Florida Senate - 2009 SENATOR AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS/CS/SB 274, 1st Eng.
Barcode 589956
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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Floor: 1/PD/3R .
04/30/2009 02:43 PM .
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Senator Lawson moved the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 211 - 685
4 and insert:
5 (2) Agricultural operations must implement applicable best
6 management practices, including nutrient management, adopted by
7 the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to reduce
8 nitrogen impacts to groundwater. By December 31, 2009, the
9 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, in cooperation
10 with the other cooperating entities and stakeholders, must
11 develop and propose for adoption by rule equine, and cow and
12 calf best-management practices pursuant to this subsection.
13 Implementation must be in accordance with s. 403.067(7)(b).
14 (3) Stormwater systems must comply with the requirements of
15 this section. The department is directed to adopt rules to
16 implement the requirements of this subsection by July 1, 2010.
17 (a) Local governments, in cooperation with the water
18 management districts, must develop and implement a remediation
19 plan for all existing drainage wells containing strategies to
20 reduce nitrogen loading to groundwater to the maximum extent
21 practicable. The department shall review and approve the
22 remediation plan prior to implementation. All new drainage wells
23 must comply with the department’s underground injection control
24 rules.
25 (b) Local governments must develop and implement a
26 remediation plan for all stormwater management systems
27 constructed before 1982 which have not been modified to provide
28 stormwater treatment containing strategies to reduce nitrogen
29 loading to groundwater to the maximum extent practicable.
30 (c) Local governments, in cooperation with the water
31 management districts, must develop and implement a remediation
32 plan to reduce nitrogen loading to groundwater, including
33 reducing existing direct discharges of stormwater into
34 groundwater through karst features, to the maximum extent
35 practicable. The department shall review and approve the
36 remediation plan prior to implementation.
37 (d) The Department of Transportation must identify any
38 untreated stormwater discharges into groundwater through natural
39 subterranean drainages such as sinkholes and develop and
40 implement a remediation plan to reduce nitrogen loading to
41 groundwater, including reducing existing groundwater discharges
42 to the maximum extent practicable. The department shall review
43 and approve the remediation plan prior to implementation.
44 (4) This section does not limit the department’s authority
45 to require additional treatment or other actions pursuant to
46 chapter 403, as necessary, to meet surface and groundwater
47 quality standards.
48 369.406 Additional requirements for all spring protection
49 zones.—
50 (1) All newly constructed or expanded domestic wastewater
51 facilities operational after July 1, 2012, must meet the
52 advanced wastewater treatment requirements of s. 403.086(4).
53 (2) For all development not permitted as of July 1, 2009,
54 which has septic system densities equal to or greater than 640
55 systems per square mile, connection to a central wastewater
56 treatment facility or other centralized collection and treatment
57 system is required. For the purposes of this subsection, density
58 must be calculated using the largest number of systems possible
59 within a square mile.
60 (3) All new septic systems installed on or after January 1,
61 2010, that are located on properties abutting a water body or
62 water segment that is listed as impaired pursuant to s. 403.067,
63 or properties within a designated spring protection zone
64 pursuant to s. 369.404, must be designed to meet a target annual
65 average groundwater concentration of no more than 3 milligrams
66 per liter total nitrogen at the owner’s property line.
67 Compliance with these requirements does not require groundwater
68 monitoring. The department must initiate and develop by rule
69 design standards for achieving the target annual average
70 groundwater concentration. At a minimum, the standard must take
71 into consideration the relationship between the treatment level
72 achieved by the septic system and the area of usable property
73 available for rainwater dilution. Such design standards adopted
74 by the department must provide multiple options that may be used
75 to meet the standards established in s. 369.406(3).
76 (4) Prior to adoption of the design standards by the
77 department, compliance with the requirements in subsection (3)
78 is presumed if one of the following conditions is met:
79 (a) The lot associated with the establishment or single
80 family home is served by a septic system meeting the baseline
81 system standards set forth in rules of the Department of Health,
82 and the ratio of estimated sewage flow in gallons per day to
83 acres of usable property is 100 to 1 or less.
84 (b) The lot associated with the establishment or single
85 family home is served by a septic system meeting at least the
86 advanced secondary treatment standards for nitrogen as set forth
87 in rules of the Department of Health.
88 (c) The lot associated with the establishment or single
89 family home is scheduled to connect to a central wastewater
90 treatment facility within 6 months after the application for the
91 permit.
92 (5) Subsection (4) does not supersede the jurisdictional
93 flow limits established in s. 381.0065(3)(b).
94 (6) Land application of septage is prohibited and subject
95 to a $250 fine for a first offense and $500 fine for a second or
96 subsequent offense pursuant to the authority granted to the
97 Department of Health in s. 381.0065(3)(h).
98 (7) Any septic system, when requiring repair, modification,
99 or reapproval, must meet a 24-inch separation from the wet
100 season water table and the surface water setback requirements in
101 s. 381.0065(4). All treatment receptacles must be within one
102 size of the requirements in rules of the Department of Health
103 and must be tested for watertightness by a state-licensed septic
104 tank contractor or plumber.
105 (8) Each owner of a publicly owned or investor-owned
106 sewerage system must notify all owners of septic systems,
107 excluding approved graywater systems, of the availability of
108 central sewerage facilities for purposes of connection pursuant
109 to s. 381.00655(1) within 60 days after receipt of notification
110 from the Department of Health that collection facilities for the
111 central sewerage system have been cleared for use.
112 (a) Notwithstanding s. 381.00655(2)(b), a publicly owned or
113 investor-owned sewerage system may not waive the requirement for
114 mandatory onsite sewage disposal connection to an available
115 publicly owned or investor-owned sewerage system, except as
116 provided in paragraph (b).
117 (b) With the approval of the Department of Health, a
118 publicly owned or investor-owned sewerage system may waive the
119 requirement for mandatory onsite sewage disposal connection for
120 a sewage treatment system that meets or exceeds standards
121 established for septic systems if it determines that such
122 connection is not required in the public interest due to water
123 quality or public health considerations.
124 (9) In hardship cases the Department of Health may grant
125 variances to the provisions of this section and any rules
126 adopted under this section in accordance with s. 381.0065(4)(h).
127 (10) After July 1, 2010, land application of Class A, Class
128 B, or Class AA wastewater residuals, as defined by department
129 rule, is prohibited. This prohibition does not apply to Class AA
130 residuals that are marketed and distributed as fertilizer
131 products in accordance with department rule.
132 (11) Animal feeding operations must implement the
133 requirements of rules adopted by the department to reduce
134 nitrogen impacts to groundwater. By December 31, 2009, the
135 department, in cooperation with the other cooperating entities
136 and stakeholders, must develop and propose for adoption, revised
137 rules for animal feeding operations which address requirements
138 for lined wastewater storage ponds and the development and
139 implementation of nutrient management plans, including the land
140 spreading of animal waste not treated and packaged as
141 fertilizer.
142 (12) All county and municipal governments must, at a
143 minimum, adopt the department’s model ordinance for Florida
144 Friendly Fertilizer Use on Urban Landscapes located in the
145 Florida-Friendly Landscape Guidance Models for Ordinances,
146 Covenants and Restrictions (2009) by December 31, 2010.
147 (13) The department and the water management districts
148 shall adopt design criteria for stormwater treatment systems
149 located within spring protection zones to minimize the movement
150 of nitrogen into the groundwater and to prevent the formation of
151 sinkholes within stormwater systems.
152 (14) This subsection does not limit the department’s
153 authority to require additional treatment or other actions
154 pursuant to chapter 403, as necessary, to meet surface and
155 groundwater quality standards.
156 369.407 Florida Springs Onsite Sewage Treatment and
157 Disposal System Compliance Grant Program.—
158 (1) The Florida Springs Onsite Sewage Treatment and
159 Disposal System Compliance Grant Program is established in the
160 department and shall be administered by it. The purpose of the
161 program is to provide grants to low-income property owners in
162 spring protection zones using septic systems to assist the
163 property owners in complying with rules for these systems
164 developed by the department or the water management districts,
165 or to connect to a central wastewater treatment facility or
166 other centralized collection and treatment system pursuant to s.
167 381.00655(1). The grant program is effective upon final adoption
168 of department rules and may be applied to costs incurred on or
169 after such date.
170 (2) Any property owner in a spring protection zone having
171 an income less than or equal to 200 percent of the federal
172 poverty level who is required by rule of the department or the
173 water management districts to alter, repair, or modify any
174 existing septic system to a nitrate-reducing system pursuant to
175 s. 369.406(3), or to assist property owners with connecting to
176 available publicly owned or investor-owned sewerage system
177 pursuant to s. 381.00655(1), may apply to the department for a
178 grant to assist the owner with the costs of compliance or
179 connection.
180 (3) The amount of the grant is limited to the cost
181 differential between the replacement of a comparable existing
182 septic system and that of an upgraded nitrate-reducing treatment
183 system pursuant to s. 369.406(3), or to the actual costs
184 incurred from connection to a central wastewater treatment
185 facility or other centralized collection and treatment system
186 pursuant to s. 385.00655(1), but may not exceed $5,000 per
187 property.
188 (4) The grant must be in the form of a rebate to the
189 property owner for costs incurred in complying with the
190 requirements for septic systems under s. 369.406(3), or incurred
191 from connection to a central wastewater treatment facility or
192 other centralized collection and treatment system pursuant to s.
193 381.00655(1). The property owner must provide documentation of
194 those costs in the grant application to the department.
195 (5) The department shall adopt rules providing forms,
196 procedures, and requirements for applying for and disbursing
197 grants, including bid requirements, and for documenting
198 compliance or connection costs incurred.
199 (6) The department, in coordination with the water
200 management districts, shall continue to evaluate, by any means
201 it deems appropriate, the level of nitrate deposited in state
202 springs by septic systems.
203 369.408 Rules.—
204 (1) The department, the Department of Health, and the
205 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services may adopt rules
206 to administer the provisions of this part, as applicable.
207 (2) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
208 shall be the lead agency coordinating the reduction of
209 agricultural nonpoint sources of pollution for springs
210 protection.
211 (a) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and
212 the department, pursuant to s. 403.067(7)(c)4., shall study and
213 if necessary, in cooperation with the other cooperating
214 entities, applicable county and municipal governments, and
215 stakeholders, initiate rulemaking to implement new or revised
216 best-management practices for improving and protecting springs.
217 As needed to implement the new or revised practices, the
218 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, shall revise
219 its best-management practices rules to require implementation of
220 the modified practice within a reasonable time period as
221 specified in the rule.
222 (b) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services,
223 the department, and the University of Florida’s Institute of
224 Food and Agricultural Sciences shall cooperate in the conduct of
225 necessary research and demonstration projects to develop
226 improved or additional nutrient management tools, including the
227 use of controlled release fertilizer, which can be used by
228 agricultural producers as part of an agricultural best
229 management practices program. The development of such tools
230 shall reflect a balance between water quality improvements and
231 agricultural productivity and, where applicable, shall be
232 incorporated into revised best-management practices adopted by
233 rule of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
234 (3) The department shall as a part of the rules developed
235 for this part include provisions that allow for the variance of
236 the compliance deadlines provided for in paragraph (b) of s.
237 369.404(2). Such variance must, at a minimum, be based on the
238 financial ability of the responsible county or municipality to
239 meet the requirements of this part.
240 (4) The department must initiate and develop rules to
241 implement subsections (3), (4), and (5) of s.369.406, in
242 conjunction with the Department of Health.
243 Section 2. Subsection (7) of section 403.1835, Florida
244 Statutes, is amended to read:
245 403.1835 Water pollution control financial assistance.—
246 (7) Eligible projects must be given priority according to
247 the extent each project is intended to remove, mitigate, or
248 prevent adverse effects on surface or groundwater ground water
249 quality and public health. The relative costs of achieving
250 environmental and public health benefits must be taken into
251 consideration during the department’s assignment of project
252 priorities. The department shall adopt a priority system by
253 rule. In developing the priority system, the department shall
254 give priority to projects that:
255 (a) Eliminate public health hazards;
256 (b) Enable compliance with laws requiring the elimination
257 of discharges to specific water bodies, including the
258 requirements of s. 403.086(9) regarding domestic wastewater
259 ocean outfalls;
260 (c) Assist in the implementation of total maximum daily
261 loads and basin management action plans adopted under s.
