| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to Pasco County; providing legislative |
| 3 | findings and intent with respect to monopoly water |
| 4 | utilities; providing for a pilot project for Pasco County |
| 5 | to facilitate county response to certain consumer |
| 6 | complaints; permitting the chair of the board of county |
| 7 | commissioners to establish a monopoly water utility ad hoc |
| 8 | committee for a prescribed period; providing for the |
| 9 | membership and duties of the committee; allowing the |
| 10 | county commission to adopt additional technological |
| 11 | standards to address issues relating to black water and |
| 12 | rotten-egg odor in domestic plumbing; requiring that |
| 13 | utilities receive notice of the standards and submit a |
| 14 | compliance plan to the county; prohibiting the county |
| 15 | commission from adopting standards that relate to the |
| 16 | finances of a monopoly water utility or conflict with |
| 17 | specified standards imposed by other regulatory bodies; |
| 18 | providing procedures for challenging standards adopted by |
| 19 | the county; providing for a monopoly water utility to |
| 20 | recover certain costs of compliance with the county |
| 21 | requirements; providing that this act supersedes |
| 22 | conflicting provisions of ch. 367, F.S.; providing for |
| 23 | future repeal; providing an effective date. |
| 24 |
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| 25 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 26 |
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| 27 | Section 1. Monopoly water utilities; legislative findings |
| 28 | and intent; Pasco County pilot project; countywide standards for |
| 29 | black water, rotten-egg odor, and customer service.-- |
| 30 | (1) The Legislature recognizes that by extending the |
| 31 | privilege of monopoly status to certain utilities, chapter 367, |
| 32 | Florida Statutes, creates a class of captive customers who |
| 33 | cannot choose to purchase service from an open market. |
| 34 | Accordingly, the Legislature finds that it is a priority to |
| 35 | ensure that drinking water delivered to captive customers meets |
| 36 | appropriate quality standards. The Legislature further finds |
| 37 | that there exists a variety of factors that affect the quality |
| 38 | of the water delivered into customers' homes. It is the intent |
| 39 | of the Legislature to establish a pilot program in Pasco County |
| 40 | regarding monopoly water utilities which is intended to allow |
| 41 | Pasco County the ability to respond to consumer complaints |
| 42 | regarding black water, rotten-egg odor arising from local |
| 43 | variations in raw water chemistry, and customer service. It is |
| 44 | also the intent of the Legislature to maintain a statewide |
| 45 | uniform system of regulation with respect to the establishment |
| 46 | of water quality standards. Therefore, the Legislature |
| 47 | recognizes that only the Public Service Commission, the |
| 48 | Department of Environmental Protection, and the Environmental |
| 49 | Protection Agency are authorized to establish statewide water |
| 50 | quality criteria requirements. Nonetheless, it is recognized |
| 51 | that technology may be available to assist in lessening black |
| 52 | water and rotten-egg odor arising from local variations in raw |
| 53 | water chemistry. It is also recognized that monopoly water |
| 54 | utilities have established varying degrees of customer service |
| 55 | programs that are designed to respond to consumer complaints |
| 56 | regarding customer service. |
| 57 | (2) If Pasco County is receiving black water, rotten-egg |
| 58 | odor, or other customer service complaints from a significant |
| 59 | number of the customers serviced by any monopoly water utility, |
| 60 | the chair of the county commission may establish a monopoly |
| 61 | water utility ad hoc committee consisting of the chair of the |
| 62 | county commission, two representatives from the monopoly water |
| 63 | utility, two customer representatives, the county health |
| 64 | officer, and two independent scientific experts in water |
| 65 | chemistry. The committee shall be in existence for no more than |
| 66 | 2 years, and its functions shall be: |
| 67 | (a) To review and evaluate customer service complaints |
| 68 | and, if deemed necessary, recommend to the county commission the |
| 69 | establishment of uniform customer service criteria to be applied |
| 70 | by all monopoly water utilities. |
| 71 | (b) To review and evaluate black water and rotten-egg odor |
| 72 | concerns expressed by customers serviced by a monopoly water |
| 73 | utility if similar complaints have also been filed with the |
| 74 | Public Service Commission. |
