wasteload 1225     
 
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allocations and load allocations, the maximum amount of a 1226 
pollutant that a waterbody water body or water segment can 1227 
assimilate from all sources without exceeding water quality 1228 
standards must first be calculated. 1229 
 Section 12.  Paragraphs (a) and (e) of subsection (7) of 1230 
section 403.067, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1231 
 403.067  Establishment and implementation of total maximum 1232 
daily loads.— 1233 
 (7)  DEVELOPMENT OF BASIN MANAGEMENT PLANS AND 1234 
IMPLEMENTATION OF TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOADS. — 1235 
 (a)  Basin management action plans. — 1236 
 1.  In developing and implementing the total maximum daily 1237 
load for a waterbody water body, the department, or the 1238 
department in conjunction with a water management district, may 1239 
develop a basin management action plan that addresses some or 1240 
all of the watersheds and basins tributary to the waterbody 1241 
water body. Such plan must integrate the appropriate management 1242 
strategies available to the state through existing water quality 1243 
protection programs to achieve the total maximum daily loads and 1244 
may provide for phased implementation of these management 1245 
strategies to promote timely, cost -effective actions as provided 1246 
for in s. 403.151. The plan must establish a schedule 1247 
implementing the management strategies, establish a basis for 1248 
evaluating the plan's effectivenes s, and identify feasible 1249 
funding strategies for implementing the plan's management 1250     
 
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strategies. The management strategies may include regional 1251 
treatment systems or other public works, when appropriate, and 1252 
voluntary trading of water quality credits to achie ve the needed 1253 
pollutant load reductions. 1254 
 2.  A basin management action plan must equitably allocate, 1255 
pursuant to paragraph (6)(b), pollutant reductions to individual 1256 
basins, as a whole to all basins, or to each identified point 1257 
source or category of nonpo int sources, as appropriate. For 1258 
nonpoint sources for which best management practices have been 1259 
adopted, the initial requirement specified by the plan must be 1260 
those practices developed pursuant to paragraph (c). When 1261 
appropriate, the plan may take into acc ount the benefits of 1262 
pollutant load reduction achieved by point or nonpoint sources 1263 
that have implemented management strategies to reduce pollutant 1264 
loads, including best management practices, before the 1265 
development of the basin management action plan. The plan must 1266 
also identify the mechanisms that will address potential future 1267 
increases in pollutant loading. 1268 
 3.  The basin management action planning process is 1269 
intended to involve the broadest possible range of interested 1270 
parties, with the objective of enco uraging the greatest amount 1271 
of cooperation and consensus possible. In developing a basin 1272 
management action plan, the department shall assure that key 1273 
stakeholders, including, but not limited to, applicable local 1274 
governments, water management districts, the Department of 1275     
 
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Agriculture and Consumer Services, other appropriate state 1276 
agencies, local soil and water conservation districts, 1277 
environmental groups, regulated interests, and affected 1278 
pollution sources, are invited to participate in the process. 1279 
The department shall hold at least one public meeting in the 1280 
vicinity of the watershed or basin to discuss and receive 1281 
comments during the planning process and shall otherwise 1282 
encourage public participation to the greatest practicable 1283 
extent. Notice of the public m eeting must be published in a 1284 
newspaper of general circulation in each county in which the 1285 
watershed or basin lies at least 5 days, but not more than 15 1286 
days, before the public meeting. A basin management action plan 1287 
does not supplant or otherwise alter an y assessment made under 1288 
subsection (3) or subsection (4) or any calculation or initial 1289 
allocation. 1290 
 4.  Each new or revised basin management action plan must 1291 
shall include all of the following : 1292 
 a.  The appropriate management strategies available through 1293 
existing water quality protection programs to achieve total 1294 
maximum daily loads, which may provide for phased implementation 1295 
to promote timely, cost -effective actions as provided for in s. 1296 
403.151.; 1297 
 b.  A description of best management practices adopted by 1298 
rule.; 1299 
 c.  For the applicable 5 -year implementation milestone, a 1300     
 
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list of projects that will achieve the pollutant load reductions 1301 
needed to meet the total maximum daily load or the load 1302 
allocations established pursuant to subsection (6). Each project 1303 
must include a planning -level cost estimate and an estimated 1304 
date of completion. A list of projects in priority ranking with 1305 
a planning-level cost estimate and estimated date of completion 1306 
for each listed project; 1307 
 d.  A list of projects developed pursuant to paragraph (e), 1308 
if applicable. 1309 
 e.d. The source and amount of financial assistance to be 1310 
made available by the department, a water management district, 1311 
or other entity for each listed project, if applicable .; and 1312 
 f.e. A planning-level estimate of each l isted project's 1313 
expected load reduction, if applicable. 1314 
 5.  The department shall adopt all or any part of a basin 1315 
management action plan and any amendment to such plan by 1316 
secretarial order pursuant to chapter 120 to implement this 1317 
section. 1318 
 6.  The basin management action plan must include 5-year 1319 
milestones for implementation and water quality improvement, and 1320 
an associated water quality monitoring component sufficient to 1321 
evaluate whether reasonable progress in pollutant load 1322 
reductions is being achieved o ver time. An assessment of 1323 
progress toward these milestones shall be conducted every 5 1324 
years, and revisions to the plan shall be made as appropriate. 1325     
 