262 403.067;
263 (d) Enable compliance with other pollution control
264 requirements, including, but not limited to, toxics control,
265 wastewater residuals management, and reduction of nutrients and
266 bacteria;
267 (e) Assist in the implementation of surface water
268 improvement and management plans and pollutant load reduction
269 goals developed under state water policy;
270 (f) Promote reclaimed water reuse;
271 (g) Eliminate environmental damage caused by failing onsite
272 sewage treatment and disposal systems, with priority given to
273 systems located within an area designated as an area of critical
274 state concern under s. 380.05 or located in a spring protection
275 zone designated pursuant to s. 369.404 or those that are causing
276 environmental damage; or
277 (h) Reduce pollutants to and otherwise promote the
278 restoration of state Florida’s surface waters and groundwaters
279 ground waters.
280 Section 3. All state agencies and water management
281 districts shall asses nitrogen loading from all publically owned
282 buildings and facilities owned or managed by each respective
283 agency or district located within a spring protection zone using
284 a consistent methodology, evaluate existing management
285 activities, and develop and begin implementing management plans
286 to reduce adverse impacts to the springs by December 31, 2011.
287 Section 4. Section 403.093, Florida Statutes, is created to
288 read:
289 403.093 Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems;
290 inspection.—
291 (1) In order to increase protection of state water bodies
292 and provide for potential cost savings to the people of this
293 state, it is the intent of the Legislature to consider creation
294 of a statewide onsite sewage treatment and disposal system
295 inspection program.
296 (2) The department shall produce a report that details the
297 process to be used and resources needed. The report shall be
298 provided to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
299 Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 15, 2011. The
300 report must, at a minimum:
301 a. Provide a method to ensure that each onsite sewage
302 treatment and disposal system be inspected at least once every 5
303 years.
304 b. Recommend exemptions from the inspection requirement for
305 onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems. In identifying
306 systems for potential exemption, the department shall consider
307 the risk a system or a certain density of systems poses to water
308 bodies. Such evaluation shall also account for the proximity of
309 the system or systems to a water body or water segment that is
310 listed as impaired pursuant to s. 403.067 or is within a spring
311 protection zone designated pursuant to s. 369.404.
312 c. Identify the appropriate mechanism for tracking
313 inspections and providing notification to the owner of an onsite
314 sewage treatment and disposal system that requires repairs or
315 modifications.
316 d. A projection of the revenues that may be generated and
317 expenses that may be needed to administer an inspection program.
318 These projections are to be based on an inspection fee that
319 covers the full costs of the proposed program.
320 (3) It is the intent of the Legislature that revenues
321 derived from an inspection program be used to fund the
322 administrative costs of the program and the remaining revenues
323 be used to fund the grant program created pursuant to s.
324 369.407.
325 Section 5. Paragraph (m) is added to subsection (9) of
326 section 259.105, Florida Statutes, to read:
327 259.105 The Florida Forever Act.—
328 (9) The Acquisition and Restoration Council shall recommend
329 rules for adoption by the board of trustees to competitively
330 evaluate, select, and rank projects eligible for Florida Forever
331 funds pursuant to paragraph (3)(b) and for additions to the
332 Conservation and Recreation Lands list pursuant to ss. 259.032
333 and 259.101(4). In developing these proposed rules, the
334 Acquisition and Restoration Council shall give weight to the
335 following criteria:
336 (m) Any part of the project area falls within a springs
337 protection zone as defined by ss. 369.401-369.407.
338 Section 6. Section 403.9335, Florida Statutes, is created
339 to read:
340 403.9335 Protection of urban and residential environments
341 and water.—
342 (1) The Legislature finds that the implementation of the
343 department’s Model Ordinance for Florida-Friendly Fertilizer Use
344 on Urban Landscapes located in the Florida-Friendly Landscape
345 Guidance Models for Ordinances, Covenants, and Restrictions
346 (2009) manual, which was developed consistent with the
347 recommendations of the Florida Consumer Fertilizer Task Force,
348 in concert with the provisions of the Labeling Requirements for
349 Urban Turf Fertilizers found in chapter 5E-1 Florida
350 Administrative Code, will assist in protecting the quality of
351 Florida’s surface water and groundwater resources. The
352 Legislature further finds that local circumstances, including
353 the varying types and conditions of water bodies, site-specific
354 soils and geology, and urban or rural densities and
355 characteristics, necessitates that additional or more stringent
356 fertilizer-management practices may be needed at the local
357 government level.
358 (2) All county and municipal governments are encouraged to
359 adopt and enforce the provisions in the department’s Model
360 Ordinance for Florida-Friendly Fertilizer Use on Urban
361 Landscapes as a mechanism for better protecting local surface
362 water and groundwater quality.
