Florida Senate - 2019 SB 1344
By Senator Cruz
18-01588-19 20191344__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to statewide environmental resource
3 permitting rules; amending s. 373.4131, F.S.;
4 clarifying the duty of the Department of Environmental
5 Protection to adopt, in coordination with the water
6 management districts, specified statewide
7 environmental resource permitting rules; directing the
8 water management districts, with department oversight,
9 to adopt rules for specified design and performance
10 standards relating to new development and
11 redevelopment projects; directing the department to
12 incorporate such rules by reference for use within the
13 geographic jurisdiction of each water management
14 district and to amend such rules into the applicant’s
15 handbook; providing a rebuttable presumption that
16 certain stormwater management systems do not cause or
17 contribute to violations of applicable state water
18 quality standards; providing an effective date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 373.4131,
23 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
24 373.4131 Statewide environmental resource permitting
25 rules.—
26 (1) The department must shall initiate rulemaking to adopt,
27 in coordination with the water management districts, statewide
28 environmental resource permitting rules governing the
29 construction, alteration, operation, maintenance, repair,
30 abandonment, and removal of any stormwater management system,
31 dam, impoundment, reservoir, appurtenant work, works, or any
32 combination thereof, under this part.
33 (a) The rules must provide for statewide, consistent
34 regulation of activities under this part and must include, at a
35 minimum:
36 1. Criteria and thresholds for requiring permits.
37 2. Types of permits.
38 3. Procedures governing the review of applications and
39 notices, duration and modification of permits, operational
40 requirements, transfers of permits, provisions for emergencies,
41 and provisions for abandonment and removal of systems.
42 4. Exemptions and general permits that do not allow
43 significant adverse impacts to occur individually or
44 cumulatively.
45 5. Conditions for issuance.
46 6. General permit conditions, including monitoring,
47 inspection, and reporting requirements.
48 7. Standardized fee categories for activities under this
49 part to promote consistency. The department and water management
50 districts may amend fee rules to reflect the standardized fee
51 categories but are not required to adopt identical fees for
52 those categories.
53 8. Application, notice, and reporting forms. To the maximum
54 extent practicable, the department and water management
55 districts shall provide for electronic submittal of forms and
56 notices.
57 9. An applicant’s handbook that, at a minimum, contains
58 general program information, application and review procedures,
59 a specific discussion of how environmental criteria are
60 evaluated, and discussion of stormwater quality and quantity
61 criteria.
62 (b) The rules must provide for a conceptual permit for a
63 municipality or county that creates a stormwater management
64 master plan for urban infill and redevelopment areas or
65 community redevelopment areas created under chapter 163. Upon
66 approval by the department or water management district, the
67 master plan shall become part of the conceptual permit issued by
68 the department or water management district. The rules must
69 additionally provide for an associated general permit for the
70 construction and operation of urban redevelopment projects that
71 meet the criteria established in the conceptual permit. The
72 following requirements must also be met:
73 1. The conceptual permit and associated general permit must
74 not conflict with the requirements of a federally approved
75 program pursuant to s. 403.0885 or with the implementation of s.
76 403.067(7) regarding total maximum daily loads and basin
77 management action plans.
78 2. Before a conceptual permit is approved granted, the
79 municipality or county must assert that stormwater discharges
80 from the urban redevelopment area do not cause or contribute to
81 violations of water quality standards by demonstrating a net
82 improvement in the quality of the discharged water existing on
83 the date the conceptual permit is approved.
84 3. The conceptual permit may not expire for at least 20
85 years unless a shorter duration is requested and must include an
86 option to renew.
87 4. The conceptual permit must describe the rate and volume
88 of stormwater discharges from the urban redevelopment area,
89 including the maximum rate and volume of stormwater discharges
90 as of the date the conceptual permit is approved.
91 5. The conceptual permit must contain provisions regarding
92 the use of stormwater best management practices and must ensure
93 that stormwater management systems constructed within the urban
94 redevelopment area are operated and maintained in compliance
95 with s. 373.416.
96 (c) The rules must rely primarily on the rules of the
97 department and water management districts in effect immediately
98 prior to the effective date of this section, except that the
99 department may:
100 1. Reconcile differences and conflicts to achieve a
101 consistent statewide approach.
102 2. Account for different physical or natural
103 characteristics, including special basin considerations, of
104 individual water management districts.
105 3. Implement additional permit streamlining measures.
106 (d) The application of the rules must continue to be
107 governed by the first sentence of s. 70.001(12).
108 (3)(a) The water management districts, with department
109 oversight, must may continue to adopt rules governing design and
110 performance standards for stormwater quality and quantity,
111 including design and performance standards that increase the
112 removal of nutrients from stormwater discharges from all new
113 development and redevelopment projects. and The department must
114 may incorporate the design and performance standards by
115 reference for use within the geographic jurisdiction of each
116 district to ensure that new pollutant loadings are not
117 discharged into impaired water bodies. By December 1, 2019, the
118 department and water management districts shall amend the
119 applicant’s handbook to include revised best management
120 practices design criteria and low impact design best management
121 practices and design criteria that increase the removal of
122 nutrients from stormwater discharges from all new development
123 and redevelopment projects and measures for consistent
124 application of the net improvement performance standard to
125 ensure that new pollutant loadings are not discharged into
126 impaired water bodies.
127 (b) If a stormwater management system is designed in
128 accordance with the stormwater treatment requirements and best
129 management practices design and operation criteria adopted by
130 the department or a water management district under this part,
131 there is a rebuttable presumption that the stormwater system
132 does the system design is presumed not to cause or contribute to
133 violations of applicable state water quality standards.
134 (c) If a stormwater management system is constructed,
135 operated, and maintained for stormwater treatment in accordance
136 with a valid permit or exemption under this part, there is a
137 rebuttable presumption that the stormwater discharged from the
138 system does is presumed not to cause or contribute to violations
139 of applicable state water quality standards.
140 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.