Florida Senate - 2023 SB 1538 By Senator Stewart 17-00260-23 20231538__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to implementation of the 3 recommendations of the Blue-Green Algae Task Force; 4 amending s. 381.0065, F.S.; requiring owners of 5 certain onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems 6 to have the systems periodically inspected, beginning 7 on a specified date; requiring the Department of 8 Environmental Protection to administer the inspection 9 program; requiring the department to implement program 10 standards, procedures, and requirements; providing for 11 rulemaking; amending s. 403.067, F.S.; requiring new 12 or revised basin management action plans to include a 13 list that identifies and prioritizes certain spatially 14 focused projects; requiring the department to assess 15 certain projects; providing requirements for the 16 assessments; providing an effective date. 17 18 WHEREAS, Governor Ron DeSantis created the Blue-Green Algae 19 Task Force in 2019 to improve water quality for the benefit of 20 all Floridians, and the task forces consensus report was 21 issued in October 2019, with multiple recommendations for basin 22 management action plans, agriculture, human waste, stormwater, 23 technology, public health, and science, and 24 WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that in June 2020, 25 Governor DeSantis signed Senate Bill 712, the Clean Waterways 26 Act, which implemented many of the recommendations of the task 27 force, and 28 WHEREAS, full implementation of the task forces 29 recommendations requires enactment of additional substantive 30 legislation, NOW, THEREFORE, 31 32 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 33 34 Section 1.Present subsections (5) through (8) of section 35 381.0065, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (6) 36 through (9), respectively, and a new subsection (5) is added to 37 that section, to read: 38 381.0065Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems; 39 regulation. 40 (5)PERIODIC INSPECTIONS.Effective July 1, 2025, the owner 41 of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system, excluding a 42 system required to have an operating permit, must have the 43 system inspected at least once every 5 years to assess the 44 fundamental operational condition of the system, prolong the 45 life of the system, and identify any failure within the system. 46 The department shall administer an onsite sewage treatment and 47 disposal system inspection program for such periodic 48 inspections. The department shall implement the program 49 standards, procedures, and requirements and adopt rules that 50 must include, at a minimum, all of the following: 51 (a)A schedule for a 5-year inspection cycle. 52 (b)A county-by-county implementation plan phased in over a 53 10-year period, with first priority given to those areas within 54 a priority focus area for springs identified by the department. 55 (c)Minimum standards for a functioning system. 56 (d)Requirements for the pumpout or repair of a failing 57 system. 58 (e)Enforcement procedures for failure of a system owner to 59 obtain an inspection of the system and failure of a contractor 60 to timely report inspection results to the department and the 61 system owner. 62 Section 2.Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section 63 403.067, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 64 403.067Establishment and implementation of total maximum 65 daily loads. 66 (7)DEVELOPMENT OF BASIN MANAGEMENT PLANS AND 67 IMPLEMENTATION OF TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOADS. 68 (a)Basin management action plans. 69 1.In developing and implementing the total maximum daily 70 load for a water body, the department, or the department in 71 conjunction with a water management district, may develop a 72 basin management action plan that addresses some or all of the 73 watersheds and basins tributary to the water body. Such plan 74 must integrate the appropriate management strategies available 75 to the state through existing water quality protection programs 76 to achieve the total maximum daily loads and may provide for 77 phased implementation of these management strategies to promote 78 timely, cost-effective actions as provided for in s. 403.151. 79 The plan must establish a schedule implementing the management 80 strategies, establish a basis for evaluating the plans 81 effectiveness, and identify feasible funding strategies for 82 implementing the plans management strategies. The management 83 strategies may include regional treatment systems or other 84 public works, when appropriate, and voluntary trading of water 85 quality credits to achieve the needed pollutant load reductions. 