| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the management of wastewater; amending |
| 3 | s. 514.023, F.S.; requiring the Department of Health to |
| 4 | notify local governments and local offices of the |
| 5 | Department of Environmental Protection when certain health |
| 6 | advisories are issued; requiring local offices of the |
| 7 | Department of Environmental Protection to conduct |
| 8 | investigations of certain wastewater treatment facilities |
| 9 | and provide the results of such investigations to local |
| 10 | governments; amending s. 514.025, F.S.; authorizing the |
| 11 | department to assign certain responsibilities and |
| 12 | functions relating to public swimming pools and bathing |
| 13 | places to multicounty independent special districts under |
| 14 | specified conditions; providing an effective date. |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Section 1. Section 514.023, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 19 | to read: |
| 20 | 514.023 Sampling of beach waters; health advisories.-- |
| 21 | (1)(3) As used in For purposes of this section, the term |
| 22 | "beach waters" means the waters along the coastal and |
| 23 | intracoastal beaches and shores of the state, and includes salt |
| 24 | water and brackish water. |
| 25 | (2)(1) The department may adopt and enforce rules to |
| 26 | protect the health, safety, and welfare of persons using the |
| 27 | beach waters of the state. The rules must establish health |
| 28 | standards and prescribe procedures and timeframes for |
| 29 | bacteriological sampling of beach waters. |
| 30 | (3)(2) The department may issue health advisories if the |
| 31 | quality of beach waters fails to meet standards established by |
| 32 | the department. The issuance of health advisories related to the |
| 33 | results of bacteriological sampling of beach waters is preempted |
| 34 | to the state. |
| 35 | (4) When the department issues a health advisory against |
| 36 | swimming in beach waters on the basis of finding elevated levels |
| 37 | of fecal coliform or enterococci bacteria in a water sample, the |
| 38 | department shall concurrently notify the municipality or county |
| 39 | in which the affected beach waters are located, whichever has |
| 40 | jurisdiction, and the local office of the Department of |
| 41 | Environmental Protection, of the advisory. The local office of |
| 42 | the Department of Environmental Protection shall promptly |
| 43 | investigate wastewater treatment facilities within 1 mile of the |
| 44 | affected beach waters to determine if a facility experienced an |
| 45 | incident that may have contributed to the contamination and |
| 46 | provide the results of the investigation in writing or by |
| 47 | electronic means to the municipality or county, as applicable. |
| 48 | (5)(4) Contingent upon legislative appropriation to the |
| 49 | department in the amount of $600,000 nonrecurring, the |
| 50 | department will perform a 3-year study to determine the water |
| 51 | quality at beaches throughout the state. The study will be |
| 52 | performed in all counties that have public-access saltwater and |
| 53 | brackish water beaches. |
| 54 | Section 2. Subsection (3) is added to section 514.025, |
| 55 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 56 | 514.025 Assignment of authority to county health |
| 57 | departments.-- |
| 58 | (3) The department may assign the responsibilities and |
| 59 | functions specified in this section to any multicounty |
| 60 | independent special district created by the Legislature to |
| 61 | perform multiple functions, to include municipal services and |
| 62 | improvements, to the same extent and under the same conditions |
| 63 | as provided in subsections (1) and (2), upon request of the |
| 64 | special district. |
| 65 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |