The Florida Senate

403.086  Sewage disposal facilities; advanced and secondary waste treatment.--

(1)(a)  Neither the Department of Health nor any other state agency, county, special district, or municipality shall approve construction of any facilities for sanitary sewage disposal which do not provide for secondary waste treatment and, in addition thereto, advanced waste treatment as deemed necessary and ordered by the department.

(b)  No facilities for sanitary sewage disposal constructed after June 14, 1978, shall dispose of any wastes by deep well injection without providing for secondary waste treatment and, in addition thereto, advanced waste treatment deemed necessary by the department to protect adequately the beneficial use of the receiving waters.

(c)  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter or chapter 373, facilities for sanitary sewage disposal may not dispose of any wastes into Old Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay, Hillsborough Bay, Boca Ciega Bay, St. Joseph Sound, Clearwater Bay, Sarasota Bay, Little Sarasota Bay, Roberts Bay, Lemon Bay, or Charlotte Harbor Bay, or into any river, stream, channel, canal, bay, bayou, sound, or other water tributary thereto, without providing advanced waste treatment, as defined in subsection (4), approved by the department. This paragraph shall not apply to facilities which were permitted by February 1, 1987, and which discharge secondary treated effluent, followed by water hyacinth treatment, to tributaries of tributaries of the named waters; or to facilities permitted to discharge to the nontidally influenced portions of the Peace River.

(2)  Any facilities for sanitary sewage disposal shall provide for secondary waste treatment and, in addition thereto, advanced waste treatment as deemed necessary and ordered by the Department of Environmental Protection. Failure to conform shall be punishable by a civil penalty of $500 for each 24-hour day or fraction thereof that such failure is allowed to continue thereafter.

(3)  This section shall not be construed to prohibit or regulate septic tanks or other means of individual waste disposal which are otherwise subject to state regulation.

(4)  For purposes of this section, the term "advanced waste treatment" means that treatment which will provide a reclaimed water product that:

(a)  Contains not more, on a permitted annual average basis, than the following concentrations:

1.  Biochemical Oxygen Demand (CBOD5) ............ 5mg/l

2.  Suspended Solids ............ 5mg/l

3.  Total Nitrogen, expressed as N ............ 3mg/l

4.  Total Phosphorus, expressed as P ............ 1mg/l

(b)  Has received high level disinfection, as defined by rule of the department.

In those waters where the concentrations of phosphorus have been shown not to be a limiting nutrient or a contaminant, the department may waive or alter the compliance levels for phosphorus until there is a demonstration that phosphorus is a limiting nutrient or a contaminant.

(5)(a)  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter or chapter 373, when a reclaimed water product has been established to be in compliance with the standards set forth in subsection (4), that water shall be presumed to be allowable, and its discharge shall be permitted in the waters described in paragraph (1)(c) at a reasonably accessible point where such discharge results in minimal negative impact. This presumption may be overcome only by a demonstration that one or more of the following would occur:

1.  That the discharge of reclaimed water that meets the standards set forth in subsection (4) will be, by itself, a cause of considerable degradation to an Outstanding Florida Water or to other waters and is not clearly in the public interest.

2.  That the reclaimed water discharge will have a substantial negative impact on an approved shellfish harvesting area or a water used as a public domestic water supply.

3.  That the increased volume of fresh water contributed by the reclaimed water product will seriously alter the natural fresh-salt water balance of the receiving water after reasonable opportunity for mixing.

(b)  If one or more of the conditions described in subparagraphs (a)1.-3. have been demonstrated, remedies may include, but are not limited to, the following:

1.  Require more stringent effluent limitations;

2.  Order the point or method of discharge changed;

3.  Limit the duration or volume of the discharge; or

4.  Prohibit the discharge only if no other alternative is in the public interest.

(6)  Any facility covered in paragraph (1)(c) shall be permitted to discharge if it meets the standards set forth in subsections (4) and (5). All of the facilities covered in paragraph (1)(c) shall be required to meet the standards set forth in subsections (4) and (5).

(7)(a)  The department shall allow backup discharges pursuant to permit only. The backup discharge shall be limited to 30 percent of the permitted reuse capacity on an annual basis. For purposes of this subsection, a "backup discharge" is a surface water discharge that occurs as part of a functioning reuse system which has been permitted under department rules and which provides reclaimed water for irrigation of public access areas, residential properties, or edible food crops, or for industrial cooling or other acceptable reuse purposes. Backup discharges may occur during periods of reduced demand for reclaimed water in the reuse system.

(b)  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter or chapter 373, backup discharges of reclaimed water meeting the standards as set forth in subsection (4) shall be presumed to be allowable and shall be permitted in all waters in the state at a reasonably accessible point where such discharge results in minimal negative impact. Wet weather discharges as provided in s. 2(3)(c), chapter 90-262, Laws of Florida, shall include backup discharges as provided in this section. The presumption of the allowability of a backup discharge may be overcome only by a demonstration that one or more of the following conditions is present:

1.  The discharge will be to an Outstanding Florida Water, except as provided in chapter 90-262, Laws of Florida;

2.  The discharge will be to Class I or Class II waters;

3.  The increased volume of fresh water contributed by a backup discharge will seriously alter the natural freshwater to saltwater balance of receiving waters after reasonable opportunity for mixing;

4.  The discharge will be to a water body having a pollutant load reduction goal established by a water management district or the department, and the discharge will cause or contribute to a violation of the established goal;

5.  The discharge fails to meet the requirements of the antidegradation policy contained in department rules; or

6.  The discharge will be to waters that the department determines require more stringent nutrient limits than those set forth in subsection (4).

(c)  Any backup discharge shall be subject to the provisions of the antidegradation policy contained in department rules.

(d)  If one or more of the conditions described in paragraph (b) have been demonstrated, a backup discharge may still be allowed in conjunction with one or more of the remedies provided in paragraph (5)(b) or other suitable measures.

(e)  The department shall allow lower levels of treatment of reclaimed water if the applicant affirmatively demonstrates that water quality standards will be met during periods of backup discharge and if all other requirements of this subsection are met.

(8)  The department may require backflow prevention devices on potable water lines within reclaimed water service areas to protect public health and safety. The department shall establish rules that determine when backflow prevention devices on potable water lines are necessary and when such devices are not necessary.

History.--ss. 1, 2, 3, ch. 71-259; s. 2, ch. 71-137; s. 1, ch. 72-58; s. 271, ch. 77-147; s. 1, ch. 78-206; s. 75, ch. 79-65; s. 1, ch. 80-371; s. 1, ch. 81-246; s. 262, ch. 81-259; s. 2, ch. 86-173; s. 1, ch. 87-303; s. 71, ch. 93-213; s. 2, ch. 94-153; s. 361, ch. 94-356; s. 158, ch. 99-8; s. 25, ch. 2000-153; s. 12, ch. 2000-211.