| 15 | 15 | | An act relating to biosolids; creating s. 403.0674, 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | F.S.; establishing a biosolids grant program within 3 |
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| 17 | 17 | | the Department of Environmental Protection; 4 |
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| 18 | 18 | | authorizing the department, subject to legislative 5 |
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| 19 | 19 | | appropriation, to provide grants to counties, special 6 |
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| 20 | 20 | | districts, and municipalities for certain wastewater 7 |
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| 21 | 21 | | conversion projects; providing eligibility, 8 |
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| 22 | 22 | | prioritization, and funding requirements; authorizing 9 |
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| 23 | 23 | | the department to waive the funding match requirement 10 |
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| 24 | 24 | | for specified projects; requiring the department to 11 |
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| 25 | 25 | | develop specified annual reporting requirements for 12 |
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| 26 | 26 | | counties, special districts, and municipalities 13 |
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| 27 | 27 | | awarded such grants; providing an effective date. 14 |
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| 28 | 28 | | 15 |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 16 |
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| 30 | 30 | | 17 |
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| 31 | 31 | | Section 1. Section 403.0674, Florida Statutes, is created 18 |
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| 32 | 32 | | to read: 19 |
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| 33 | 33 | | 403.0674 Biosolids grant program. —A biosolids grant 20 |
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| 34 | 34 | | program is established within the department. 21 |
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| 35 | 35 | | (1) Subject to the appropriation of funds by the 22 |
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| 36 | 36 | | Legislature, the department may provide grants to counties, 23 |
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| 37 | 37 | | special districts, and municipalities in this state to support 24 |
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| 38 | 38 | | projects that: 25 |
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| 46 | 46 | | Page 2 of 4 |
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| 47 | 47 | | F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S |
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| 48 | 48 | | |
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| 49 | 49 | | |
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| 50 | 50 | | |
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| 51 | 51 | | (a) Evaluate and implement innovative technologies and 26 |
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| 52 | 52 | | solutions for the disposal of b iosolids; or 27 |
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| 53 | 53 | | (b) Construct, upgrade, expand, or retrofit domestic 28 |
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| 54 | 54 | | facilities that convert wastewater residuals to Class AA 29 |
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| 55 | 55 | | biosolids, nonfertilizer uses or disposal methods, or 30 |
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| 56 | 56 | | alternatives to synthetic fertilizers. 31 |
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| 57 | 57 | | (2) An applicant for a biosolids gra nt must be a county, 32 |
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| 58 | 58 | | special district, or municipality; however, applicants are 33 |
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| 59 | 59 | | encouraged to form public -private partnerships with private 34 |
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| 60 | 60 | | utilities and firms. 35 |
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| 61 | 61 | | (3) Projects eligible for funding under this section may 36 |
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| 62 | 62 | | include, but are not limited to, pro jects that: 37 |
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| 63 | 63 | | (a) Reduce the amount of nutrients in biosolids. 38 |
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| 64 | 64 | | (b) Reduce the amount of emerging contaminants in 39 |
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| 65 | 65 | | biosolids. 40 |
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| 66 | 66 | | (c) Provide alternatives to the land application or 41 |
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| 67 | 67 | | landfilling of biosolids as a method of disposal. 42 |
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| 68 | 68 | | (4) In allocating grant funds, the department shall 43 |
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| 69 | 69 | | prioritize projects by considering the environmental benefit 44 |
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| 70 | 70 | | that a project may provide. To evaluate the environmental 45 |
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| 71 | 71 | | benefit of a project, the department shall review an analysis of 46 |
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| 72 | 72 | | how the project's conversion of wastewater r esiduals to Class AA 47 |
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| 73 | 73 | | biosolids, nonfertilizer uses or disposal methods, alternatives 48 |
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| 74 | 74 | | to synthetic fertilizers derived from wastewater residuals, or 49 |
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| 75 | 75 | | innovative technologies and solutions for the disposal of 50 |
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| 83 | 83 | | Page 3 of 4 |
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| 84 | 84 | | F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S |
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| 85 | 85 | | |
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| 86 | 86 | | |
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| 87 | 87 | | |
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| 88 | 88 | | biosolids are projected to minimize the impact of nutrients and 51 |
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| 89 | 89 | | other pollutants on water quality and the environment. 52 |
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| 90 | 90 | | (5) The department shall administer the grant program so 53 |
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| 91 | 91 | | that at least 10 percent of the funds made available each year 54 |
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| 92 | 92 | | under this section are reserved for projects within an area 55 |
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| 93 | 93 | | designated as a rural area of opportunity under s. 288.0656. If 56 |
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| 94 | 94 | | the department does not receive sufficient applications for 57 |
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| 95 | 95 | | projects within an area designated as a rural area of 58 |
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| 96 | 96 | | opportunity, the department may reallocate the reserved funds to 59 |
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| 97 | 97 | | other projects prioritized by the department pursuant to 60 |
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| 98 | 98 | | subsection (4). 61 |
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| 99 | 99 | | (6)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), the department 62 |
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| 100 | 100 | | shall require that each biosolids grant has a minimum of a 50 63 |
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| 101 | 101 | | percent funding match from local, state, federal, or private 64 |
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| 102 | 102 | | funds. 65 |
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| 103 | 103 | | (b) The department may waive, in whole or in part, the 66 |
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| 104 | 104 | | funding match requirement in paragraph (a) for proposed projects 67 |
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| 105 | 105 | | within an area designated as a rural area of opportunity under 68 |
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| 106 | 106 | | s. 288.0656. 69 |
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| 107 | 107 | | (7) The department shall develop annual reporting 70 |
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| 108 | 108 | | requirements for each county, special district, or municipality 71 |
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| 109 | 109 | | awarded a grant under this section which must include the 72 |
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| 110 | 110 | | phosphorous and nitrogen content, the type, and the amount of 73 |
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| 111 | 111 | | each grant-funded product derived from wastewater residuals and 74 |
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| 112 | 112 | | the buyers and users of such products. 75 |
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