| 75 | (c) If deemed necessary, to recommend to the county |
| 76 | commission the propriety of requiring new technology or new |
| 77 | uniform minimum technology standards for use by monopoly water |
| 78 | utilities in the treatment of black water and rotten-egg odor |
| 79 | and the delivery of customer service. The ad hoc committee may |
| 80 | evaluate a monopoly water utility's operational protocol only |
| 81 | insofar as it relates to customer service and water quality |
| 82 | issues related to local variations in water chemistry. The ad |
| 83 | hoc committee may not recommend standards that deal with the |
| 84 | financial aspects of a water utility or standards or criteria |
| 85 | relating to water quality which would conflict with water |
| 86 | quality standards presently imposed by the Public Service |
| 87 | Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection, or the |
| 88 | Environmental Protection Agency. However, the ad hoc committee |
| 89 | may recommend the establishment of local technological standards |
| 90 | or methods of processing relating to black water and rotten-egg |
| 91 | odor or other minimum standards regarding general responsiveness |
| 92 | to customer service complaints. Such technological standards |
| 93 | relating to black water and rotten-egg odor must be |
| 94 | economically, technologically, and environmentally feasible. The |
| 95 | ad hoc committee shall consult with the Public Service |
| 96 | Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection, or the |
| 97 | Environmental Protection Agency, as necessary. |
| 98 | (3) On the recommendation of the ad hoc committee, the |
| 99 | county commission may choose to adopt additional technological |
| 100 | standards upon demonstration that there will be a substantial |
| 101 | improvement in black water and rotten-egg odor conditions and |
| 102 | such standards do not conflict with the permitting requirements |
| 103 | of the Public Service Commission, the Department of |
| 104 | Environmental Protection, or the Environmental Protection |
| 105 | Agency. The county commission may also choose to adopt other |
| 106 | minimum standards for customer service responsiveness. Upon the |
| 107 | adoption of any such standards, each monopoly water utility |
| 108 | shall be informed of those new standards and shall be given 3 |
| 109 | months to submit to the county a plan for compliance with those |
| 110 | standards. The county shall allow for a reasonable time to bring |
| 111 | such systems into compliance with the new standards. |
| 112 | Notwithstanding any other provisions of this act, the county |
| 113 | commission may not adopt standards that deal with the financial |
| 114 | aspects of a monopoly water utility or standards or criteria |
| 115 | relating to water quality as applied to a monopoly water utility |
| 116 | which would either conflict with or be more stringent than water |
| 117 | quality standards or criteria presently imposed by the Public |
| 118 | Service Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection, |
| 119 | or the Environmental Protection Agency. The county's decision to |
| 120 | adopt any technological or customer service standards is agency |
| 121 | action only for the purposes of this act and is subject to |
| 122 | chapter 120, Florida Statutes. Any affected monopoly water |
| 123 | utility, consumer, or state agency may challenge, pursuant to |
| 124 | chapter 120, Florida Statutes, the county's decision to adopt |
| 125 | such standards as not complying with the provisions contained in |
| 126 | this act, and the county shall refer the petition to the |
| 127 | Division of Administrative Hearings. Any decision of an |
| 128 | administrative law judge is final agency action, subject to |
| 129 | appeal pursuant to s. 120.68, Florida Statutes. If there is no |
| 130 | challenge to the decision of the county commission to impose |
| 131 | additional standards as provided for in this act, or if the |
| 132 | county prevails in an administrative challenge to the proposed |
| 133 | standards, the full amount of any reasonable and prudent costs |
| 134 | incurred in complying with the county requirements and any legal |
| 135 | or other costs incurred by the utility in participating in the |
| 136 | process outlined in this section are recoverable by a monopoly |
| 137 | water utility under s. 367.081(4)(b), Florida Statutes, if that |
| 138 | monopoly water utility is regulated by the Public Service |
| 139 | Commission. |
| 140 | (4) This act is intended to supersede the provisions of |
| 141 | chapter 367, Florida Statutes, to the extent that such |
| 142 | provisions are inconsistent with this act. |
| 143 | (5) This act shall expire July 1, 2005. |
| 144 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |