HB 0221 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to water management; creating
3	the Citrus/Hernando Waterways Restoration
4	Council; providing for membership, powers, and
5	duties; providing for separate county task
6	forces; providing for a report to the
7	Legislature; providing for an advisory group to
8	the council; requiring the Southwest Florida
9	Water Management District to act as lead entity
10	for the purpose of providing staff and
11	administrative support for the council;
12	providing for a Citrus/Hernando Waterways
13	restoration program; providing an effective date.
14
15	WHEREAS, the waterways of Citrus and Hernando Counties
16	are of historic, hydrological, and ecological significance,
17	and
18	WHEREAS, most of these Citrus/Hernando waterways are
19	Outstanding Florida Waterways or are in the application process,
20	and
21	WHEREAS, the Citrus/Hernando waterways are plagued by
22	fluctuating water levels and sedimentation increasing nitrate
23	levels and sand movement causing blockage of natural springs
24	and excessive growth of aquatic plants, which are degrading
25	their water quality and recreational value, and
26	WHEREAS, despite their current problems, the
27	Citrus/Hernando waterways continue to provide wildlife habitat
28	for fish, birds, and game and offer recreational opportunities
29	for the residents of Citrus and Hernando Counties and visitors
30	to the area, and
31	WHEREAS, the renewable economic potential of the
32	Citrus/Hernando waterways is significant, and
33	WHEREAS, the Southwest Florida Water Management
34	District and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,
35	along with other state, regional, and local entities, have
36	developed proposals to restore portions of the Citrus/Hernando
37	waterways, NOW, THEREFORE,
38
39	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
40
41	Section 1.(1) The Citrus/Hernando Waterways Restoration
42	Council.--There is created within the Withlacoochee and Coastal
43	Rivers Basin Boards of the Southwest Florida Water Management
44	District a council to be known as the Citrus/Hernando Waterways
45	Restoration Council. The council shall be coordinated by
46	representatives of the following agencies: the Florida Fish and
47	Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Department of
48	Environmental Protection, and the Southwest Florida Water
49	Management District. The council is subject to the provisions of
50	chapters 119 and 120, Florida Statutes.
51	(2) Members of the council shall consist of 12 voting
52	members with 6 appointed by the President of the Senate and 6
53	appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The
54	council shall consist of representatives as follows:
55	(a) A waterfront property owner from each county.
56	(b) An attorney from each county.
57	(c) A member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber
58	of Commerce from each county.
59	(d) An environmental engineer from each county.
60	(e) An engineer from each county.
61	(f) A person from each county with training in biology
62	or another scientific discipline.
63	(3) The council members from each county are to form
64	two separate county task forces from the council to review and
65	make recommendations on specific waterways. The Hernando
66	County Task Force shall develop plans for the restoration of
67	the Weeki Wachee River and Springs. The Citrus County Task
68	Force shall develop plans for the restoration of the
69	Tsala-Apopka Chain of Lakes.
70	(4) There shall be a technical advisory group to the
71	council and the two county task forces which shall consist of
72	one representative each from the Southwest Florida Water
73	Management District, the Department of Environmental
74	Protection, the Department of Transportation, the Fish and
75	Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Coastal Rivers Basin
76	Board, the Withlacoochee River Basin Board, and the United
77	States Army Corps of Engineers, each of whom shall be
78	appointed by his or her respective agency and each of whom,
79	with the exception of the representatives from the
80	Withlacoochee River Basin Board and Coastal Rivers Basin
81	Board, shall have had training in biology or another
82	scientific discipline.
83	(5) Immediately after appointment, the council shall
84	meet and organize by electing a chair, a vice chair, and a
85	secretary, whose terms shall be for 2 years each. Council
86	officers shall not serve consecutive terms. Each council
87	member shall be a voting member. Additionally, the two county
88	task forces shall elect a chair and a secretary, whose terms
89	shall be for 2 years each.
90	(6) The council or the county task forces shall meet
91	at the call of their respective chairs, at the request of six
92	members of the council or of the respective task force, or at
93	the request of the chair of the governing board of the Southwest
94	Florida Water Management District.
95	(7) The council shall have the powers and duties to:
96	(a) Review audits and all data specifically related to
97	lake and river restoration techniques and sport fish
98	population recovery strategies, including data and strategies
99	for shoreline restoration, sand and other sediment control and
100	removal, exotic species management, floating tussock
101	management or removal, navigation, water quality, and fish and
102	wildlife habitat improvement, particularly as they may apply
103	to the Citrus/Hernando waterways.
104	(b) Evaluate whether additional studies are needed.
105	(c) Explore all possible sources of funding to conduct
106	the restoration activities.
107	(d) Report to the Speaker of the House of
108	Representatives and the President of the Senate before
109	November 25 of each year on the progress of the
110	Citrus/Hernando Waterways restoration program and any
111	recommendations for the next fiscal year.
112	(8) The Southwest Florida Water Management District
113	shall act as lead entity for the purpose of providing staff
114	and administrative support to assist the council in carrying
115	out the provisions of this act.
116	(9) Members of the council shall receive no
117	compensation for their services but are entitled to be
118	reimbursed for per diem and travel expenses incurred during
119	execution of their official duties as provided in section
120	112.061, Florida Statutes. State and federal agencies shall be
121	responsible for the per diem and travel expenses of their
122	respective appointees to the council, and the Southwest
123	Florida Water Management District shall be responsible for per
124	diem and travel expenses of other appointees to the council.
125	Section 2.The Citrus/Hernando Waterways restoration
126	program.--
127	(1) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and
128	the Southwest Florida Water Management District, in
129	conjunction with the Department of Environmental Protection,
130	pertinent local governments, and the Citrus/Hernando Waterways
131	Restoration Council, shall review existing restoration
132	proposals to determine which ones are the most environmentally
133	sound and economically feasible methods of improving the fish
134	and wildlife habitat and natural systems of the
135	Citrus/Hernando waterways.
136	(2) To initiate the Citrus/Hernando Waterways
137	restoration program recommended by the Citrus/Hernando
138	Waterways Restoration Council, the Fish and Wildlife
139	Conservation Commission, with assistance from the Southwest
140	Florida Water Management District and in consultation and by
141	agreement with the Department of Environmental Protection and
142	pertinent local governments, shall develop tasks to be
143	considered by those entities for the enhancement of fish and
144	wildlife habitat. These tasks shall include the following:
145	(a) An evaluation of different methodologies for
146	removing the extensive tussocks and buildup of organic matter
147	along the shoreline and of the aquatic vegetation in the lake.
148	(b) The conduct of any additional studies as required
149	by the Citrus/Hernando Waterways Restoration Council.
150	(3) Contingent on the Legislature's appropriating
151	funds for the Citrus/Hernando Waterways restoration program
152	and in conjunction with financial participation by federal,
153	other state, and local governments, the appropriate agencies
154	shall, through competitive bid, award contracts to implement
155	the activities of the Citrus/Hernando Waterways restoration
156	program.
157	Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
158