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Any entity with a specific pollutant load reduction requirement 1326 
established in a basin management action p lan shall identify the 1327 
projects or strategies that such entity will undertake to meet 1328 
current 5-year pollution reduction milestones, beginning with 1329 
the first 5-year milestone for new basin management action 1330 
plans, and submit such projects to the department for inclusion 1331 
in the appropriate basin management action plan. Each project 1332 
identified must include an estimated amount of nutrient 1333 
reduction that is reasonably expected to be achieved based on 1334 
the best scientific information available. Revisions to the 1335 
basin management action plan shall be made by the department in 1336 
cooperation with basin stakeholders. Revisions to the management 1337 
strategies required for nonpoint sources must follow the 1338 
procedures in subparagraph (c)4. Revised basin management action 1339 
plans must be adopted pursuant to subparagraph 5. 1340 
 7.  In accordance with procedures adopted by rule under 1341 
paragraph (9)(c), basin management action plans, and other 1342 
pollution control programs under local, state, or federal 1343 
authority as provided in subsection (4 ), may allow point or 1344 
nonpoint sources that will achieve greater pollutant reductions 1345 
than required by an adopted total maximum daily load or 1346 
wasteload allocation to generate, register, and trade water 1347 
quality credits for the excess reductions to enable ot her 1348 
sources to achieve their allocation; however, the generation of 1349 
water quality credits does not remove the obligation of a source 1350     
 
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or activity to meet applicable technology requirements or 1351 
adopted best management practices. Such plans must allow trading 1352 
between NPDES permittees, and trading that may or may not 1353 
involve NPDES permittees, where the generation or use of the 1354 
credits involve an entity or activity not subject to department 1355 
water discharge permits whose owner voluntarily elects to obtain 1356 
department authorization for the generation and sale of credits. 1357 
 8.  The department's rule relating to the equitable 1358 
abatement of pollutants into surface waters do not apply to 1359 
water bodies or waterbody water body segments for which a basin 1360 
management plan that t akes into account future new or expanded 1361 
activities or discharges has been adopted under this section. 1362 
 9.  In order to promote resilient wastewater utilities, if 1363 
the department identifies domestic wastewater treatment 1364 
facilities or onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems as 1365 
contributors of at least 20 percent of point source or nonpoint 1366 
source nutrient pollution or if the department determines 1367 
remediation is necessary to achieve the total maximum daily 1368 
load, a basin management action plan for a nutrie nt total 1369 
maximum daily load must include the following: 1370 
 a.  A wastewater treatment plan developed by each local 1371 
government, in cooperation with the department, the water 1372 
management district, and the public and private domestic 1373 
wastewater treatment facilit ies within the jurisdiction of the 1374 
local government, that addresses domestic wastewater. The 1375     
 
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wastewater treatment plan must: 1376 
 (I)  Provide for construction, expansion, or upgrades 1377 
necessary to achieve the total maximum daily load requirements 1378 
applicable to the domestic wastewater treatment facility. 1379 
 (II)  Include the permitted capacity in average annual 1380 
gallons per day for the domestic wastewater treatment facility; 1381 
the average nutrient concentration and the estimated average 1382 
nutrient load of the domestic wastewater; a projected timeline 1383 
of the dates by which the construction of any facility 1384 
improvements will begin and be completed and the date by which 1385 
operations of the improved facility will begin; the estimated 1386 
cost of the improvements; and the identity of responsible 1387 
parties. 1388 
 1389 
The wastewater treatment plan must be adopted as part of the 1390 
basin management action plan no later than July 1, 2025. A local 1391 
government that does not have a domestic wastewater treatment 1392 
facility in its jurisdiction is not require d to develop a 1393 
wastewater treatment plan unless there is a demonstrated need to 1394 
establish a domestic wastewater treatment facility within its 1395 
jurisdiction to improve water quality necessary to achieve a 1396 
total maximum daily load. A local government is not r esponsible 1397 
for a private domestic wastewater facility's compliance with a 1398 
basin management action plan unless such facility is operated 1399 
through a public-private partnership to which the local 1400     
 
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government is a party. 1401 
 b.  An onsite sewage treatment and disposal system 1402 
remediation plan developed by each local government in 1403 
cooperation with the department, the Department of Health, water 1404 
management districts, and public and private domestic wastewater 1405 
treatment facilities. 1406 
 (I)  The onsite sewage treatment and disposal system 1407 
remediation plan must identify cost -effective and financially 1408 
feasible projects necessary to achieve the nutrient load 1409 
reductions required for onsite sewage treatment and disposal 1410 
systems. To identify cost -effective and financially fea sible 1411 
projects for remediation of onsite sewage treatment and disposal 1412 
systems, the local government shall: 1413 
 (A)  Include an inventory of onsite sewage treatment and 1414 
disposal systems based on the best information available; 1415 
 (B)  Identify onsite sewage tre atment and disposal systems 1416 
that would be eliminated through connection to existing or 1417 
future central domestic wastewater infrastructure in the 1418 
jurisdiction or domestic wastewater service area of the local 1419 
government, that would be replaced with or upgrade d to enhanced 1420 
nutrient-reducing onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems, 1421 
or that would remain on conventional onsite sewage treatment and 1422 
disposal systems; 1423 
 (C)  Estimate the costs of potential onsite sewage 1424 
treatment and disposal system connections, upgrades, or 1425     
 
