HB 1795

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to agricultural water conservation;
3	requiring each water management district to review rule
4	criteria for environmental resource permits, existing
5	permit exemptions, and alternatives to standard permitting
6	programs, and recommend regulatory alternatives that will
7	encourage agricultural water conservation; requiring a
8	report by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
9	Services and the Department of Environmental Protection to
10	the appropriate legislative committees; amending s.
11	373.236, F.S.; authorizing the issuance of permits for
12	agricultural production for a specified period for uses
13	that replace a water supply source that has been impacted
14	by water-use withdrawals; amending s. 373.406, F.S.;
15	providing that an exemption provided for activities having
16	minimal adverse impact does not apply to any activities
17	that are conducted as mitigation for wetland or other
18	surface water impacts; amending s. 373.414, F.S.;
19	authorizing the governing board of a water management
20	district or the Department of Environmental Protection to
21	adopt criteria by rule for issuing permits for the use of
22	wetlands for implementing agricultural water conservation
23	measures; amending s. 373.2234, F.S.; conforming a cross
24	reference; providing an effective date.
25
26	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
27
28	Section 1.  Each water management district, in cooperation
29	with the Department of Environmental Protection and the
30	Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, shall review
31	rule criteria for environmental resource permits, existing
32	permit exemptions, and alternatives to standard permitting
33	programs, such as the Agricultural Ground and Surface Water
34	Management Program implemented within the Southwest Florida
35	Water Management District, and make recommendations to the
36	Legislature regarding regulatory alternatives that will
37	encourage agricultural water conservation. By October 1, 2005,
38	the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the
39	Department of Environmental Protection shall provide
40	recommendations developed by the review to the chairs of the
41	Senate Committee on Agriculture, the Senate Committee on
42	Environmental Preservation, the House of Representatives
43	Committee on Agriculture, and the House of Representatives
44	Committee on Water and Natural Resources.
45	Section 2.  Subsection (3) of section 373.236, Florida
46	Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (4), and a new subsection
47	(3) is added to that section, to read:
48	373.236  Duration of permits; compliance reports.--
49	(3)  In addition to other provisions of this section,
50	permits for agricultural production shall be issued for a period
51	of 20 years for uses that replace a water supply source that has
52	been impacted by water-use withdrawals, if there is sufficient
53	data to provide reasonable assurance that the conditions for
54	issuance will be met for the 20-year duration; otherwise,
55	permits may be issued for shorter durations that reflect the
56	period for which such reasonable assurances can be provided.
57	Section 3.  Subsection (9) of section 373.406, Florida
58	Statutes, is amended to read:
59	373.406  Exemptions.--The following exemptions shall apply:
60	(9)  Implementation of measures having the primary purpose
61	of environmental restoration, water conservation, or water
62	quality improvement on agricultural lands are exempt from
63	regulation under this part where these measures or practices are
64	determined by the district or department, on a case-by-case
65	basis, to have minimal or insignificant individual and
66	cumulative adverse impact on the water resources of the district
67	state. The district or department shall provide written
68	notification as to whether the proposed activity qualifies for
69	the exemption within 30 days after receipt of a written notice
70	requesting the exemption. No activity under this exemption shall
71	commence until the district or department has provided written
72	notice that the activity qualifies for the exemption. This
73	exemption does not apply to any activities that are conducted as
74	mitigation for wetland or other surface water impacts or any
75	activities within a mitigation bank.
76	Section 4.  Subsections (4) and (9) of section 373.414,
77	Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
78	373.414  Additional criteria for activities in surface
79	waters and wetlands.--
80	(4)(a)  It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for
81	the use of certain wetlands for implementing agricultural water
82	conservation measures, including the storage of irrigation
83	tailwater for future use, when such measures are compatible with
84	the ecological characteristics of such waters. To accomplish
85	this, the governing board or the department may establish by
86	rule criteria for the issuance of general permits for the use of
87	certain wetlands for implementing agricultural water
88	conservation measures. At a minimum, the rule must include
89	specific criteria for the use of small, previously drained
90	isolated wetlands, including size thresholds, and consideration
91	of the resource benefits of water conservation.