363 (3) Each county and municipal government located within the
364 watershed of a water body or water segment that is listed by the
365 department as impaired by nutrients pursuant to s. 403.067, or
366 designated as a spring protection zone pursuant to 369.404,
367 shall adopt, at a minimum, the provisions of the department’s
368 Model Ordinance for Florida-Friendly Fertilizer Use on Urban
369 Landscapes. A county or municipal government may adopt
370 additional or more stringent provisions than the model ordinance
371 if the following criteria are met:
372 (a) The county or municipal government has demonstrated, as
373 part of a comprehensive program to address nonpoint sources of
374 nutrient pollution which is science-based, economically and
375 technically feasible, that additional or more stringent
376 provisions to the model ordinance are necessary to adequately
377 address urban fertilizer contributions to nonpoint source
378 nutrient loading to a water body.
379 (b) The county or municipal government documents
380 consideration of all relevant scientific information including
381 input from the department, the Department of Agriculture and
382 Consumer Services and the University of Florida Institute of
383 Food and Agricultural Sciences, if provided, on the need for
384 additional or more stringent provisions to address fertilizer
385 use as a contributor to water quality degradation. All
386 documentation shall be made part of the public record prior to
387 adoption of the additional or more stringent criteria.
388 (4) Any county or municipal government that has adopted its
389 own fertilizer use ordinance before January 1, 2009, is exempt
390 from the provisions of this section. Ordinances adopted or
391 amended after January 1, 2009, must adopt the provisions in the
392 most recent version of the model fertilizer ordinance and are
393 subject to the criteria described in subsections (1) and (2)
394 above.
395 (5) Nothing herein shall be construed to regulate the use
396 of fertilizer on farm operations as defined in s. 823.14 or on
397 lands classified as agricultural lands pursuant to s. 193.461.
398 Section 7. Section 403.9337, Florida Statutes, is created
399 to read:
400 403.9337 Urban turf fertilizers.—
401 (1) As used in this section, the term:
402 (a) “No-phosphate fertilizer” or “no-phosphorus fertilizer”
403 means fertilizer that contains less than 0.5 percent phosphate
404 by weight.
405 (b) “Urban turf” means noncropland planted, mowed, and
406 managed grasses, including, but not limited to, residential
407 lawns; turf on commercial property; filter strips; and turf on
408 property owned by federal, state, or local governments and other
409 public lands, including roadways, roadsides, parks, campsites,
410 recreation areas, school grounds, and other public grounds. The
411 term does not include pastures, hay production and grazing land,
412 turf grown on sod farms, or any other form of agricultural
413 production; golf courses or sports turf fields; or garden
414 fruits, flowers, or vegetables.
415 (c) “Soil test” means a test performed on soil planted or
416 sodded, or that will be planted or sodded, by a laboratory
417 approved by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
418 and performed within the last 2 years to indicate if the level
419 of available phosphorus in the soil is sufficient to support
420 healthy turf growth.
421 (d) “Tissue test” means a test performed on plant tissue
422 growing in the soil planted or sodded, or that will be planted
423 or sodded, by a laboratory approved by the Department of
424 Agriculture and Consumer Services and performed within the last
425 2 years to indicate if the level of available phosphorus in the
426 soil is sufficient to support healthy turf.
427 (2) Other than no-phosphate and no-phosphorus fertilizers,
428 fertilizer containing phosphorus may not be applied to urban
429 turf anywhere in this state on or after July 1, 2011, unless a
430 soil or tissue test that is conducted pursuant to a method
431 approved by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
432 indicates:
433 (a) For turf that is being initially established by seed or
434 sod, the level of available phosphorus is insufficient to
435 establish new turf growth and a root system. However, during the
436 first year, a one-time application only of up to 1 pound of
437 phosphate per 1,000 square feet of area may be applied.
438 (b) For established turf, the level of available phosphorus
439 is insufficient to support healthy turf growth. However, no more
440 than 0.25 pound of phosphate per 1,000 square feet of area per
441 each application may be applied, not to exceed 0.5 pound of
442 phosphate per 1,000 square feet of area per year.
443
444 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
445 And the title is amended as follows:
446 Delete lines 51 - 53
447 and insert:
448 exemptions;