Florida Senate - 2015 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 918
Ì901608)Î901608
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
04/08/2015 .
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Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government (Hays)
recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment to Amendment (322890) (with title
2 amendment)
3
4 Between lines 446 and 447
5 insert:
6 Section 9. Section 373.037, Florida Statutes, is created to
7 read:
8 373.037 Pilot program for alternative water supply
9 development in restricted allocation areas.—
10 (1) As used in this section, the term:
11 (a) “Central Florida Water Initiative Area” means all of
12 Orange, Osceola, Polk, and Seminole Counties, and southern Lake
13 County, as designated by the Central Florida Water Initiative
14 Guiding Document of January 30, 2015.
15 (b) “Lower East Coast Regional Water Supply Planning Area”
16 means the areas withdrawing surface and groundwater from Water
17 Conservation Areas 1, 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B, Grassy Waters
18 Preserve/Water Catchment Area, Pal Mar, J.W. Corbett Wildlife
19 Management Area, Loxahatchee Slough, Loxahatchee River,
20 Riverbend Park, Dupuis Reserve, Jonathan Dickinson State Park,
21 Kitching Creek, Moonshine Creek, Cypress Creek, Hobe Grove
22 Ditch, the Holey Land and Rotenberger Wildlife Management Areas,
23 and the freshwater portions of the Everglades National Park, as
24 designated by the South Florida Water Management District.
25 (c) “Restricted allocation area” means an area within a
26 water supply planning region of the Southwest Florida Water
27 Management District, the South Florida Water Management
28 District, or the St. Johns River Water Management District where
29 the governing board of the water management district has
30 determined that existing sources of water are not adequate to
31 supply water for all existing and future reasonable-beneficial
32 uses and to sustain the water resources and related natural
33 systems for the planning period pursuant to ss. 373.036 and
34 373.709 and where the governing board of the water management
35 district has applied allocation restrictions with regard to the
36 use of specific sources of water. For the purposes of this
37 section, the term includes the Central Florida Water Initiative
38 Area, the Lower East Coast Regional Water Supply Planning Area,
39 the Southern Water Use Caution Area, and the Upper East Coast
40 Regional Water Supply Planning Area.
41 (d) “Southern Water Use Caution Area” means all of Desoto,
42 Hardee, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties and parts of Charlotte,
43 Highlands, Hillsborough, and Polk Counties, as designated by the
44 Southwest Florida Water Management District.
45 (e) “Upper East Coast Regional Water Supply Planning Area”
46 means the areas withdrawing surface and groundwater from the
47 Central and Southern Florida canals or the Floridan Aquifer, as
48 designated by the South Florida Water Management District.
49 (2) The Legislature finds that:
50 (a) Local governments, regional water supply authorities,
51 and government-owned and privately owned water utilities face
52 significant challenges in securing funds for implementing large
53 scale alternative water supply projects in certain restricted
54 allocation areas due to a variety of factors, such as the
55 magnitude of the water resource challenges, the large number of
56 water users, the difficulty of developing multijurisdictional
57 solutions across district, county, and municipal boundaries, and
58 the expense of developing large-scale alternative water supply
59 projects identified in the regional water supply plans pursuant
60 to s. 373.709.
61 (b) These challenges have resulted in some cases in failure
62 to achieve minimum flows and minimum water levels, to mitigate
63 and avoid harm to the water resource and related natural
64 systems, to provide adequate water supply for all existing and
65 projected reasonable-beneficial uses, and to sustain the water
66 resources and related natural systems within certain restricted
67 allocation areas.
68 (c) These factors make it necessary for the Southwest
69 Florida Water Management District, the South Florida Water
70 Management District, and the St. Johns River Water Management
71 District to each take the lead in developing and implementing
72 one alternative water supply project within a restricted
73 allocation area as a pilot alternative water supply development
74 project.
