House Bill 1757

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1757

        By the Committee on Water & Resource Management and
    Representatives Alexander, Betancourt, K. Smith, Boyd and
    Cantens




  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to demineralization

  3         concentrate; amending s. 403.0882, F.S.;

  4         reorganizing and clarifying the section;

  5         providing findings and declaration; providing

  6         definitions; directing the Department of

  7         Environmental Protection to initiate

  8         rulemaking, by a specified date, to address

  9         facilities that discharge demineralization

10         concentrate; creating a technical advisory

11         committee to assist in rule development;

12         providing permitting requirements relating to

13         failure of toxicity tests due to naturally

14         occurring constituents; providing requirements

15         for discharge of demineralization concentrate

16         from small water utility businesses; providing

17         additional rulemaking authority; amending s.

18         403.061, F.S.; providing an exemption allowing

19         demineralization concentrate mixing zones in

20         Outstanding Florida Waters if specific

21         requirements are met; providing an effective

22         date.

23

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

25

26         Section 1.  Section 403.0882, Florida Statutes, is

27  amended to read:

28         (Substantial rewording of section. See

29         s. 403.0882, F.S., for present text.)

30         403.0882  Discharge of demineralization concentrate.--

31

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1757

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  1         (1)  The Legislature finds and declares that it is in

  2  the public interest to conserve and protect water resources;

  3  provide adequate water supplies and provide for natural

  4  systems; and promote brackish water demineralization as an

  5  alternative to ground and surface water withdrawals of

  6  freshwater, by removing institutional barriers to

  7  demineralization and through conducting research, including

  8  demonstration projects, to advance water and water byproduct

  9  treatment technology, sound waste byproduct disposal methods,

10  and regional solutions to water resources issues.  In order to

11  promote the state objective of alternative water supply

12  development, including the use of demineralization

13  technologies, and encourage the conservation and protection of

14  Florida's natural resources, the concentrate resulting from

15  demineralization shall be classified as potable water

16  byproduct regardless of flow quantity and shall be

17  appropriately treated, and discharged or reused.

18         (2)  For the purposes of this section, the term:

19         (a)  "Demineralization concentrate" means the

20  concentrated byproduct water, brine, or reject water produced

21  by ion exchange or membrane separation technologies, such as

22  reverse osmosis, membrane softening, ultra-filtration,

23  membrane filtration, electrodialysis, and electrodialysis

24  reversal, used for desalination, softening, or reducing total

25  dissolved solids during water treatment for public water

26  supply purposes.

27         (b)  "Small water utility business" means any facility

28  that distributes potable water to two or more customers with a

29  concentrate discharge of less than 50,000 gallons per day.

30         (3)  The department shall initiate rulemaking no later

31  than October 1, 2000, to address facilities that discharge

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1757

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  1  demineralization concentrate.  The department shall convene a

  2  technical advisory committee to assist in the development of

  3  the rules, which shall include one representative each from

  4  the demineralization industry, local government, water and

  5  wastewater utilities, the engineering profession, business,

  6  and environmental organizations.  The technical advisory

  7  committee shall also include one member representing the five

  8  water management districts.  In convening the technical

  9  advisory committee, consideration shall be given to

10  geographical balance.  The rules shall address, at a minimum:

11         (a)  Permit application forms for concentrate disposal.

12         (b)  Specific options and requirements for

13  demineralization concentrate disposal, including a

14  standardized list of effluent and monitoring parameters, which

15  may be adjusted or expanded by the department as necessary to

16  protect water quality.

17         (c)  Specific requirements and accepted methods for

18  evaluating mixing of effluent in receiving waters.

19         (d)  Specific toxicity provisions.

20         (4)(a)  For facilities that discharge demineralization

21  concentrate, the failure of whole effluent toxicity tests

22  predominately due to the presence of constituents naturally

23  occurring in the source water, limited to calcium, potassium,

24  sodium, magnesium, chloride, bromide, and other constituents

25  designated by the department, shall not be the basis for

26  denial of a permit, denial of a permit renewal, revocation of

27  a permit, or other enforcement action by the department, as

28  long as the volume of water necessary to achieve water quality

29  standards is available within a distance not in excess of two

30  times the natural water depth at the point of discharge under

31  all flow conditions.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1757

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  1         (b)  In the event failure of whole effluent toxicity

  2  tests is due predominately to the presence of the naturally

  3  occurring constituents identified in paragraph (a), or

  4  designated by the department pursuant to paragraph (a), the

  5  department shall issue a permit for the demineralization

  6  concentrate discharge, if:

  7         1.  The volume of water necessary to achieve water

  8  quality standards is available within a distance not in excess

  9  of two times the natural water depth at the point of discharge

10  under all flow conditions; and

11         2.  All other permitting requirements are met.

12

13  A variance for toxicity under the circumstance described in

14  this paragraph shall not be required.

15         (c)  Facilities that fail to meet the requirements of

16  this subsection may be permitted in accordance with department

17  rule, including all applicable moderating provisions such as

18  variances, exemptions, and mixing zones.

