Senate Bill 1372
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Florida Senate - 2000 SB 1372
By Senator Bronson
312-965-00
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to water management; amending
3 s. 373.2295, F.S.; repealing obsolete
4 provisions relating to applications for
5 interdistrict transfer and use of groundwater;
6 providing an effective date.
7
8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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10 Section 1. Section 373.2295, Florida Statutes, is
11 amended to read:
12 373.2295 Interdistrict transfers of groundwater.--
13 (1) As used in this section, the term "interdistrict
14 transfer and use" means a consumptive water use that which
15 involves the withdrawal of groundwater from a point within one
16 water management district for use outside the boundaries of
17 that district.
18 (2) To obtain a permit for an interdistrict transfer
19 and use of groundwater, an applicant must file an application
20 in accordance with s. 373.229 with the water management
21 district having jurisdiction over the area from which the
22 applicant proposes to withdraw groundwater and submit a copy
23 of the application to the water management district having
24 jurisdiction over the area where the water is to be used.
25 (3) The governing board of the water management
26 district where the groundwater is proposed to be withdrawn
27 shall review the application in accordance with this part, the
28 rules of the district which relate to consumptive water use
29 permitting, and other applicable provisions of this chapter.
30 (4) In determining whether if an application is
31 consistent with the public interest as required by s. 373.223,
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Florida Senate - 2000 SB 1372
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1 the projected populations, as contained in the future land use
2 elements of the comprehensive plans adopted pursuant to
3 chapter 163 by the local governments within which the
4 withdrawal areas and the proposed use areas are located, will
5 be considered together with other evidence presented on future
6 needs of those areas. If the proposed interdistrict transfer
7 of groundwater meets the requirements of this chapter, and if
8 the needs of the area where the use will occur and the
9 specific area from which the groundwater will be withdrawn can
10 be satisfied, the permit for the interdistrict transfer and
11 use shall be issued.
12 (5) In addition to other requirements contained in
13 this part, the water management district where the groundwater
14 is proposed to be withdrawn shall:
15 (a) Furnish copies of any application, information,
16 correspondence, or other related material to the water
17 management district having jurisdiction over the area where
18 the water is to be used; and
19 (b) Request comments on the application and the future
20 water needs of the proposed use area from the water management
21 district having jurisdiction over the area where the water is
22 to be used. If comments are received, they must be attached
23 to the preliminary notice of intended agency action and may
24 not create a point of entry for review whether issued by the
25 governing board or district staff.
26 (6) Upon completion of review of the application, the
27 water management district where the groundwater is proposed to
28 be withdrawn shall prepare a notice of preliminary intended
29 agency action which shall include an evaluation of the
30 application and a recommendation of approval, denial, or
31 approval with conditions. The notice must shall be furnished
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Florida Senate - 2000 SB 1372
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1 to the district where the water is to be used, the applicant,
2 the Department of Environmental Protection, the local
3 governments having jurisdiction over the area from which the
4 groundwater is to be withdrawn and where the water is to be
5 used, and any person requesting a copy of the notice.
6 (a) Any interested person may, within the time
7 specified in the notice, notify in writing the district from
8 where the groundwater is to be withdrawn of such person's
9 position and comments or objections, if any, to the
10 preliminary intended action.
11 (b) The filing of the notice of intended agency action
12 shall toll the time periods contained in s. 120.60 for the
13 granting or denial of a permit for an interdistrict transfer
14 and use of groundwater.
15 (c) The preliminary intended agency action and any
16 comments or objections of interested persons made pursuant to
17 paragraph (a) must shall be considered by the governing board
18 of the water management district where the groundwater is
19 proposed to be withdrawn. Following such consideration, the
20 governing board shall issue a notice of intended agency
21 action.
22 (d) Any substantially affected person who submitted a
23 notification pursuant to paragraph (a) may request review by
24 the department within 14 days after the filing of the notice
25 of intended agency action. If no request for review is filed,
26 the notice of intended agency action shall become the final
27 order of the governing board.