75 (d) The traditional role of local governments, regional
76 water supply authorities, and government-owned and privately
77 owned water utilities will be maintained by requiring the water
78 management districts to turn over ownership and control of a
79 pilot project to the project participants if they can secure the
80 funds to implement the pilot project and resolve any governance
81 issues over the development, implementation, and operation of
82 the pilot project.
83 (e) The development and implementation of one alternative
84 water supply project each by the Southwest Florida Water
85 Management District, the South Florida Water Management
86 District, and the St. Johns River Water Management District
87 within a restricted allocation area as a pilot project is for
88 the benefit of the public health, safety, and welfare and is in
89 the public interest. The pilot projects must provide water
90 supply and environmental benefits. Consideration shall be given
91 to projects that provide reductions in damaging discharges to
92 tide or are part of a recovery or prevention strategy for
93 minimum flows and minimum water levels.
94 (3) The Southwest Florida Water Management District, the
95 South Florida Water Management District, and the St. Johns River
96 Water Management District shall each designate and implement an
97 existing alternative water supply project, identified in its
98 regional water supply plan, as its one pilot project or amend
99 its regional water supply plan to add a new alternative water
100 supply project as its one pilot project. The pilot project
101 designation shall be made no later than July 1, 2016, and is not
102 subject to the rulemaking requirements of chapter 120 or subject
103 to legal challenge pursuant to ss. 120.569 and 120.57. Once
104 designated, the pilot project shall be considered a use
105 resulting in an enhancement of the water resources of the area
106 and entitled to a preference over other uses in the event of
107 competing applications pursuant to s. 373.036(5). A water
108 management district may designate an alternative water supply
109 project located within another water management district if the
110 project is located in a restricted allocation area designated by
111 the other water management district and a substantial quantity
112 of water provided by the alternative water supply project will
113 be used within the designating water management district’s
114 boundaries.
115 (4) In addition to their other powers and duties under this
116 chapter, the governing boards of the Southwest Florida Water
117 Management District, the South Florida Water Management
118 District, and the St. Johns River Water Management District have
119 the following powers and are subject to the following
120 restrictions in implementing their respective pilot projects
121 pursuant to this section:
122 (a) May establish, design, construct, operate, and maintain
123 water production, treatment and transmission, or other related
124 facilities for the purpose of supplying water to counties,
125 municipalities, special districts, publicly owned and privately
126 owned water utilities, multijurisdictional water supply
127 entities, other large water users, or regional water supply
128 authorities.
129 (b) May not engage in local water supply distribution.
130 (c) May supply water at a cost not to exceed expenses
131 directly related to the planning, design, development,
132 implementation, operation, and maintenance of the pilot project.
133 The cost of such water shall be established by the governing
134 board only after a public hearing at which pilot project
135 customers have an opportunity to be heard concerning the
136 proposed cost.
137 (d) Must provide credit toward the pro rata cost of the
138 water to be supplied from the pilot project to a customer equal
139 to any expenses incurred by the customer toward the
140 implementation of the pilot project before the water management
141 district’s designation and implementation of the pilot project.
142 (e) In addition to the power to issue revenue bonds
143 pursuant to s. 373.584, may issue revenue bonds for the purpose
144 of paying the costs and expenses incurred in carrying out the
145 purposes of this section or refunding obligations of the water
146 management district issued pursuant to this section. All
147 provisions of s. 373.584 relating to the issuance of revenue
148 bonds which are not inconsistent with this section apply to the
149 issuance of revenue bonds pursuant to this section. The water
150 management districts may also issue bond anticipation notes in
151 accordance with s. 373.584.
152 (f) May join with one or more other water management
153 districts, counties, municipalities, special districts, publicly
154 owned or privately owned water utilities, multijurisdictional
155 water supply entities, regional water supply authorities, self
156 suppliers, or other entities for the purpose of carrying out
157 their powers, and may contract with any such other entities to
158 finance or otherwise implement acquisitions, construction, and
159 operation and maintenance, if such contracts are consistent with
160 the public interest and based upon independent cost estimates,
161 including comparisons with other alternative water supply
162 projects. The contracts may provide for contributions to be made
163 by each party to the contract for the division and apportionment
164 of resulting costs, including capital, operations and
165 maintenance, benefits, services, and products. The contracts may
166 contain other covenants and agreements necessary and appropriate
167 to accomplish their purposes.
