Florida Senate - 2009                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 2026
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 694036                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/14/2009           .                                
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       The Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation
       (Jones) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 431 - 468
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 14. Subsections (6) and (7) are added to section
    6  373.236, Florida Statutes, to read:
    7         373.236 Duration of permits; compliance reports.—
    8         (6)(a)The need for alternative water supply development
    9  projects to meet anticipated public water supply demands of the
   10  state is such that it is essential to encourage participation in
   11  and contribution to such projects by private rural landowners
   12  who characteristically have relatively modest near-term water
   13  demands but substantially increasing demands after the 20-year
   14  planning horizon provided in s. 373.0361. Where such landowners
   15  make extraordinary contributions of lands or construction
   16  funding to enable the expeditious implementation of such
   17  projects, water management districts and the department are
   18  authorized to grant permits for such projects for a period of up
   19  to 50 years to municipalities, counties, special districts,
   20  regional water supply authorities, multijurisdictional water
   21  supply entities, and publicly owned or privately owned utilities
   22  created for or by the private landowners on or before April 1,
   23  2009, which entities have entered into an agreement with the
   24  private landowner, for the purposes of more efficiently pursuing
   25  alternative public water supply development projects identified
   26  in a district’s regional water supply plan and meeting water
   27  demands of both the applicant and the landowner.
   28         (b)Any permit pursuant to paragraph (a) shall be granted
   29  only for that period of time for which there is sufficient data
   30  to provide reasonable assurance that the conditions for permit
   31  issuance will be met. Such a permit shall require a compliance
   32  report by the permittee every 5 years during the term of the
   33  permit. The report shall contain sufficient data to maintain
   34  reasonable assurance that the conditions for permit issuance,
   35  applicable at the time of district review of the compliance
   36  report, are met. Following review of the report, the governing
   37  board or the department may modify the permit to ensure that the
   38  use meets the conditions for issuance.
   39  
   40  This subsection shall not be construed to limit the authority of
   41  the department or a water management district governing board to
   42  modify or revoke a consumptive use permit.
   43         (7)A permit that is approved for the use of water for a
   44  renewable energy generating facility or for cultivating
   45  agricultural products on lands of 1,000 acres or more for
   46  renewable energy, as defined in s. 366.91(2)(d), shall be
   47  granted for a term of at least 25 years upon the applicant’s
   48  request, based on the anticipated life of the facility, if there
   49  is sufficient data to provide reasonable assurance that the
   50  conditions for permit issuance will be met for the duration of
   51  the permit. Otherwise, a permit may be issued for a shorter
   52  duration that reflects the longest period for which such
   53  reasonable assurances are provided. The permittee shall provide
   54  a compliance report every 5 years during the term of the permit,
   55  as required in subsection (4).
   56         Section 15. Subsection (4) of section 373.243, Florida
   57  Statutes, is amended to read:
   58         373.243 Revocation of permits.—The governing board or the
   59  department may revoke a permit as follows:
   60         (4) For nonuse of the water supply allowed by the permit
   61  for a period of 2 years or more, the governing board or the
   62  department may revoke the permit permanently and in whole unless
   63  the user can prove that his or her nonuse was due to extreme
   64  hardship caused by factors beyond the user’s control. For a
   65  permit having a duration determined under s. 373.236(7), the
   66  governing board or the department has revocation authority only
   67  if the nonuse of the water supply allowed by the permit is for a
   68  period of 4 years or more.
   69  
   70  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   71         And the title is amended as follows:
   72         Delete line 49
   73  and insert:
   74         issuance of a permit; providing that certain permits
   75         shall be granted for terms of at least 25 years;
   76         requiring reports by the permittees; amending s.
   77         373.243, F.S.; providing that certain permits may not
   78         be revoked unless nonuse of the water supply allowed
   79         by the permit is for 4 years or more; amending s.
   80         373.406, F.S.;