BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

Florida League of Cities

Pollution Control Standards and Liability (Watch)

CS/SB 1210 (Albritton) and CS/HB 909 (Payne) specify that the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection has exclusive jurisdiction in setting standards or procedures for evaluating environmental conditions and assessing potential liability for the presence of contaminants on land that is classified as agricultural and is being converted to a nonagricultural use. The bills prohibit the Secretary from delegating such authority to a city, county or another unit of local government through a local pollution control program. (O’Hara)