Senate Bill sb0536

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    Florida Senate - 2001                                   SB 536

    By Senator Bronson





    312-504-01

  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         directing the Department of Environmental

  6         Protection to enter into rulemaking; creating a

  7         technical advisory committee to assist in rule

  8         development; providing permitting requirements

  9         relating to failure of toxicity tests due to

10         naturally occurring constituents; amending s.

11         403.061, F.S.; providing an exemption allowing

12         demineralization concentrate mixing zones in

13         Outstanding Florida Waters with specific

14         requirements; providing an effective date.

15

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

17

18         Section 1.  Section 403.0882, Florida Statutes, is

19  amended to read:

20         (Substantial rewording of section. See

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

22         403.0882  Discharge of demineralization concentrate.--

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

24  the public interest to conserve and protect water resources,

25  provide adequate water supplies and provide for natural

26  systems, and promote brackish water demineralization as an

27  alternative to withdrawals of freshwater ground water and

28  surface water by removing institutional barriers to

29  demineralization and through research, including demonstration

30  projects, to advance water and water byproduct treatment

31  technology, sound waste byproduct disposal methods, and

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    Florida Senate - 2001                                   SB 536
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  1  regional solutions to water resources issues.  In order to

  2  promote the state objective of alternative water supply

  3  development, including the use of demineralization

  4  technologies, and to encourage the conservation and protection

  5  of the state's natural resources, the concentrate resulting

  6  from demineralization must be classified as potable water

  7  byproduct regardless of flow quantity and must be

  8  appropriately treated and discharged or reused.

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

10         (a)  "Demineralization concentrate" means the

11  concentrated byproduct water, brine, or reject water produced

12  by ion exchange or membrane separation technologies such as

13  reverse osmosis, membrane softening, ultra-filtration,

14  membrane filtration, electrodialysis, and electrodialysis

15  reversal used for desalination, softening, or reducing total

16  dissolved solids during water treatment for public water

17  supply purposes.

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

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

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

21         (3)  The department shall initiate rulemaking no later

22  than October 1, 2001, to address facilities that discharge

23  demineralization concentrate.  The department shall convene a

24  technical advisory committee to assist in the development of

25  the rules, which committee shall include one representative

26  each from the demineralization industry, local government,

27  water and wastewater utilities, the engineering profession,

28  business, and environmental organizations.  The technical

29  advisory committee shall also include one member representing

30  the five water management districts and one representative

31  from the Florida Marine Research Institute.  In convening the

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    Florida Senate - 2001                                   SB 536
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  1  technical advisory committee, consideration must be given to

  2  geographical balance. The rules must address, at a minimum:

  3         (a)  Permit application forms for concentrate disposal;

  4         (b)  Specific options and requirements for

  5  demineralization concentrate disposal, including a

  6  standardized list of effluent and monitoring parameters, which

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

  8  protect water quality;

  9         (c)  Specific requirements and accepted methods for

10  evaluating mixing of effluent in receiving waters; and

11         (d)  Specific toxicity provisions.

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

13  concentrate, the failure of whole effluent toxicity tests

14  predominantly due to the presence of constituents naturally

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

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

17  designated by the department, may not be the basis for denial

18  of a permit, denial of a permit renewal, revocation of a

19  permit, or other enforcement action by the department as long

20  as the volume of water necessary to achieve water quality

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

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

23  all flow conditions.

24         (b)  If failure of whole effluent toxicity tests is due

25  predominately to the presence of the naturally occurring

26  constituents identified in paragraph (a), the department shall

27  issue a permit for the demineralization concentrate discharge

28  if:

29         1.  The volume of water necessary to achieve water

30  quality standards is available within a distance not in excess

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

  2  under all flow conditions; and

  3         2.  All other permitting requirements are met.

  4

  5  A variance for toxicity under the circumstance described in

  6  this paragraph is not required.

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

  8  this subsection may be permitted in accordance with department

  9  rule, including all applicable moderating provisions such as

10  variances, exemptions, and mixing zones.

11         (5)  Blending of demineralization concentrate with

12  reclaimed water shall be allowed in accordance with the

13  department's reuse rules.

14         (6)  This subsection applies only to small water

15  utility businesses.

16         (a)  The discharge of demineralization concentrate from

17  small water utility businesses is presumed to be allowable and

18  permittable in all waters in the state if:

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

20  403.086(4), except that high level disinfection is not

21  required unless the presence of fecal coliforms in the source

22  water will result in the discharge not meeting applicable

23  water quality standards;

24         2.  The discharge of demineralization concentrate

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

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

27  discharge under all flow conditions; and

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

29  accessible point that minimizes water quality impacts to the

30  greatest extent possible.

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  1         (b)  The presumption in paragraph (a) may be overcome

  2  only by a demonstration that one or more of the following

  3  conditions is present:

  4         1.  The discharge will be made directly into an

  5  Outstanding Florida Water, except as provided in chapter

  6  90-262, Laws of Florida;

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

  8  Class II waters; 

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

10  total maximum daily load established by the department and the

11  discharge will cause or contribute to a violation of the

12  established load;

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

14  antidegradation policy contained in the department rules;

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

16  aquifer;

17         6.  The discharge fails to meet applicable surface

18  water and groundwater quality standards; or

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

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

21  that the discharge does not meet toxicity requirements at the

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

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

24  has been demonstrated, the department may:

25         1.  Require more stringent effluent limitations;

26         2.  Require relocation of the discharge point or a

27  change in the method of discharge;

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

29         4.  Prohibit the discharge if there is no alternative

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

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  1         (d)  For facilities owned by small water utility

  2  businesses, the department may not:

  3         1.  Require those businesses to perform toxicity

  4  testing at other than the time of permit application, permit

  5  renewal, or any requested permit modification, unless the

  6  initial toxicity test or any subsequent toxicity test

  7  performed by the department does not meet toxicity

  8  requirements.

  9         2.  Require those businesses to obtain a

10  water-quality-based effluent limitation determination.

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

12  regulation of demineralization and to administer this section

13  and s. 403.061(11)(b).

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

15  403.061, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

16         403.061  Department; powers and duties.--The department

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

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

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

20         (11)  Establish ambient air quality and water quality

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

22  and also standards for the abatement of excessive and

23  unnecessary noise.  The department is authorized to establish

24  reasonable zones of mixing for discharges into waters.

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

26  be permitted in Outstanding Florida Waters except for:

27         1.  Sources that which have received permits from the

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

29  whichever is later;

30         2.  Blowdown from new power plants certified pursuant

31  to the Florida Electrical Power Plant Siting Act; and

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  1         3.  Discharges of water necessary for water management

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

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

  4  secretary; and.

  5         4.  The discharge of demineralization concentrate which

  6  has been determined permittable under 403.0882 and which meets

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

  8  proposed discharge is clearly in the public interest.

  9

10  Nothing in this act shall be construed to invalidate any

11  existing department rule relating to mixing zones.  The

12  department shall cooperate with the Department of Highway

13  Safety and Motor Vehicles in the development of regulations

14  required by s. 316.272(1).

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

16  law.

17

18            *****************************************

19                          SENATE SUMMARY

20    Revises the regulation of the discharge of
      demineralization concentrate by the Department of
21    Environmental Protection. Allows demineralization
      concentrate mixing zones in Outstanding Florida Waters
22    under certain circumstances.

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