BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

HB 153 (Fine) and SB 640 (Harrell) provide that certain projects identified in the Indian River Lagoon Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan are eligible for funding consideration from the Department of Environmental Protection (agency program funds). The bills direct DEP to coordinate with water management districts to identify projects and requires annual reports from local governments and the districts. Projects include upgrade of facilities to advanced waste treatment, expansion of service connections of wastewater facilities and septic-to-sewer-conversions. Projects require a 50% local match. The bills require annual reports by the DEP and require local governments receiving state funds to submit annual status reports. (O’Hara)

SB 1720 (Cruz) and HB 1427 (Diamond) direct the Department of Environmental Protection to implement rules for statewide drinking water maximum contaminant levels for specified substances, including perfluorooctanesulfonic acid and perfluorooctanoic acid, which are used in firefighting foam, and any other pollutant for which two or more states have issued guidance. The bills specify any maximum contaminant level established by rule must protect the public health and may not exceed any maximum contaminant level established by the Environmental Protection Agency. (O’Hara)

HB 791 (Fitzenhagen) and SB 1608 (Mayfield) require the Department of Environmental Protection to give funding consideration to each of the state’s estuaries of national significance and require the funds be used for projects identified in the estuaries’ adopted comprehensive conservation and management plan. (O’Hara)

HB 1157 (Ingoglia) and SB 1284 (Diaz) create the Florida Land Subsidence Research Initiative as a partnership between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Florida International University to determine the rate of land subsidence in the state by measuring changes in land elevation. The goal of the initiative is to collect and analyze data to understand natural hazards, such as land subsidence and sinkholes, and their effects on sea-level rise. The bills require an annual report to the Legislature on a biennial basis, starting July 2022, and require a final report to be submitted by July 2030. The final report shall include an estimation of current and future sea-level risks. (O’Hara)

SB 7024 (Committee on the Environment & Natural Resources) adds connection of wildlife habitat with wildlife crossings as a permissible purpose for land acquisition under the Florida Forever program. It requires the Department of Environmental Protection to consult with other state agencies about the acquisitions of lands subject to coastal flooding as a result of sea-level rise to complement other agencies’ projects. The bill allocates $10 million annually from the Florida Forever Trust Fund for conservation lands or lands subject to coastal flooding from sea-level rise in areas impacted by hurricanes in the immediately preceding five-year fiscal year. It directs the state Acquisition and Restoration Council to give increasing priority to acquiring lands subject to coastal flooding from sea-level rise. (O’Hara)

SB 172 (Bradley) and HB 113 (Roach) preempt the regulation of over-the-counter proprietary drugs or cosmetics to the state. (O’Hara)

CS/HB 777 (Gregory) and CS/CS/SB 1414 (Mayfield) expand current law that prohibits any person from interfering with the lawful taking of fish, game or other nongame animals by another person within wildlife or fish management areas to include the lawful taking of game, fish or nongame animals in or on any public lands or in or on any public waters. The bills also prohibit the sale, importing or possession of green iguanas or tegu lizards, with specified exceptions. (O’Hara)

CS/SB 326 (Perry) and CS/HB 73 (Overdorf) would require that contracts between local governments and vendors for the collection, transport and processing of residential recycling materials must include terms and conditions to define and reduce levels of contamination. Specifically, the bills provide that a recyclable materials collector or facility is not required to collect, transport or process “contaminated recyclable material,” as defined in the appropriate contract. Each contract is required to define “contaminated recyclable material.” The bills specify that contracts should define the term in a manner that is appropriate for the local community, based on available markets and other relevant factors. Contracts must include provisions for identifying and documenting contamination, as well as the respective obligations of the parties regarding education and enforcement, but specific terms are left to the discretion of the contracting parties. The new requirements would apply to new contracts and contracts extended after October 1, 2020. In addition, the bills clarify an exemption in current law from state environmental permitting requirements for various projects by specifying that local governments may not require a person to provide additional verification from the Department of Environmental Protection of entitlement to such an exemption. Also, the bills modify an existing state permit exemption for the replacement and repair of existing docks and piers, by specifying the replacement or repair must be “within 5 feet of the same location and no larger in size," and that no additional aquatic resources may be adversely impacted. (O’Hara)

SB 1098 (Cruz) directs the Department of Environmental Protection to assess bottled water companies a fee of 5 cents per gallon on water extracted for the production of bottled water, including water from an approved source (e.g., a water utility). The bill provides for fees to be deposited into the Water Protection and Sustainability Trust Fund. SB 1096 (Cruz) is a companion bill that is contingent on the passage of SB 1098. SB 1096 requires DEP to monitor the consumptive use permits for all bottled water companies to ensure compliance with limits of allowable water extraction and water from an approved source. It imposes a daily fine for bottled water companies that withhold the payment of fees and provides an exception for bottled water companies extracting less than 55 million gallons per year. (O’Hara)

SB 1112 (Taddeo) would impose an excise tax upon bottled water operators at a rate of 12.5 cents per gallon of water extracted from waters of the state. It directs proceeds of the tax to be deposited into the Wastewater Treatment and Stormwater Management Revolving Loan Trust Fund and directs that proceeds must be used to provide grants and loans to local governments, with priority given to projects that connect septic systems to central wastewater facilities. (O’Hara)

HB 1267 (Grall) and SB 1654 (Mayfield) prohibit the land application of biosolids on sites where the application zone interacts with the seasonal high-water table and prohibit the Department of Environmental Protection from issuing or renewing certain permits for such sites. The bills direct DEP to initiate rulemaking on site-specific requirements for biosolids application by a specified date, adopt rules and implement a water quality monitoring program sufficient to determine impacts from the application of biosolids to surface water and groundwater quality. Class AA biosolids are exempted from these requirements. The bills provide for continuing application of local ordinances relating to Class B biosolids until the DEP rules are adopted. (O’Hara)

SB 50 (Rader) would require consumers to pay deposit fees on specified beverage containers at the point of sale. The bill establishes requirements and registration processes for the operation of beverage container redemption centers by local governments, nonprofit agencies and other individuals for refunding beverage container deposits and arranging for the recovery and recycling of the beverage containers. The bill preempts local governments from imposing or collecting any assessment or fee on deposit beverage containers for the same purposes as specified in the bills. (O’Hara)

CS/HB 1363 (Overdorf) imposes additional requirements on entities and agencies subject to Basin Management Action Plans established to achieve Total Maximum Daily Load requirements. The bill requires a nonagricultural and agricultural nonpoint source owner or operator who discharges into a basin included in an adopted BMAP to comply with interim measures, best management practices or other measures adopted by rule within five years after the date of BMAP adoption. The bill requires that implementation of such actions be verified by the responsible agency by a site visit at least once every two years. The bill requires the adoption of a cooperative agricultural regional water quality improvement element as part of a BMAP if: adopted agricultural measures have been implemented and the water body remains impaired; agricultural nonpoint sources contribute to at least 20% of nonpoint source nutrient discharges, and Department of Environmental Protection determines that additional measures are necessary to meet the TMDL. The bill requires the development of a cooperative urban, suburban, commercial or institutional regional water quality improvement element as part of a BMAP in which: nonagricultural interim measures and best management practices have been implemented and the waterbody remains impaired, nonagricultural nonpoint sources contribute at least 20% of nonpoint source nutrient discharges, and DEP determines additional measures are needed to achieve the TMDL. The bill establishes a nutrient reduction cost-share program within DEP to provide funding for specified projects in a BMAP, including projects identified in the new plan elements as authorized by the bill. The bill provides funding priority for projects and requires a 50% match of local funds. The bill exempts rural homesteads as defined in the bill from BMAP requirements, so long as the activity on such homestead does not rise to the level of bona fide agricultural activity and is classified as agricultural for tax assessment purposes. (O’Hara)

