House Bill 0721c1

    Florida House of Representatives - 1999              CS/HB 721

        By the Committee on Environmental Protection and
    Representatives Fiorentino, Fasano and Russell





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to sewage treatment facility

  3         discharges; prohibiting new discharges or

  4         increased pollutant loadings from existing

  5         sewage treatment facilities into coastal waters

  6         within Pasco County or waters tributary

  7         thereto; requiring elimination of existing

  8         discharges into coastal waters within Pasco

  9         County or waters tributary thereto; authorizing

10         the Department of Environmental Protection to

11         grant exceptions under certain circumstances;

12         providing an effective date.

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14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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16         Section 1.  Elimination of sewage treatment facility

17  discharges into coastal waters within Pasco County.--

18         (1)  No new discharges or increased pollutant loadings

19  from existing sewage treatment facilities into the coastal

20  waters of the state within Pasco County, which include, but

21  are not limited to, Anclote Anchorage, Sandy Bay, Cross Bayou,

22  Millers Bayou, Boggy Bay, Hope Bayou, Lighter Bayou, or

23  Fillman Bayou, or into waters tributary thereto, are permitted

24  except as provided in subsection (3).

25         (2)  All existing sewage treatment facility discharges

26  into the coastal waters of the state within Pasco County or

27  into waters tributary thereto, as described in subsection (1),

28  must be eliminated before July 1, 2004, except as provided in

29  subsection (3).

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999              CS/HB 721

    194-127-99






  1         (3)  The Department of Environmental Protection may

  2  grant an exception to subsection (1) or subsection (2) only in

  3  the following circumstances:

  4         (a)  The applicant conclusively demonstrates that no

  5  other practical alternative exists and the discharge will

  6  receive advanced waste treatment as defined in s. 403.086(4),

  7  Florida Statutes, or a higher level of treatment, and the

  8  applicant conclusively demonstrates that the proposed

  9  discharge will not result in a violation of water quality

10  standards; or

11         (b)  The applicant's discharge is a limited wet-weather

12  surface water discharge serving as a backup to a reuse system

13  pursuant to s. 403.086(7)(a), Florida Statutes, and will not

14  cause a violation of state water quality standards and is

15  subject to the requirements of department rules.

16         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

17  law.

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