86 2.A basin management action plan must equitably allocate, 87 pursuant to paragraph (6)(b), pollutant reductions to individual 88 basins, as a whole to all basins, or to each identified point 89 source or category of nonpoint sources, as appropriate. For 90 nonpoint sources for which best management practices have been 91 adopted, the initial requirement specified by the plan must be 92 those practices developed pursuant to paragraph (c). When 93 appropriate, the plan may take into account the benefits of 94 pollutant load reduction achieved by point or nonpoint sources 95 that have implemented management strategies to reduce pollutant 96 loads, including best management practices, before the 97 development of the basin management action plan. The plan must 98 also identify the mechanisms that will address potential future 99 increases in pollutant loading. 100 3.The basin management action planning process is intended 101 to involve the broadest possible range of interested parties, 102 with the objective of encouraging the greatest amount of 103 cooperation and consensus possible. In developing a basin 104 management action plan, the department shall assure that key 105 stakeholders, including, but not limited to, applicable local 106 governments, water management districts, the Department of 107 Agriculture and Consumer Services, other appropriate state 108 agencies, local soil and water conservation districts, 109 environmental groups, regulated interests, and affected 110 pollution sources, are invited to participate in the process. 111 The department shall hold at least one public meeting in the 112 vicinity of the watershed or basin to discuss and receive 113 comments during the planning process and shall otherwise 114 encourage public participation to the greatest practicable 115 extent. Notice of the public meeting must be published in a 116 newspaper of general circulation in each county in which the 117 watershed or basin lies at least 5 days, but not more than 15 118 days, before the public meeting. A basin management action plan 119 does not supplant or otherwise alter any assessment made under 120 subsection (3) or subsection (4) or any calculation or initial 121 allocation. 122 4.a.Each new or revised basin management action plan must 123 shall include: 124 (I)a.The appropriate management strategies available 125 through existing water quality protection programs to achieve 126 total maximum daily loads, which may provide for phased 127 implementation to promote timely, cost-effective actions as 128 provided for in s. 403.151; 129 (II)b.A description of best management practices adopted 130 by rule; 131 (III)c.A list of projects in priority ranking with a 132 planning-level cost estimate and estimated date of completion 133 for each listed project; 134 (IV)A list that identifies and prioritizes spatially 135 focused suites of projects in areas likely to yield maximum 136 pollutant reductions; 137 (V)d.The source and amount of financial assistance to be 138 made available by the department, a water management district, 139 or other entity for each listed project, if applicable; and 140 (VI)e.A planning-level estimate of each listed projects 141 expected load reduction, if applicable. 142 b.For each project listed pursuant to this subparagraph 143 which has a total cost that exceeds $1 million, the department 144 must assess through integrated and comprehensive monitoring 145 whether the project is working to reduce nutrient pollution or 146 water use, or both, as intended. These assessments must be 147 completed expeditiously and included in each basin management 148 action plan update. 149 5.The department shall adopt all or any part of a basin 150 management action plan and any amendment to such plan by 151 secretarial order pursuant to chapter 120 to implement this 152 section. 153 6.The basin management action plan must include milestones 154 for implementation and water quality improvement, and an 155 associated water quality monitoring component sufficient to 156 evaluate whether reasonable progress in pollutant load 157 reductions is being achieved over time. An assessment of 158 progress toward these milestones shall be conducted every 5 159 years, and revisions to the plan shall be made as appropriate. 160 Revisions to the basin management action plan shall be made by 161 the department in cooperation with basin stakeholders. Revisions 162 to the management strategies required for nonpoint sources must 163 follow the procedures in subparagraph (c)4. Revised basin 164 management action plans must be adopted pursuant to subparagraph 165 5. 166 7.In accordance with procedures adopted by rule under 167 paragraph (9)(c), basin management action plans, and other 168 pollution control programs under local, state, or federal 169 authority as provided in subsection (4), may allow point or 170 nonpoint sources that will achieve greater pollutant reductions 171 than required by an adopted total maximum daily load or 172 wasteload allocation to generate, register, and trade water 173 quality credits for the excess reductions to enable other 174 sources to achieve their allocation; however, the generation of 175 water quality credits does not remove the obligation of a source 176 or activity to meet applicable technology requirements or 177 adopted best management practices. Such plans must allow trading 178 between NPDES permittees, and trading that may or may not 179 involve NPDES permittees, where the generation or use of the 180 credits involve an entity or activity not subject to department 181 water discharge permits whose owner voluntarily elects to obtain 182 department authorization for the generation and sale of credits. 