CS/SB 638 (Montford) and CS/HB 1347 (Shoaf) direct that for a five-year period starting in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, at least $5 million of Florida Forever proceeds shall be directed to projects to improve surface water and groundwater quality within the Apalachicola Bay Area of Critical State Concern. (O’Hara)

SB 606 (Bean) and HB 417 (Duggan) add the Ortega River and the Cedar River in Duval County as statutorily designated “anchoring limitation areas.” (O’Hara)

CS/HB 207 (McClain) and CS/SB 658 (Albritton) would authorize a public water or wastewater utility to establish the rate base of an existing water or wastewater system it acquires using the fair market value of the utility, require the Florida Public Service Commission to provide specified information relating to utility valuation and require the commission to develop related rules. CS/SB 658 would also require a municipality providing water or sewer service to customers in another municipality from infrastructure located in the recipient municipality to charge customers in the recipient municipality the same rates as it does customers inside its own municipal boundaries. CS/HB 207 would provide an alternative method by which the PSC may establish the rate base value for an acquired utility system and establish a procedure for appraisal of the acquired utility system. The PSC directed the commission to develop rules for implementation. CS/HB 207 would also provide conditions under which certain entities may acquire title to any water or wastewater plant facilities that were previously acquired by eminent domain. (O’Hara)

HB 1351 (Fernandez) and SB 1824 (Rader) revise an existing law prohibition against local governments, deed restrictions or other agreements having the effect of prohibiting solar collectors or renewable energy devices from being installed on buildings. The term “solar collector” is replaced with “cool roofs.” The bills authorize the Board of Trustees for the Internal Improvement Trust Fund to lease the use of manmade stormwater management systems for floating solar energy systems. They create a greenhouse gas reporting system in the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to track data from reporting entities. State agencies are required to report greenhouse gas emissions data to the system, and local governments and private entities are encouraged to report such data. The bills create the Climate Adaptation Research Grant Program in FDACS to provide grants to educational institutions for research pertaining to climate change and strategies for adapting to climate change. They create the Clean Energy Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment Center program in FDACS to provide grants to educational institutions for development of a clean energy center focused on research, development and deployment of clean energy technology. The bills create the Farm Renewable and Efficiency Demonstration program in FDACS to promote adoption of practices that increase energy efficiency and water conservation. They create an Agriculture Resiliency Grant program within FDACS to provide research grants for improving systems' resilience and efficiency. The bills modify current law provisions relating to the Florida Energy Systems Consortium within FDACS. (O’Hara)

CS/CS/HB 569 (Overdorf) and CS/SB 1036 (Albritton) require the presence, storage or use of diesel exhaust fluid on the premises of public airports meeting specified conditions to be phased out by October 2030. The bills require the managers of public airports to create a diesel exhaust fluid safety mitigation and exclusion plan containing specified contents and data. The plan must be approved by the regulatory agency having jurisdiction over the airport by September 2020 and must be submitted to the Department of Transportation by October 2020. The bills require the plan to be fully implemented on the premises of the airport by January 2021. The bills provide for annual review, update and submission of the plan to DOT for certification. (O’Hara)

SB 1560 (Braynon) and HB 1431 (Polo) address duties of the state fire marshal relating to construction materials mining and blasting activities. The bills make findings about impacts on blasting in areas low to the water table and specify intent for the chief financial officer to administer duties to protect homes from damages caused by blasting in such areas. The bills require all blasting reports to be submitted to the chief financial officer and state fire marshal and be made publicly available. HB 1431 also provides limits on blasting limits in areas having a low depths to the water table and authorizes a cause of action for civil damage for persons to recover damages resulting from the use of explosives in connection with mining activities. (O’Hara)

SB 1798 (Bradley) requires water management district governing boards to charge a fee of at least $1 million for a consumptive use permit to directly or indirectly use water derived from a spring for bottled drinking water. The bill directs proceeds from the fee to be used for springs restoration. (O’Hara)