28 (7) Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 120, the
29 department shall, within 30 days after its receipt of a
30 request for review of the water management district's action,
31 approve, deny, or modify the water management district's
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1 action on the proposed interdistrict transfer and use of
2 groundwater. The department shall issue a notice of its
3 intended action. Any substantially affected person who
4 requested review pursuant to paragraph (6)(a) may request an
5 administrative hearing pursuant to chapter 120 within 14 days
6 after notice of the department's intended action. The parties
7 to such proceeding shall include, at a minimum, the affected
8 water management districts and the applicant. The proceedings
9 initiated by a petition under ss. 120.569 and 120.57,
10 following the department's issuance of a notice of intended
11 agency action, is the exclusive proceeding authorized for the
12 review of agency action on the interdistrict transfer and use
13 of groundwater. This procedure is to give effect to the
14 legislative intent that this section provide a single,
15 efficient, simplified, coordinated permitting process for the
16 interdistrict transfer and use of groundwater.
17 (8) The department shall issue a final order, which is
18 subject to review pursuant to s. 120.68 or s. 373.114.
19 (9) In administering this part, the department or the
20 water management districts may enter into interagency
21 agreements. However, such agreements are not subject to the
22 provisions of s. 373.046 and chapter 120.
23 (10) The state hereby preempts any regulation of the
24 interdistrict transfer and use of groundwater. If any
25 provision of this section is in conflict with any other
26 provision or restriction under any law, administrative rule,
27 or ordinance, this section shall govern and such law, rule, or
28 ordinance shall be deemed superseded for the purposes of this
29 section. A water management district or the department may
30 not adopt special rules which prohibit or restrict
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1 interdistrict transfer and use of groundwater in a manner
2 inconsistent with this section.
3 (11) Any applicant who has submitted an application
4 for interdistrict transfer and use of groundwater which is
5 pending on July 11, 1987, may have the application considered
6 pursuant to this section. New permits are not required for
7 interdistrict transfers existing on July 11, 1987, for the
8 duration of the permits issued for such uses.
9 (11)(12) If, after the final order of the department
10 or final agency action under this section, the proposed use of
11 the site designated in the application for groundwater
12 production, treatment, or transmission facilities does not
13 conform with the existing zoning ordinances, a rezoning
14 application may be submitted. If local authorities deny the
15 application for rezoning, the applicant may appeal this
16 decision to the Land and Water Adjudicatory Commission, which
17 shall authorize a variance or nonconforming use to the
18 existing comprehensive plan and zoning ordinances, unless the
19 commission determines after notice and hearing that such
20 variance or nonconforming use is contrary to the public
21 interest.
22 (12)(13) The permit required under this section and
23 other sections of this chapter and chapter 403 are the sole
24 permits required for interdistrict transfer and use of
25 groundwater, and such permits are in lieu of any license,
26 permit, or similar document required by any state agency or
27 political subdivision pursuant to chapter 163, chapter 380, or
28 chapter 381, and the Florida Transportation Code.
29 (13)(14) When a consumptive use permit under this
30 section is granted for water use beyond the boundaries of a
31 local government from which or through which the groundwater
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1 is withdrawn or transferred and a local government denies a
2 permit required under chapter 125 or chapter 153 for a
3 facility or any infrastructure which produces, treats,
4 transmits, or distributes such groundwater, the person or unit
5 of government applying for the permit under chapter 125 or
6 chapter 153 may appeal the denial to the Land and Water
7 Adjudicatory Commission. The commission shall review the local
8 government action for consistency with this chapter and the
9 interdistrict groundwater transfer permit and may reverse,
10 modify, or approve the local government's action.
11 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
12 law.
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15 SENATE SUMMARY
16 Repeals an obsolete provision relating to applications
for the transfer and use of groundwater between water
17 management districts.
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