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replacements; and 1426 
 (D)  Identify deadlines and interim milestones for the 1427 
planning, design, and construction of projects. 1428 
 (II)  The department shall adopt the onsite sewage 1429 
treatment and disposal system remediation plan as part of the 1430 
basin management action plan no later than July 1, 2025, or as 1431 
required for Outstanding Florida Springs under s. 373.807. 1432 
 10.  The installation of new onsite sewage treatment and 1433 
disposal systems constructed within a basin management action 1434 
plan area adopted un der this section, a reasonable assurance 1435 
plan, or a pollution reduction plan is prohibited where 1436 
connection to a publicly owned or investor -owned sewerage system 1437 
is available as defined in s. 381.0065(2)(a). On lots of 1 acre 1438 
or less within a basin managem ent action plan adopted under this 1439 
section, a reasonable assurance plan, or a pollution reduction 1440 
plan where a publicly owned or investor -owned sewerage system is 1441 
not available, the installation of enhanced nutrient -reducing 1442 
onsite sewage treatment and dis posal systems or other wastewater 1443 
treatment systems that achieve at least 50 percent nutrient 1444 
reduction compared to a standard onsite sewage treatment and 1445 
disposal system is required. 1446 
 11.10. When identifying wastewater projects in a basin 1447 
management action plan, the department may not require the 1448 
higher cost option if it achieves the same nutrient load 1449 
reduction as a lower cost option. A regulated entity may choose 1450     
 
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a different cost option if it complies with the pollutant 1451 
reduction requirements of an adop ted total maximum daily load 1452 
and meets or exceeds the pollution reduction requirement of the 1453 
original project. 1454 
 12.  Annually, local governments subject to a basin 1455 
management action plan or located within the basin of a 1456 
waterbody not attaining nutrient or nutrient-related standards 1457 
must provide to the department an update on the status of 1458 
construction of sanitary sewers to serve such areas, in a manner 1459 
prescribed by the department. 1460 
 (e)  Cooperative agricultural regional water quality 1461 
improvement element. — 1462 
 1.  The department and, the Department of Agriculture and 1463 
Consumer Services, in cooperation with and owners of 1464 
agricultural operations in the basin , shall develop a 1465 
cooperative agricultural regional water quality improvement 1466 
element as part of a basin man agement action plan where only if: 1467 
 a.  Agricultural measures have been adopted by the 1468 
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services pursuant to 1469 
subparagraph (c)2. and have been implemented and the water body 1470 
remains impaired; 1471 
 b. Agricultural nonpoint sources contribute to at least 20 1472 
percent of nonpoint source nutrient discharges; or and 1473 
 b.c. The department determines that additional measures, 1474 
in combination with state -sponsored regional projects and other 1475     
 
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management strategies included in the basin management action 1476 
plan, are necessary to achieve the total maximum daily load. 1477 
 2.  The element will be implemented through the use of 1478 
cost-effective and technically and financially practical 1479 
regional agricultural nutrient reduction cost-sharing projects 1480 
and. The element must include a list of such projects submitted 1481 
to the department by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer 1482 
Services which, in combination with the best management 1483 
practices, additional measures, and other management strategies, 1484 
will achieve the needed pollutant load reductions established 1485 
for agricultural nonpoint sources cost-effective and technically 1486 
and financially practical cooperative regional agricultural 1487 
nutrient reduction projects that can be implemented on private 1488 
properties on a site-specific, cooperative basis . Such 1489 
cooperative regional agricultural nutrient reduction projects 1490 
may include, but are not limited to, land acquisition in fee or 1491 
conservation easements on the lands of willing sellers and site -1492 
specific water quality im provement or dispersed water management 1493 
projects. The list of regional projects included in the 1494 
cooperative agricultural regional water quality improvement 1495 
element must include a planning -level cost estimate of each 1496 
project along with the estimated amount of nutrient reduction 1497 
that such project will achieve on the lands of project 1498 
participants. 1499 
 3.  To qualify for participation in the cooperative 1500     
 
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agricultural regional water quality improvement element, the 1501 
participant must have already implemented and be in compliance 1502 
with best management practices or other measures adopted by the 1503 
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services pursuant to 1504 
subparagraph (c)2. The element must may be included in the basin 1505 
management action plan as a part of the next 5 -year assessment 1506 
under subparagraph (a)6. 1507 
 4.  The department or the Department of Agriculture and 1508 
Consumer Services may submit a legislative budget request to 1509 
fund projects developed pursuant to this paragraph. In 1510 
allocating funds for projects funded pursuant to this paragraph, 1511 
the department shall provide at least 20 percent of its annual 1512 
appropriation for projects in subbasins with the highest 1513 
nutrient concentrations within a basin management action plan. 1514 
Projects submitted pursuant to this paragraph are eligible for 1515 
funding in accordance with s. 403.0673. 1516 
 Section 13.  Section 403.0673, Florida Statutes, is amended 1517 
to read: 1518 
 403.0673  Water quality improvement Wastewater grant 1519 
program.—A wastewater grant program is established within the 1520 
Department of Environmental Protection to address wastewater, 1521 
stormwater, and agricultural sources of nutrient loading to 1522 
surface water or groundwater . 1523 
 (1)  The purpose of the grant program is to fund projects 1524 
that will improve the quality of waterbodies that: 1525     
 
