The Florida Senate

373.453  Surface water improvement and management plans and programs.--

(1)(a)  Each water management district, in cooperation with the department, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of Community Affairs, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and local governments shall prepare and maintain a list which shall prioritize water bodies of regional or statewide significance within each water management district. The list shall be reviewed and updated every 3 years. The list shall be based on criteria adopted by rule of the department and shall assign priorities to the water bodies based on their need for protection and restoration.

(b)  Criteria developed by the department shall include, but need not be limited to, consideration of violations of water quality standards occurring in the water body, the amounts of nutrients entering the water body and the water body's trophic state, the existence of or need for a continuous aquatic weed control program in the water body, the biological condition of the water body, reduced fish and wildlife values, and threats to agricultural and urban water supplies and public recreational opportunities.

(c)  In developing their respective priority lists, water management districts shall give consideration to the following priority areas:

1.  The South Florida Water Management District shall give priority to the restoration needs of Lake Okeechobee, Biscayne Bay, and the Indian River Lagoon system and their tributaries.

2.  The Southwest Florida Water Management District shall give priority to the restoration needs of Tampa Bay and its tributaries.

3.  The St. Johns River Water Management District shall give priority to the restoration needs of Lake Apopka, the Lower St. Johns River, and the Indian River Lagoon system and their tributaries.

(2)  Once the priority lists are approved by the department, the water management districts, in cooperation with the department, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Department of Community Affairs, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and local governments, shall develop surface water improvement and management plans for the water bodies based on the priority lists. The department shall establish a uniform format for such plans and a schedule for reviewing and updating the plans. These plans shall include, but not be limited to:

(a)  A description of the water body system, its historical and current uses, its hydrology, and a history of the conditions which have led to the need for restoration or protection;

(b)  An identification of all governmental units that have jurisdiction over the water body and its drainage basin within the approved surface water improvement and management plan area, including local, regional, state, and federal units;

(c)  A description of land uses within the drainage basin within the approved surface water improvement and management plan area and those of important tributaries, point and nonpoint sources of pollution, and permitted discharge activities;

(d)  A list of the owners of point and nonpoint sources of water pollution that are discharged into each water body and tributary thereto and that adversely affect the public interest, including separate lists of those sources that are:

1.  Operating without a permit;

2.  Operating with a temporary operating permit; and

3.  Presently violating effluent limits or water quality standards.

The plan shall also include recommendations and schedules for bringing all sources into compliance with state standards when not contrary to the public interest. This paragraph does not authorize any existing or future violation of any applicable statute, regulation, or permit requirement, and does not diminish the authority of the department or the water management district;

(e)  A description of strategies and potential strategies for restoring or protecting the water body to Class III or better;

(f)  A listing of studies that are being or have been prepared for the water body;

(g)  A description of the research and feasibility studies which will be performed to determine the particular strategy or strategies to restore or protect the water body;

(h)  A description of the measures needed to manage and maintain the water body once it has been restored and to prevent future degradation;

(i)  A schedule for restoration and protection of the water body; and

(j)  An estimate of the funding needed to carry out the restoration or protection strategies.

(3)  Each water management district shall be responsible for planning and coordinating restoration or protection strategies for the priority water bodies within the district which have been approved by the department as water bodies of regional and statewide significance in need of protection or restoration. The governing board of the appropriate water management district shall hold at least one public hearing and public workshops in the vicinity of the water body under consideration as may be necessary for obtaining public input prior to finalizing the surface water improvement and management plans for the water bodies on the priority list. The water management district shall then forward a copy of the plans to the department and to appropriate local governmental units.

(4)  Each September 1, the water management districts shall submit a funding proposal for the next state fiscal year to the department for its review and approval. The proposal shall specify the activities that need state funding and the amounts of funding, and shall describe the specific restoration or protection activities proposed. The department shall review water management district funding proposals and shall consider them in making its annual budget request.

(5)  The governing board of each water management district is encouraged to appoint advisory committees as necessary to assist in formulating and evaluating strategies for water body protection and restoration activities and to increase public awareness and intergovernmental cooperation. Such committees should include representatives of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, appropriate local governments, federal agencies, existing advisory councils for the subject water body, and representatives of the public who use the water body.

(6)  The water management districts may contract with appropriate state, local, and regional agencies and others to perform various tasks associated with the development and implementation of the surface water improvement and management plans.

History.--s. 2, ch. 87-97; s. 25, ch. 89-279; s. 271, ch. 94-356; s. 187, ch. 99-245.