Florida Senate - 2012 SB 1250 By Senator Hays 20-01316-12 20121250__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the trading of water quality 3 credits; amending s. 403.067, F.S.; providing that 4 state policy is to encourage a water quality credit 5 trading program through public-private partnerships; 6 expanding an existing water quality credit trading 7 pilot program in the Lower St. Johns River Basin to 8 include the Caloosahatchee, St. Lucie, and Lake 9 Okeechobee Basins; requiring the South Florida Water 10 Management District to define the basins; requiring 11 that the water management district coordinate with the 12 Department of Environmental Protection to establish 13 public-private partnerships for the development of 14 water quality enhancement projects and trading 15 programs in the designated basins; removing references 16 to the Lower St. Johns River Basin pilot project; 17 requiring the department to amend its rules; deleting 18 a reporting requirement relating to the effectiveness 19 of the Lower St. Johns River Basin pilot project; 20 providing an effective date. 21 22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 23 24 Section 1. Present paragraphs (a) through (g) of subsection 25 (8) of section 403.067, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 26 paragraphs (b) through (h), respectively, a new paragraph (a) is 27 added to that subsection, and subsection (10) of that section is 28 amended, to read: 29 403.067 Establishment and implementation of total maximum 30 daily loads.— 31 (8) WATER QUALITY CREDIT TRADING.— 32 (a) It is the policy of this state to encourage a robust 33 water quality credit trading program through public-private 34 partnerships because the trading of water quality credits can 35 lead to increased environmental benefits at reduced costs to the 36 state. 37 (10) PILOT PROGRAMS.—Water quality credit trading shall be 38 limited to the Lower St. Johns River Basin, the Caloosahatchee 39 Basin, the St. Lucie Basin, and the Lake Okeechobee Basin. The 40 Caloosahatchee, St. Lucie, and Lake Okeechobee Basins shall be 41 defined by the South Florida Water Management District. The 42 South Florida Water Management District shall coordinate with 43 the department to establish public-private partnerships for the 44 development of water quality enhancement projects and water 45 quality trading programs for such projects in the designated 46 basins.as defined by the department, as a pilot project. The47department may authorize water quality credit trading and48establish specific requirements for trading in the adopted basin49management action plan for the Lower St. Johns River Basin prior50to the adoption of rules under paragraph (9)(c) in order to51effectively implement the pilot project.Entities that 52 participate in water quality credit trades shall timely report 53 to the department the prices for credits, how the prices were 54 determined, and any state funding received for the facilities or 55 activities that generated the credits. The department mayshall56 not participate in the establishment of credit prices. The 57 department shall amend the rules adopted pursuant to paragraph 58 (9)(c) to implement pilot programs for the Caloosahatchee, St. 59 Lucie, and Lake Okeechobee Basins.No later than 24 months after60adoption of the basin management action plan for the Lower St.61Johns River, the department shall submit a report to the62Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the63House of Representatives on the effectiveness of the pilot64project, including the following information:65(a) A summary of how water quality credit trading was66implemented, including the number of pounds of pollutants67traded.68(b) A description of the individual trades and estimated69pollutant load reductions that are expected to result from each70trade.71(c) A description of any conditions placed on trades.72(d) Prices associated with the trades, as reported by the73traders.74(e) A recommendation as to whether other areas of the state75would benefit from water quality credit trading and, if so, an76identification of the statutory changes necessary to expand the77scope of trading.78 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.