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 (a)  Are not attaining nutrient or nutrient -related 1526 
standards; 1527 
 (b)  Have an established total maximum daily load; or 1528 
 (c)  Are located Subject to the appropriation of funds by 1529 
the Legislature, the department may provide grants for the 1530 
following projects within a basin management action plan area, a 1531 
reasonable assurance plan area an alternative restoration plan 1532 
adopted by final order, an accepted alternative restoration plan 1533 
area, or a rural area of opportunity under s. 288.0656 . 1534 
 (2)  The department may provide grants for all of the 1535 
following types of projects that reduce the amount of nutrients 1536 
entering those waterbodies iden tified in subsection (1): 1537 
 (a)  Connecting onsite sewage treatment and disposal 1538 
systems to central sewer facilities. 1539 
 (b)  Upgrading domestic wastewater treatment facilities to 1540 
advanced waste treatment or greater. 1541 
 (c)  Repairing, upgrading, expanding, or constructing 1542 
stormwater treatment facilities that result in improvements to 1543 
surface water or groundwater quality. 1544 
 (d)  Repairing, upgrading, expanding, or constructing 1545 
domestic wastewater treatment facilities that result in 1546 
improvements to surface water o r groundwater quality, including 1547 
domestic wastewater reuse and collection systems. 1548 
 (e)  Projects identified pursuant to s. 403.067(7)(a) or 1549 
(7)(e). 1550     
 
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 (f)  Projects identified in a wastewater treatment plan or 1551 
an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system remediation plan 1552 
developed pursuant to s. 403.067(7)(a)9.a. and b. 1553 
 (g)  Projects listed in a city or county capital 1554 
improvement element pursuant to s. 163.3177(3)(a)4.b. 1555 
 (h)  Retrofitting onsite sewage treatment and disposal 1556 
systems to upgrade such syste ms to enhanced nutrient -reducing 1557 
onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems where central 1558 
sewerage is unavailable which will individually or collectively 1559 
reduce excess nutrient pollution: 1560 
 (a)  Projects to retrofit onsite sewage treatment and 1561 
disposal systems to upgrade such systems to enhanced nutrient -1562 
reducing onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems. 1563 
 (b)  Projects to construct, upgrade, or expand facilities 1564 
to provide advanced waste treatment, as defined in s. 1565 
403.086(4). 1566 
 (c)  Projects to conne ct onsite sewage treatment and 1567 
disposal systems to central sewer facilities . 1568 
 (3)(2)  In allocating such funds, priority must be given to 1569 
projects that subsidize the connection of onsite sewage 1570 
treatment and disposal systems to wastewater treatment 1571 
facilities. First priority must be given to subsidize the 1572 
connection of onsite sewage tr eatment and disposal systems to 1573 
existing infrastructure. Second priority must be given to any 1574 
expansion of a collection or transmission system that promotes 1575     
 
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efficiency by planning the installation of wastewater 1576 
transmission facilities to be constructed con currently with 1577 
other construction projects occurring within or along a 1578 
transportation facility right -of-way. Third priority must be 1579 
given to all other connections of onsite sewage treatment and 1580 
disposal systems to wastewater treatment facilities. The 1581 
department shall consider and prioritize those projects that: 1582 
 (a)  Have the maximum estimated reduction in nutrient load 1583 
per project; 1584 
 (b)  Demonstrate project readiness; 1585 
 (c)  Are cost-effective; 1586 
 (d)  Have a cost share identified by the applicant, except 1587 
for rural areas of opportunity; 1588 
 (e)  Have previous state commitment and involvement in the 1589 
project, considering previously funded phases, the total amount 1590 
of previous state funding, and previous partial appropriations 1591 
for the proposed project; or 1592 
 (f)  Are in a the cost-effectiveness of the project; the 1593 
overall environmental benefit of a project; the location where 1594 
reductions are needed most to attain the water quality standards 1595 
of a waterbody not attaining nutrient or nutrient -related 1596 
standards. 1597 
 1598 
Any project that does not result in reducing nutrient loading to 1599 
a waterbody identified in subsection (1) is not eligible for 1600     
 
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funding under this section of a project; the availability of 1601 
local matching funds; and projected water savings or quantity 1602 
improvements associated with a project . 1603 
 (3)  Each grant for a project described in subsection (1) 1604 
must require a minimum of a 50 -percent local match of funds. 1605 
However, the department may, at its discretion, waive, in whole 1606 
or in part, this consideration of the local contri bution for 1607 
proposed projects within an area designated as a rural area of 1608 
opportunity under s. 288.0656. 1609 
 (4)  The department shall coordinate annually with each 1610 
water management district , as necessary, to identify potential 1611 
projects grant recipients in each district. 1612 
 (5)  The department shall coordinate with local governments 1613 
and stakeholders to identify the most effective and beneficial 1614 
water quality improvement projects. 1615 
 (6) Beginning January 15, 2024 1, 2021, and each January 1616 
15 1 thereafter, the department shall submit a report regarding 1617 
the projects funded pursuant to this section to the Governor, 1618 
the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of 1619 
Representatives. The report must include a list of those 1620 
projects receiving funding and the f ollowing information for 1621 
each project: 1622 
 (a)  A description of the project; 1623 
 (b)  The cost of the project; 1624 
 (c)  The estimated nutrient load reduction of the project; 1625     
 
