BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

Florida League of Cities

Caloosahatchee River Watershed (Watch) – FAILED 

HB 585 (Botana) prohibits the land application of septage from onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems within the Caloosahatchee River watershed. The bill directs the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt an updated Caloosahatchee estuary basin management action plan (BMAP), which shall include the following: an implementation schedule to achieve nutrient load reductions necessary to meet total maximum daily load requirements for wastewater treatment facilities by 2027; an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system remediation plan and implementation schedule to meet nutrient load reductions for such systems by 2027; and a municipal stormwater remediation plan that requires an implementation schedule to achieve stormwater nutrient load reductions by 2027. Lastly, the bill prohibits new domestic wastewater disposal facilities within the watershed, except for those facilities that meet advanced wastewater treatment standards and new septic systems on lots of less than 1 acre, if the addition of a specific system will conflict with the remediation plan. (O'Hara)