19         (5)  Blending of demineralization concentrate with

20  reclaimed water shall be allowed in accordance with the

21  department's reuse rules.

22         (6)  This subsection applies only to small water

23  utility businesses.

24         (a)  The discharge of demineralization concentrate from

25  small water utility businesses shall be presumed to be

26  allowable and permittable in all waters in the state, if:

27         1.  The discharge meets the effluent limitations in s.

28  403.086(4), except that high-level disinfection shall not be

29  required unless the presence of fecal coliforms in the source

30  water will result in the discharge not meeting applicable

31  water quality standards;

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1757

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  1         2.  The discharge of demineralization concentrate

  2  achieves a minimum of 4-to-1 dilution within a distance not in

  3  excess of two times the natural water depth at the point of

  4  discharge under all flow conditions; and

  5         3.  The point of discharge is located at a reasonably

  6  accessible point that minimizes water quality impacts to the

  7  greatest extent possible.

  8         (b)  The presumption in paragraph (a) that the

  9  discharge of demineralization concentrate from a small water

10  utility is allowable and permittable may be overcome only by a

11  demonstration that one or more of the following conditions are

12  present:

13         1.  The discharge will be made directly into an

14  Outstanding Florida Water, except as provided in chapter

15  90-262, Laws of Florida.

16         2.  The discharge will be made directly to Class I or

17  Class II waters.

18         3.  The discharge will be made to a water body having a

19  total maximum daily load established by the department and the

20  discharge will cause or contribute to a violation of the

21  established load.

22         4.  The discharge fails to meet the requirements of the

23  antidegradation policy contained in the department rules.

24         5.  The discharge will be made to a sole-source

25  aquifer.

26         6.  The discharge fails to meet applicable surface

27  water and groundwater quality standards.

28         7.  The results of any toxicity test performed by the

29  applicant under paragraph (d) or by the department indicate

30  the discharge does not meet toxicity requirements at the

31  boundary of the mixing zone under subparagraph (a)2.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1757

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  1         (c)  If one or more of the conditions in paragraph (b)

  2  has been demonstrated, the department may:

  3         1.  Require more stringent effluent limitations;

  4         2.  Require relocation of the discharge point or a

  5  change in the method of discharge;

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

  7         4.  Prohibit the discharge if there is no alternative

  8  that meets the conditions of subparagraphs 1.-3.

  9         (d)  For facilities owned by small water utility

10  businesses, the department shall not:

11         1.  Require such businesses to perform toxicity testing

12  at other than the time of permit application, permit renewal,

13  or any requested permit modification, unless the initial

14  toxicity test or any subsequent toxicity test performed by the

15  department does not meet toxicity requirements.

16         2.  Require such businesses to obtain a

17  water-quality-based effluent limitation determination.

18         (7)  The department may adopt additional rules for the

19  regulation of demineralization and to implement the provisions

20  of this section and s. 403.061(11)(b).

21         Section 2.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (11) of section

22  403.061, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

23         403.061  Department; powers and duties.--The department

24  shall have the power and the duty to control and prohibit

25  pollution of air and water in accordance with the law and

26  rules adopted and promulgated by it and, for this purpose, to:

27         (11)  Establish ambient air quality and water quality

28  standards for the state as a whole or for any part thereof,

29  and also standards for the abatement of excessive and

30  unnecessary noise.  The department is authorized to establish

31  reasonable zones of mixing for discharges into waters.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1757

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  1         (b)  No mixing zone for point source discharges shall

  2  be permitted in Outstanding Florida Waters except for:

  3         1.  Sources which have received permits from the

  4  department prior to April 1, 1982, or the date of designation,

  5  whichever is later.;

  6         2.  Blowdown from new power plants certified pursuant

  7  to the Florida Electrical Power Plant Siting Act.; and

  8         3.  Discharges of water necessary for water management

  9  purposes which have been approved by the governing board of a

10  water management district and, if required by law, by the

11  secretary.

12         4.  The discharge of demineralization concentrate which

13  has been determined permittable under s. 403.0882 and which

14  meets the specific provisions of s. 403.0882(4)(a) and (b), if

15  the proposed discharge is clearly in the public interest.

16         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

17  law.

18

19            *****************************************

20                          HOUSE SUMMARY

21
      Directs the Department of Environmental Protection to
22    initiate rulemaking, by October 1, 2000, to address
      facilities that discharge demineralization concentrate as
23    defined in the act. Directs the department to convene a
      technical advisory committee to assist in such
24    rulemaking, and provides for membership. Specifies
      minimum contents of the rules. Provides permitting
25    requirements for facilities that fail toxicity tests due
      to certain naturally occurring water constituents.
26    Provides requirements for discharge of demineralization
      concentrate from small water utility businesses as
27    defined in the act. Provides an additional exemption for
      point source discharges into Outstanding Florida Waters
28    to allow demineralization concentrate mixing zones if
      specified requirements are met.
29

30

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