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 (d)  The location of the project; 1626 
 (e)  The waterbody or waterbodies where the project wi ll 1627 
reduce nutrients; and 1628 
 (f)  The total cost share being provided for the project. 1629 
 Section 14.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 1630 
403.086, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1631 
 403.086  Sewage disposal facilities; advanced and secondary 1632 
waste treatment.— 1633 
 (1) 1634 
 (c)1. Notwithstanding this chapter or chapter 373, sewage 1635 
disposal facilities may not dispose of any wastes into the 1636 
following waters without providing advanced waste treatment, as 1637 
defined in subsection (4), as approved by the departmen t or a 1638 
more stringent treatment standard if the department determines 1639 
the more stringent standard is necessary to achieve the total 1640 
maximum daily load or applicable water quality criteria: 1641 
 a. Old Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay, Hillsborough Bay, Boca Ciega 1642 
Bay, St. Joseph Sound, Clearwater Bay, Sarasota Bay, Little 1643 
Sarasota Bay, Roberts Bay, Lemon Bay, Charlotte Harbor Bay, 1644 
Biscayne Bay, or any river, stream, channel, canal, bay, bayou, 1645 
sound, or other water tributary thereto. , 1646 
 b. Beginning July 1, 2025, Indian River Lagoon, or into 1647 
any river, stream, channel, canal, bay, bayou, sound, or other 1648 
water tributary thereto . 1649 
 c.  By January 1, 2033, waterbodies that are currently not 1650     
 
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attaining nutrient or nutrient -related standards or t hat are 1651 
subject to a nutrient or nutrient -related basin management 1652 
action plan adopted pursuant to s. 403.067 or adopted reasonable 1653 
assurance plan. 1654 
 2.  For any waterbody determined not to be attaining 1655 
nutrient or nutrient -related standards after July 1, 2 023, or 1656 
subject to a nutrient or nutrient -related basin management 1657 
action plan adopted pursuant to s. 403.067 or adopted reasonable 1658 
assurance plan after July 1, 2023, sewage disposal facilities 1659 
are prohibited from disposing any wastes into such waters 1660 
without providing advanced waste treatment, as defined in 1661 
subsection (4), as approved by the department within 10 years 1662 
after such determination or adoption , without providing advanced 1663 
waste treatment, as defined in subsection (4), approved by the 1664 
department. This paragraph does not apply to facilities which 1665 
were permitted by February 1, 1987, and which discharge 1666 
secondary treated effluent, followed by water hyacinth 1667 
treatment, to tributaries of tributaries of the named waters; or 1668 
to facilities permitted to dis charge to the nontidally 1669 
influenced portions of the Peace River. 1670 
 Section 15.  Paragraph (h) of subsection (4) of section 1671 
201.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1672 
 201.15  Distribution of taxes collected. —All taxes 1673 
collected under this chapter are h ereby pledged and shall be 1674 
first made available to make payments when due on bonds issued 1675     
 
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pursuant to s. 215.618 or s. 215.619, or any other bonds 1676 
authorized to be issued on a parity basis with such bonds. Such 1677 
pledge and availability for the payment of th ese bonds shall 1678 
have priority over any requirement for the payment of service 1679 
charges or costs of collection and enforcement under this 1680 
section. All taxes collected under this chapter, except taxes 1681 
distributed to the Land Acquisition Trust Fund pursuant to 1682 
subsections (1) and (2), are subject to the service charge 1683 
imposed in s. 215.20(1). Before distribution pursuant to this 1684 
section, the Department of Revenue shall deduct amounts 1685 
necessary to pay the costs of the collection and enforcement of 1686 
the tax levied by this chapter. The costs and service charge may 1687 
not be levied against any portion of taxes pledged to debt 1688 
service on bonds to the extent that the costs and service charge 1689 
are required to pay any amounts relating to the bonds. All of 1690 
the costs of the collection and enforcement of the tax levied by 1691 
this chapter and the service charge shall be available and 1692 
transferred to the extent necessary to pay debt service and any 1693 
other amounts payable with respect to bonds authorized before 1694 
January 1, 2017, secured by revenues distributed pursuant to 1695 
this section. All taxes remaining after deduction of costs shall 1696 
be distributed as follows: 1697 
 (4)  After the required distributions to the Land 1698 
Acquisition Trust Fund pursuant to subsections (1) and (2) and 1699 
deduction of the service charge imposed pursuant to s. 1700     
 
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215.20(1), the remainder shall be distributed as follows: 1701 
 (h)  An amount equaling 5.4175 percent of the remainder 1702 
shall be paid into the Water Protection and Sustainability 1703 
Program Trust Fund to be used to fund water quality improvement 1704 
wastewater grants as specified in s. 403.0673. 1705 
 Section 16.  Paragraph (l) of subsection (3), paragraph (a) 1706 
of subsection (5), and paragraph (i) of subsection (15) of 1707 
section 259.105, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1708 
 259.105 The Florida Forever Act. — 1709 
 (3)  Less the costs of issuing and the costs of funding 1710 
reserve accounts and other costs associated with bonds, the 1711 
proceeds of cash payments or bonds issued pursuant to this 1712 
section shall be deposited into the Florida Forever Trust Fund 1713 
created by s. 259.1051. The proceeds shall be distributed by the 1714 
Department of Environmental Protection in the following manner: 1715 
 (l)  For the purposes of paragraphs (e), (f), (g), and (h), 1716 
the agencies that receive the funds shall develop their 1717 
individual acquisition or restoration lists in accordance with 1718 
specific criteria and numeric performance measures developed 1719 
pursuant to s. 259.035(4). Proposed additions may be acquired if 1720 
they are identified within the original project boundary, the 1721 
management plan required pursuant to s. 253.034(5), or the 1722 
management prospectus required pursuant to s. 259.032(7)(b) s. 1723 
259.032(7)(c). Proposed additions not meeting the requirements 1724 
of this paragraph shall be submitted to the council for 1725     
 
