The Florida Senate

403.885  Water Projects Grant Program.--

(1)  The Department of Environmental Protection shall administer a grant program to use funds transferred pursuant to s. 212.20 to the Ecosystem Management and Restoration Trust Fund or other moneys as appropriated by the Legislature for water quality improvement, stormwater management, wastewater management, and water restoration and other water projects as specifically appropriated by the Legislature. Eligible recipients of such grants include counties, municipalities, water management districts, and special districts that have legal responsibilities for water quality improvement, water management, stormwater management, wastewater management, lake and river water restoration projects, and drinking water projects pursuant to this section.

(2)  The grant program shall provide for the evaluation of annual grant proposals. The department shall evaluate such proposals to determine if they:

(a)  Protect public health or the environment.

(b)  Implement plans developed pursuant to the Surface Water Improvement and Management Act created in part IV of chapter 373, other water restoration plans required by law, management plans prepared pursuant to s. 403.067, or other plans adopted by local government for water quality improvement and water restoration.

¹(3)  Notwithstanding subsections (1), ²(3), ²(5), and ²(6):

(a)  The department shall administer a grant program to use funds transferred pursuant to s. 212.20 to the Ecosystem Management and Restoration Trust Fund or other moneys as appropriated by the Legislature for stormwater management, wastewater management, water restoration, and other water projects as specifically appropriated by the Legislature. Eligible recipients of such grants include counties, municipalities, water management districts, and special districts that have legal responsibilities for water quality improvement, storm water management, wastewater management, lake and river water restoration projects, and drinking water projects pursuant to this section.

(b)  All project applicants shall provide local matching funds as follows:

1.  An applicant for state funding of a stormwater management or surfacewater management project shall provide local matching funds equal to at least 50 percent of the total cost of the project.

2.  An applicant for state funding of a wastewater management project shall provide matching funds equal to at least 25 percent of the total cost of the project.

(c)  The requirement in paragraph (b) for matching funds may be waived if the applicant is a financially disadvantaged small local government. For purposes of this subsection, the term "financially disadvantaged small local government" means a municipality having a population of 7,500 or less, a county having a population of 35,000 or less, according to the latest decennial census, and a per capita annual income less than the state per capita annual income as determined by the United States Department of Commerce, or a county in an area designated by the Governor as a rural area of critical economic concern pursuant to s. 288.0656

(d)  This subsection expires July 1, 2007.

History.--s. 11, ch. 2002-291; s. 16, ch. 2005-291; s. 34, ch. 2006-26; s. 73, ch. 2006-230.

¹Note.--

A.  Section 34, ch. 2006-26, added subsection (7), redesignated as subsection (3) to conform to the deletion of subsections (3)-(6) by s. 73, ch. 2006-230, "[i]n order to implement Specific Appropriation 1821 of the 2006-2007 General Appropriations Act." Some referenced specific appropriations or proviso language was vetoed. See ch. 2006-25, the 2006-2007 General Appropriations Act.

B.  Section 52, ch. 2006-26, provides that "[a] section of this act that implements more than one specific appropriation or more than one portion of specifically identified proviso language in the 2006-2007 General Appropriations Act is void if all the specific appropriations or portions of specifically identified proviso language are vetoed." Not all portions of specifically identified appropriations or proviso language relating to the addition of s. 403.885(3) were vetoed.

²Note.--Repealed by s. 73, ch. 2006-230.