92	(b)  It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for the
93	use of certain wetlands to receive and treat domestic wastewater
94	that at a minimum has been treated to secondary standards.  The
95	department may by rule establish criteria for this activity,
96	which criteria protect the type, nature, and function of the
97	wetlands receiving the wastewater.
98	(9)  The department and the governing boards, on or before
99	July 1, 1994, shall adopt rules to incorporate the provisions of
100	this section, relying primarily on the existing rules of the
101	department and the water management districts, into the rules
102	governing the management and storage of surface waters. Such
103	rules shall seek to achieve a statewide, coordinated, and
104	consistent permitting approach to activities regulated under
105	this part. Variations in permitting criteria in the rules of
106	individual water management districts or the department shall
107	only be provided to address differing physical or natural
108	characteristics. Such rules adopted pursuant to this subsection
109	shall include the special criteria adopted pursuant to s.
110	403.061(29) and may include the special criteria adopted
111	pursuant to s. 403.061(34). Such rules shall include a provision
112	requiring that a notice of intent to deny or a permit denial
113	based upon this section shall contain an explanation of the
114	reasons for such denial and an explanation, in general terms, of
115	what changes, if any, are necessary to address such reasons for
116	denial. Such Rules adopted pursuant to this chapter may
117	establish exemptions and general permits, if such exemptions and
118	general permits do not allow significant adverse impacts to
119	occur individually or cumulatively. Such Rules adopted pursuant
120	to this part may require submission of proof of financial
121	responsibility which may include the posting of a bond or other
122	form of surety prior to the commencement of construction to
123	provide reasonable assurance that any activity permitted
124	pursuant to this section, including any mitigation for such
125	permitted activity, will be completed in accordance with the
126	terms and conditions of the permit once the construction is
127	commenced. Until rules adopted pursuant to this subsection
128	become effective, existing rules adopted under this part and
129	rules adopted pursuant to the authority of ss. 403.91-403.929
130	shall be deemed authorized under this part and shall remain in
131	full force and effect. Neither the department nor the governing
132	boards are limited or prohibited from amending any such rules.
133	Section 5.  Section 373.2234, Florida Statutes, is amended
134	to read:
135	373.2234  Preferred water supply sources.--The governing
136	board of a water management district is authorized to adopt
137	rules that identify preferred water supply sources for
138	consumptive uses for which there is sufficient data to establish
139	that a preferred source will provide a substantial new water
140	supply to meet the existing and projected reasonable-beneficial
141	uses of a water supply planning region identified pursuant to s.
142	373.0361(1), while sustaining existing water resources and
143	natural systems. At a minimum, such rules must contain a
144	description of the preferred water supply source and an
145	assessment of the water the preferred source is projected to
146	produce. If an applicant proposes to use a preferred water
147	supply source, that applicant's proposed water use is subject to
148	s. 373.223(1), except that the proposed use of a preferred water
149	supply source must be considered by a water management district
150	when determining whether a permit applicant's proposed use of
151	water is consistent with the public interest pursuant to s.
152	373.223(1)(c). A consumptive use permit issued for the use of a
153	preferred water supply source must be granted, when requested by
154	the applicant, for at least a 20-year period and may be subject
155	to the compliance reporting provisions of s. 373.236(4)(3).
156	Nothing in this section shall be construed to exempt the use of
157	preferred water supply sources from the provisions of ss.
158	373.016(4) and 373.223(2) and (3), or be construed to provide
159	that permits issued for the use of a nonpreferred water supply
160	source must be issued for a duration of less than 20 years or
161	that the use of a nonpreferred water supply source is not
162	consistent with the public interest. Additionally, nothing in
163	this section shall be interpreted to require the use of a
164	preferred water supply source or to restrict or prohibit the use
165	of a nonpreferred water supply source. Rules adopted by the
166	governing board of a water management district to implement this
167	section shall specify that the use of a preferred water supply
168	source is not required and that the use of a nonpreferred water
169	supply source is not restricted or prohibited.
170	Section 6.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.