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approval. The council may only approve the proposed addition if 1726 
it meets two or more of the following criteria: serves as a link 1727 
or corridor to other publicly owned property; enhances the 1728 
protection or management of the property; would add a desirable 1729 
resource to the propert y; would create a more manageable 1730 
boundary configuration; has a high resource value that otherwise 1731 
would be unprotected; or can be acquired at less than fair 1732 
market value. 1733 
 (5)(a)  All lands acquired pursuant to this section shall 1734 
be managed for multiple -use purposes, where compatible with the 1735 
resource values of and management objectives for such lands. As 1736 
used in this section, "multiple -use" includes, but is not 1737 
limited to, outdoor recreational activities as described in ss. 1738 
253.034 and 259.032(7)(a)2. ss. 253.034 and 259.032(7)(b) , water 1739 
resource development projects, sustainable forestry management, 1740 
carbon sequestration, carbon mitigation, or carbon offsets. 1741 
 (15)  The council shall submit to the board, with its list 1742 
of projects, a report that includes, b ut need not be limited to, 1743 
the following information for each project listed: 1744 
 (i)  A management policy statement for the project and a 1745 
management prospectus pursuant to s. 259.032(7)(b) s. 1746 
259.032(7)(c).  1747 
 Section 17.  Subsection (17) of section 373.019 , Florida 1748 
Statutes, is amended to read: 1749 
 373.019  Definitions. —When appearing in this chapter or in 1750     
 
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any rule, regulation, or order adopted pursuant thereto, the 1751 
term: 1752 
 (17)  "Reclaimed water" means water that has received at 1753 
least secondary treatment and b asic disinfection and is reused 1754 
after flowing out of a domestic wastewater treatment facility. 1755 
Reclaimed water is not subject to regulation pursuant to s. 1756 
373.175 or part II of this chapter until it has been discharged 1757 
into waters as defined in s. 403.031 s. 403.031(13). 1758 
 Section 18.  Section 373.4132, Florida Statutes, is amended 1759 
to read: 1760 
 373.4132  Dry storage facility permitting. —The governing 1761 
board or the department shall require a permit under this part, 1762 
including s. 373.4145, for the construction, alteration, 1763 
operation, maintenance, abandonment, or removal of a dry storage 1764 
facility for 10 or more vessels that is functionally associated 1765 
with a boat launching area. As part of an applicant's 1766 
demonstration that such a facility will not be harmful to the 1767 
water resources and will not be inconsistent with the overall 1768 
objectives of the district, the governing board or department 1769 
shall require the applicant to provide reasonable assurance that 1770 
the secondary impacts from the facility will not cause adverse 1771 
impacts to the functions of wetlands and surface waters, 1772 
including violations of state water quality standards applicable 1773 
to waters as defined in s. 403.031 s. 403.031(13), and will meet 1774 
the public interest test of s. 373.414(1)(a), including the 1775     
 
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potential adverse impacts to manatees. Nothing in this section 1776 
shall affect the authority of the gover ning board or the 1777 
department to regulate such secondary impacts under this part 1778 
for other regulated activities. 1779 
 Section 19.  Subsection (1) of section 373.414, Florida 1780 
Statutes, is amended to read: 1781 
 373.414  Additional criteria for activities in surface 1782 
waters and wetlands. — 1783 
 (1)  As part of an applicant's demonstration that an 1784 
activity regulated under this part will not be harmful to the 1785 
water resources or will not be inconsistent with the overall 1786 
objectives of the district, the governing board or the 1787 
department shall require the applicant to provide reasonable 1788 
assurance that state water quality standards applicable to 1789 
waters as defined in s. 403.031 s. 403.031(13) will not be 1790 
violated and reasonable assurance that such activity in, on, or 1791 
over surface waters or wetlands, as delineated in s. 373.421(1), 1792 
is not contrary to the public interest. However, if such an 1793 
activity significantly degrades or is within an Outstanding 1794 
Florida Water, as provided by department rule, the applicant 1795 
must provide reasonable assurance that the proposed activity 1796 
will be clearly in the public interest. 1797 
 (a)  In determining whether an activity, which is in, on, 1798 
or over surface waters or wetlands, as delineated in s. 1799 
373.421(1), and is regulated under this part, is not contrary to 1800     
 
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the public interest or is clearly in the public interest, the 1801 
governing board or the department shall consider and balance the 1802 
following criteria: 1803 
 1.  Whether the activity will adversely affect the public 1804 
health, safety, or welfare or the property of oth ers; 1805 
 2.  Whether the activity will adversely affect the 1806 
conservation of fish and wildlife, including endangered or 1807 
threatened species, or their habitats; 1808 
 3.  Whether the activity will adversely affect navigation 1809 
or the flow of water or cause harmful eros ion or shoaling; 1810 
 4.  Whether the activity will adversely affect the fishing 1811 
or recreational values or marine productivity in the vicinity of 1812 
the activity; 1813 
 5.  Whether the activity will be of a temporary or 1814 
permanent nature; 1815 
 6.  Whether the activity will adversely affect or will 1816 
enhance significant historical and archaeological resources 1817 
under the provisions of s. 267.061; and 1818 
 7.  The current condition and relative value of functions 1819 
being performed by areas affected by the proposed activity. 1820 
 (b)  If the applicant is unable to otherwise meet the 1821 
criteria set forth in this subsection, the governing board or 1822 
the department, in deciding to grant or deny a permit, must 1823 
shall consider measures proposed by or acceptable to the 1824 
applicant to mitigate adverse eff ects that may be caused by the 1825     
 