183 8.The departments rule relating to the equitable 184 abatement of pollutants into surface waters do not apply to 185 water bodies or water body segments for which a basin management 186 plan that takes into account future new or expanded activities 187 or discharges has been adopted under this section. 188 9.In order to promote resilient wastewater utilities, if 189 the department identifies domestic wastewater treatment 190 facilities or onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems as 191 contributors of at least 20 percent of point source or nonpoint 192 source nutrient pollution or if the department determines 193 remediation is necessary to achieve the total maximum daily 194 load, a basin management action plan for a nutrient total 195 maximum daily load must include the following: 196 a.A wastewater treatment plan developed by each local 197 government, in cooperation with the department, the water 198 management district, and the public and private domestic 199 wastewater treatment facilities within the jurisdiction of the 200 local government, that addresses domestic wastewater. The 201 wastewater treatment plan must: 202 (I)Provide for construction, expansion, or upgrades 203 necessary to achieve the total maximum daily load requirements 204 applicable to the domestic wastewater treatment facility. 205 (II)Include the permitted capacity in average annual 206 gallons per day for the domestic wastewater treatment facility; 207 the average nutrient concentration and the estimated average 208 nutrient load of the domestic wastewater; a projected timeline 209 of the dates by which the construction of any facility 210 improvements will begin and be completed and the date by which 211 operations of the improved facility will begin; the estimated 212 cost of the improvements; and the identity of responsible 213 parties. 214 215 The wastewater treatment plan must be adopted as part of the 216 basin management action plan no later than July 1, 2025. A local 217 government that does not have a domestic wastewater treatment 218 facility in its jurisdiction is not required to develop a 219 wastewater treatment plan unless there is a demonstrated need to 220 establish a domestic wastewater treatment facility within its 221 jurisdiction to improve water quality necessary to achieve a 222 total maximum daily load. A local government is not responsible 223 for a private domestic wastewater facilitys compliance with a 224 basin management action plan unless such facility is operated 225 through a public-private partnership to which the local 226 government is a party. 227 b.An onsite sewage treatment and disposal system 228 remediation plan developed by each local government in 229 cooperation with the department, the Department of Health, water 230 management districts, and public and private domestic wastewater 231 treatment facilities. 232 (I)The onsite sewage treatment and disposal system 233 remediation plan must identify cost-effective and financially 234 feasible projects necessary to achieve the nutrient load 235 reductions required for onsite sewage treatment and disposal 236 systems. To identify cost-effective and financially feasible 237 projects for remediation of onsite sewage treatment and disposal 238 systems, the local government shall: 239 (A)Include an inventory of onsite sewage treatment and 240 disposal systems based on the best information available; 241 (B)Identify onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems 242 that would be eliminated through connection to existing or 243 future central domestic wastewater infrastructure in the 244 jurisdiction or domestic wastewater service area of the local 245 government, that would be replaced with or upgraded to enhanced 246 nutrient-reducing onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems, 247 or that would remain on conventional onsite sewage treatment and 248 disposal systems; 249 (C)Estimate the costs of potential onsite sewage treatment 250 and disposal system connections, upgrades, or replacements; and 251 (D)Identify deadlines and interim milestones for the 252 planning, design, and construction of projects. 253 (II)The department shall adopt the onsite sewage treatment 254 and disposal system remediation plan as part of the basin 255 management action plan no later than July 1, 2025, or as 256 required for Outstanding Florida Springs under s. 373.807. 257 10.When identifying wastewater projects in a basin 258 management action plan, the department may not require the 259 higher cost option if it achieves the same nutrient load 260 reduction as a lower cost option. A regulated entity may choose 261 a different cost option if it complies with the pollutant 262 reduction requirements of an adopted total maximum daily load 263 and meets or exceeds the pollution reduction requirement of the 264 original project. 265 Section 3.This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.