168 (5) The water management districts may provide up to 50
169 percent of funding assistance for the pilot project. If the
170 pilot project selected by a water management district is the
171 subject of a cooperative funding agreement, the water management
172 district may not reduce the level of funding assistance
173 previously committed.
174 (6) If the pilot project customers form a
175 multijurisdictional water supply entity to implement and develop
176 the pilot project selected by a water management district on or
177 before July 1, 2017, and take substantive steps to develop and
178 implement the project, such as entering into water supply
179 contracts, issuing revenue bonds or bond anticipation notes to
180 finance the project, or awarding construction contracts to
181 construct the project in whole or in part, the water management
182 district is prohibited from proceeding with implementation and
183 development of the selected pilot project. The water management
184 district may designate a new pilot project within 1 year after
185 the creation of the multijurisdictional entity and the
186 completion of at least one substantive step by the
187 multijurisdictional entity to implement the project.
188 (7) If the pilot project customers form a
189 multijurisdictional water supply entity to take over
190 construction, operation, maintenance, and control of the pilot
191 project at any time during the life of the pilot project, the
192 water management district must transfer ownership and control of
193 the pilot project to the pilot project customers upon repayment
194 of any revenue bonds or other obligations issued by the water
195 management district to develop and implement the pilot project
196 and any outstanding expenses incurred by the water management
197 district in constructing, operating, and maintaining the pilot
198 project. Pilot project customers are not responsible for
199 repayment of any cooperative funding provided by a water
200 management district for the pilot project. In such an event, the
201 water management district may develop and implement another
202 pilot project within a restricted allocation area.
203 (8) No later than 3 years following designation of the
204 pilot project pursuant to subsection (3), the Southwest Florida
205 Water Management District, the South Florida Water Management
206 District, and the St. Johns River Water Management District
207 shall each submit a report to the Governor, the President of the
208 Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the
209 effectiveness of the pilot project, including the following
210 information:
211 (a) A description of the alternative water supply project
212 selected as a pilot project by the respective water management
213 districts, including the quantity of water the project has
214 produced or is expected to produce and the consumptive users who
215 are expected to use the water produced by the pilot project to
216 meet their existing and projected reasonable-beneficial need.
217 (b) Progress made in developing and implementing the pilot
218 project in comparison to development and implementation of other
219 alternative water supply projects in the restricted allocation
220 area.
221 (c) The capital and operation costs to be expended by the
222 water management district in implementing the pilot project in
223 comparison to other alternative water supply projects being
224 developed and implemented in the restricted allocation area.
225 (d) The source of funds used or to be used by the water
226 management district in developing and implementing the pilot
227 project.
228 (e) The unit cost of water produced from the pilot project
229 in comparison to the unit cost of water from other alternative
230 water supply projects being developed in the restricted
231 allocation area.
232 (f) The benefits to the water resources and natural systems
233 from implementation of the pilot project.
234 (g) A recommendation as to whether the traditional role of
235 water management districts regarding the development and
236 implementation of alternative water supply projects, as
237 specified in ss. 373.705 and 373.707, should be revised and, if
238 so, identification of the statutory changes necessary to expand
239 the scope of the pilot program.
240
241 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
242 And the title is amended as follows:
243 Delete line 3853
244 and insert:
245 water quality or water quantity; creating s. 373.037,
246 F.S.; defining terms; providing legislative findings;
247 requiring certain water management districts to
248 designate and implement certain pilot projects;
249 providing powers and limitations for the governing
250 boards of such water management districts; providing
251 funding for certain pilot projects; requiring the
252 districts to submit a report to the Governor and the
253 Legislature on the effectiveness of the pilot program;
254 amending s. 373.042,