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regulated activity. Such measures may include, but are not 1826 
limited to, onsite mitigation, offsite mitigation, offsite 1827 
regional mitigation, and the purchase of mitigation credits from 1828 
mitigation banks permitted under s. 373.41 36. It is shall be the 1829 
responsibility of the applicant to choose the form of 1830 
mitigation. The mitigation must offset the adverse effects 1831 
caused by the regulated activity. 1832 
 1.  The department or water management districts may accept 1833 
the donation of money as mitigation only where the donation is 1834 
specified for use in a duly noticed environmental creation, 1835 
preservation, enhancement, or restoration project, endorsed by 1836 
the department or the governing board of the water management 1837 
district, which offsets the impac ts of the activity permitted 1838 
under this part. However, the provisions of this subsection does 1839 
shall not apply to projects undertaken pursuant to s. 373.4137 1840 
or chapter 378. Where a permit is required under this part to 1841 
implement any project endorsed by the department or a water 1842 
management district, all necessary permits must have been issued 1843 
prior to the acceptance of any cash donation. After the 1844 
effective date of this act, when money is donated to either the 1845 
department or a water management district to off set impacts 1846 
authorized by a permit under this part, the department or the 1847 
water management district shall accept only a donation that 1848 
represents the full cost to the department or water management 1849 
district of undertaking the project that is intended to mit igate 1850     
 
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the adverse impacts. The full cost shall include all direct and 1851 
indirect costs, as applicable, such as those for land 1852 
acquisition, land restoration or enhancement, perpetual land 1853 
management, and general overhead consisting of costs such as 1854 
staff time, building, and vehicles. The department or the water 1855 
management district may use a multiplier or percentage to add to 1856 
other direct or indirect costs to estimate general overhead. 1857 
Mitigation credit for such a donation may shall be given only to 1858 
the extent that the donation covers the full cost to the agency 1859 
of undertaking the project that is intended to mitigate the 1860 
adverse impacts. However, nothing herein may shall be construed 1861 
to prevent the department or a water management district from 1862 
accepting a donation representing a portion of a larger project, 1863 
provided that the donation covers the full cost of that portion 1864 
and mitigation credit is given only for that portion. The 1865 
department or water management district may deviate from the 1866 
full cost requirements of this subparagraph to resolve a 1867 
proceeding brought pursuant to chapter 70 or a claim for inverse 1868 
condemnation. Nothing in this section may shall be construed to 1869 
require the owner of a private mitigation bank, permitted under 1870 
s. 373.4136, to include the ful l cost of a mitigation credit in 1871 
the price of the credit to a purchaser of said credit. 1872 
 2.  The department and each water management district shall 1873 
report by March 1 of each year, as part of the consolidated 1874 
annual report required by s. 373.036(7), all ca sh donations 1875     
 
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accepted under subparagraph 1. during the preceding water 1876 
management district fiscal year for wetland mitigation purposes. 1877 
The report must shall exclude those contributions pursuant to s. 1878 
373.4137. The report must shall include a description o f the 1879 
endorsed mitigation projects and, except for projects governed 1880 
by s. 373.4135(6), must shall address, as applicable, success 1881 
criteria, project implementation status and timeframe, 1882 
monitoring, long-term management, provisions for preservation, 1883 
and full cost accounting. 1884 
 3.  If the applicant is unable to meet water quality 1885 
standards because existing ambient water quality does not meet 1886 
standards, the governing board or the department must shall 1887 
consider mitigation measures proposed by or acceptable to the 1888 
applicant that cause net improvement of the water quality in the 1889 
receiving body of water for those parameters which do not meet 1890 
standards. 1891 
 4.  If mitigation requirements imposed by a local 1892 
government for surface water and wetland impacts of an activity 1893 
regulated under this part cannot be reconciled with mitigation 1894 
requirements approved under a permit for the same activity 1895 
issued under this part, including application of the uniform 1896 
wetland mitigation assessment method adopted pursuant to 1897 
subsection (18), the mitigation requirements for surface water 1898 
and wetland impacts are shall be controlled by the permit issued 1899 
under this part. 1900     
 
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 (c)  Where activities for a single project regulated under 1901 
this part occur in more than one local government jurisdiction, 1902 
and where permit conditions or regulatory requirements are 1903 
imposed by a local government for these activities which cannot 1904 
be reconciled with those imposed by a permit under this part for 1905 
the same activities, the permit conditions or regulatory 1906 
requirements are shall be controlled by the permit issued under 1907 
this part. 1908 
 Section 20.  Section 373.4142, Florida Statutes, is amended 1909 
to read: 1910 
 373.4142  Water quality within stormwater treatment 1911 
systems.—State surface water quality standards applicable to 1912 
waters of the state, as defined in s. 403.031 s. 403.031(13), do 1913 
shall not apply within a stormwater management system which is 1914 
designed, constructed, operated, and maintained for stormwater 1915 
treatment in accordance with a valid permit or noticed exemption 1916 
issued pursuant to chapter 62 -25, Florida Administrative Code; a 1917 
valid permit or exemption under s. 373.4145 within the Northwest 1918 
Florida Water Management District; a valid permit issued on or 1919 
subsequent to April 1, 1986, within the Suwannee River Water 1920 
Management District or the St. Johns River Water Management 1921 
District pursuant to this part; a valid permit issued on or 1922 
subsequent to March 1, 1988, within the Southwest Florida Water 1923 
Management District pu rsuant to this part; or a valid permit 1924 
issued on or subsequent to January 6, 1982, within the South 1925     
 
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Florida Water Management District pursuant to this part. Such 1926 
inapplicability of state water quality standards shall be 1927 
limited to that part of the stormwat er management system located 1928 
upstream of a manmade water control structure permitted, or 1929 
approved under a noticed exemption, to retain or detain 1930 
stormwater runoff in order to provide treatment of the 1931 
stormwater. The additional use of such a stormwater mana gement 1932 
system for flood attenuation or irrigation does shall not divest 1933 
the system of the benefits of this exemption. This section does 1934 
shall not affect the authority of the department and water 1935 
management districts to require reasonable assurance that the 1936 
water quality within such stormwater management systems will not 1937 
adversely impact public health, fish and wildlife, or adjacent 1938 
waters. 1939 
 Section 21.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 1940 
373.430, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1941 
 373.430  Prohibitions, violation, penalty, intent. — 1942 
 (1)  It shall be a violation of this part, and it shall be 1943 
prohibited for any person: 1944 
 (a)  To cause pollution, as defined in s. 403.031 s. 1945 
403.031(7), except as otherwise provided in this part, so as to 1946 
harm or injure human health or welfare, animal, plant, or 1947 
aquatic life or property. 1948 
 Section 22.  Paragraph (n) of subsection (2) of section 1949 
373.4592, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1950     
 
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 373.4592  Everglades improvement and management. — 1951 
 (2)  DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 1952 
 (n)  "Stormwater management program" shall have the meaning 1953 
set forth in s. 403.031 s. 403.031(15). 1954 
 Section 23.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 1955 
403.890, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1956 
 403.890  Water Protection and Sustainability Program. — 1957 
 (1)  Revenues deposited into or appropriated to the Water 1958 
Protection and Sustainability Program Trust Fund shall be 1959 
distributed by the Department of Environmental Protection for 1960 
the following purposes: 1961 
 (c)  The water quality improvement wastewater grant program 1962 
as provided in s. 403.0673. 1963 
 Section 24.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 1964 
403.892, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1965 
 403.892  Incentives for the use of graywater technologies. — 1966 
 (1)  As used in this secti on, the term: 1967 
 (b)  "Graywater" has the same meaning as in s. 381.0065(2) 1968 
s. 381.0065(2)(f). 1969 
 Section 25.  Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (2) of 1970 
section 403.9301, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1971 
 403.9301  Wastewater services projections. — 1972 
 (2)  As used in this section, the term: 1973 
 (c)  "Treatment works" has the same meaning as provided in 1974 
s. 403.031 s. 403.031(11). 1975     
 
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 (d)  "Wastewater services" means service to a sewerage 1976 
system, as defined in s. 403.031 s. 403.031(9), or service to 1977 
domestic wastewater treatment works. 1978 
 Section 26.  Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (2) of 1979 
section 403.9302, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1980 
 403.9302  Stormwater management projections. — 1981 
 (2)  As used in this section, the term: 1982 
 (b)  "Stormwater managem ent program" has the same meaning 1983 
as provided in s. 403.031 s. 403.031(15). 1984 
 (c)  "Stormwater management system" has the same meaning as 1985 
provided in s. 403.031 s. 403.031(16). 1986 
 Section 27.  For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 1987 
made by this act to section 259.032, Florida Statutes, in a 1988 
reference thereto, subsection (6) of section 259.045, Florida 1989 
Statutes, is reenacted to read: 1990 
 259.045  Purchase of lands in areas of critical state 1991 
concern; recommendations by department and land authorities. —1992 
Within 45 days after the Administration Commission designates an 1993 
area as an area of critical state concern under s. 380.05, and 1994 
annually thereafter, the Department of Environmental Protection 1995 
shall consider the recommendations of the state land planning 1996 
agency pursuant to s. 380.05(1)(a) relating to purchase of lands 1997 
within an area of critical state concern or lands outside an 1998 
area of critical state concern that directly impact an area of 1999 
critical state concern, which may include lands used to preserve 2000     
 
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and protect water supply, and shall make recommendations to the 2001 
board with respect to the purchase of the fee or any lesser 2002 
interest in any such lands that are: 2003 
 (6)  Lands used to prevent or satisfy private property 2004 
rights claims resulting from limitations impos ed by the 2005 
designation of an area of critical state concern if the 2006 
acquisition of such lands fulfills a public purpose listed in s. 2007 
259.032(2) or if the parcel is wholly or partially, at the time 2008 
of acquisition, on one of the board's approved acquisition li sts 2009 
established pursuant to this chapter. For the purposes of this 2010 
subsection, if a parcel is estimated to be worth $500,000 or 2011 
less and the director of the Division of State Lands finds that 2012 
the cost of an outside appraisal is not justified, a comparable 2013 
sales analysis, an appraisal prepared by the Division of State 2014 
Lands, or other reasonably prudent procedures may be used by the 2015 
Division of State Lands to estimate the value of the parcel, 2016 
provided the public's interest is reasonably protected. 2017 
 2018 
The department, a local government, a special district, or a 2019 
land authority within an area of critical state concern may make 2020 
recommendations with respect to additional purchases which were 2021 
not included in the state land planning agency recommendations. 2022 
 Section 28.  The Legislature determines and declares that 2023 
this act fulfills an important state interest. 2024 
 Section 29.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 2025