Florida Senate - 2019 PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
Bill No. CS for SB 286
Ì720642ÃÎ720642
576-04090-19
Proposed Committee Substitute by the Committee on Appropriations
(Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Environment, and
General Government)
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to domestic wastewater collection
3 system assessment and maintenance; creating s.
4 403.1839, F.S.; providing definitions; providing
5 legislative findings; establishing the Blue Star
6 Collection System Assessment and Maintenance Program
7 and providing its purpose; requiring the Department of
8 Environmental Protection to adopt rules and review and
9 approve program applications for certification;
10 specifying the documentation utilities must submit to
11 qualify for certification; providing for certification
12 expiration and renewal; requiring the department to
13 revoke a utility’s program certification under certain
14 circumstances; providing for penalties for violations;
15 requiring the department to publish an annual list of
16 certified blue star utilities; requiring the
17 department to allow public and nonprofit utilities to
18 participate in the Clean Water State Revolving Fund
19 Program under certain conditions; authorizing the
20 department to reduce penalties for sanitary sewer
21 overflows at certified utilities and for investments
22 in certain assessment and maintenance activities;
23 amending s. 403.067, F.S.; creating a defensible
24 expectation of compliance with certain water quality
25 standards for certified utilities; amending s.
26 403.087, F.S.; requiring the department to issue
27 extended operating permits to certified utilities
28 under certain conditions; amending s. 403.161, F.S.;
29 authorizing the department to reduce penalties based
30 on certain system investments for permitted
31 facilities; amending s. 403.1838, F.S.; authorizing
32 additional recipients and uses of Small Community
33 Sewer Construction Assistance Act grants; revising
34 provisions to authorize the department, rather than
35 the Environmental Regulation Commission, to implement
36 rules for such grants; providing an effective date.
37
38 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
39
40 Section 1. Section 403.1839, Florida Statutes, is created
41 to read:
42 403.1839 Blue Star Collection System Assessment and
43 Maintenance Program.—
44 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
45 (a) “Domestic wastewater” has the same meaning as in s.
46 367.021.
47 (b) “Domestic wastewater collection system” has the same
48 meaning as in s. 403.866.
49 (c) “Program” means the Blue Star Collection System
50 Assessment and Maintenance Program.
51 (d) “Sanitary sewer overflow” means the unauthorized
52 overflow, spill, release, discharge, or diversion of untreated
53 or partially treated domestic wastewater.
54 (2) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.—The Legislature finds that:
55 (a) The implementation of domestic wastewater collection
56 system assessment and maintenance practices has been shown to
57 effectively limit sanitary sewer overflows and the unauthorized
58 discharge of pathogens.
59 (b) The voluntary implementation of domestic wastewater
60 collection system assessment and maintenance practices beyond
61 those required by law has the potential to further limit
62 sanitary sewer overflows.
63 (c) The unique geography, community, growth, size, and age
64 of domestic wastewater collection systems across the state
65 require diverse responses, using the best professional judgment
66 of local utility operators, to ensure that programs designed to
67 limit sanitary sewer overflows are effective.
68 (3) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—There is established in the
69 department a Blue Star Collection System Assessment and
70 Maintenance Program. The purpose of this voluntary incentive
71 program is to assist public and private utilities in limiting
72 sanitary sewer overflows and the unauthorized discharge of
73 pathogens.
74 (4) APPROVAL, STANDARDS, AND VIOLATIONS.—
75 (a) The department shall adopt rules to administer the
76 program, including, at a minimum, the certification standards
77 for the program as provided in paragraph (b) and the violation
78 provisions as provided in paragraph (d), and shall review and
79 approve public and private domestic wastewater utilities that
80 apply for certification or renewal under the program and that
81 demonstrate maintenance of program certification pursuant to
82 paragraph (c) based upon the certification standards.
83 (b) A utility must provide, at a minimum, reasonable
84 documentation of the following certification standards in order
85 to be certified under the program:
86 1. The implementation of periodic collection system and
87 pump station structural condition assessments and the
88 performance of as-needed maintenance and replacements.
89 2. The rate of reinvestment determined necessary by the
90 utility to fully implement its collection system and pump
91 station structural condition assessment and maintenance and
92 replacement program.
93 3. The implementation of a program designed to limit the
94 presence of fats, roots, oils, and grease in the collection
95 system.
96 4. If the applicant is a public utility, a local law or
97 building code requiring the private pump stations and lateral
98 lines connecting to the public system to be free of:
99 a. Cracks, holes, missing parts, or similar defects; and
100 b. Direct stormwater connections that allow the direct
101 inflow of stormwater into the private system and the public
102 domestic wastewater collection system.
103 5. A power outage contingency plan that addresses
104 mitigation of the impacts of power outages on the utility’s
105 collection system and pump stations.
106 6. An infiltration and inflow reduction plan to minimize
107 infiltration and inflow throughout the utility’s collection
108 system.
109 (c)1. Program certifications shall expire after 5 years. A
110 utility shall document its implementation of the program on an
111 annual basis with the department and must demonstrate that the
112 utility meets all program standards or the department shall
113 revoke the utility’s program certification.
114 2. The approval of an application for renewal certification
115 must be based on the utility demonstrating maintenance of
116 program standards. A utility applying for renewal certification
117 must demonstrate maintenance of program standards and progress
118 in implementing the program or the department may not approve
119 the application.
120 3. The department may determine that a utility is not
121 meeting or maintaining program standards and may revoke the
122 utility’s program certification if the utility experiences
123 sanitary sewer overflows due to factors under the control of the
124 utility or if the utility violates any permit condition or any
125 applicable department rule or law.
126 (d) A utility that submits information or documentation to
127 the department pursuant to this section is subject to s.
128 403.161(1)(c). The department shall revoke the program
129 certification of a utility that knowingly submits false or
130 inaccurate information or documentation in an application for
131 certification under the program.
132 (5) PUBLICATION.—The department shall annually publish on
133 its website a list of certified blue star utilities beginning on
134 January 1, 2021.
135 (6) FEDERAL PROGRAM PARTICIPATION.—The department shall
136 allow public and nonprofit utilities to participate in the Clean
137 Water State Revolving Fund Program for any purpose of the
138 program that is consistent with federal requirements for
139 participating in the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program.
140 (7) REDUCED PENALTIES.—In the calculation of penalties
141 pursuant to s. 403.161 for a sanitary sewer overflow, the
142 department may reduce the penalty based on a utility’s status as
143 a certified blue star utility in accordance with this section.
144 The department may also reduce a penalty based on a certified
145 blue star utility’s investment in assessment and maintenance
146 activities to identify and address conditions that may cause
147 sanitary sewer overflows or interruption of service to customers
148 due to a physical condition or defect in the system.
149 Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (7) of section
150 403.067, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
151 403.067 Establishment and implementation of total maximum
152 daily loads.—
153 (7) DEVELOPMENT OF BASIN MANAGEMENT PLANS AND
154 IMPLEMENTATION OF TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOADS.—
155 (c) Best management practices.—
156 1. The department, in cooperation with the water management
157 districts and other interested parties, as appropriate, may
158 develop suitable interim measures, best management practices, or
159 other measures necessary to achieve the level of pollution
160 reduction established by the department for nonagricultural
161 nonpoint pollutant sources in allocations developed pursuant to
162 subsection (6) and this subsection. These practices and measures
163 may be adopted by rule by the department and the water
164 management districts and, where adopted by rule, shall be
165 implemented by those parties responsible for nonagricultural
166 nonpoint source pollution.
167 2. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services may
168 develop and adopt by rule pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54
169 suitable interim measures, best management practices, or other
170 measures necessary to achieve the level of pollution reduction
171 established by the department for agricultural pollutant sources
172 in allocations developed pursuant to subsection (6) and this
173 subsection or for programs implemented pursuant to paragraph
174 (12)(b). These practices and measures may be implemented by
175 those parties responsible for agricultural pollutant sources and
176 the department, the water management districts, and the
177 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall assist
178 with implementation. In the process of developing and adopting
179 rules for interim measures, best management practices, or other
180 measures, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
181 shall consult with the department, the Department of Health, the
182 water management districts, representatives from affected
183 farming groups, and environmental group representatives. Such
184 rules must also incorporate provisions for a notice of intent to
185 implement the practices and a system to assure the
186 implementation of the practices, including site inspection and
187 recordkeeping requirements.
188 3. When where interim measures, best management practices,
189 or other measures are adopted by rule, the effectiveness of such
190 practices in achieving the levels of pollution reduction
191 established in allocations developed by the department pursuant
192 to subsection (6) and this subsection or in programs implemented
193 pursuant to paragraph (12)(b) must be verified at representative
194 sites by the department. The department shall use best
195 professional judgment in making the initial verification that
196 the best management practices are reasonably expected to be
197 effective and, where applicable, must notify the appropriate
198 water management district or the Department of Agriculture and
199 Consumer Services of its initial verification before the
200 adoption of a rule proposed pursuant to this paragraph.
201 Implementation, in accordance with rules adopted under this
202 paragraph, of practices that have been initially verified to be
203 effective, or verified to be effective by monitoring at
204 representative sites, by the department, shall provide a
205 presumption of compliance with state water quality standards and
206 release from the provisions of s. 376.307(5) for those
207 pollutants addressed by the practices, and the department is not
208 authorized to institute proceedings against the owner of the
209 source of pollution to recover costs or damages associated with
210 the contamination of surface water or groundwater caused by
211 those pollutants. Research projects funded by the department, a
212 water management district, or the Department of Agriculture and
213 Consumer Services to develop or demonstrate interim measures or
214 best management practices shall be granted a presumption of
215 compliance with state water quality standards and a release from
216 the provisions of s. 376.307(5). The presumption of compliance
217 and release is limited to the research site and only for those
218 pollutants addressed by the interim measures or best management
219 practices. Eligibility for the presumption of compliance and
220 release is limited to research projects on sites where the owner
221 or operator of the research site and the department, a water
222 management district, or the Department of Agriculture and
223 Consumer Services have entered into a contract or other
224 agreement that, at a minimum, specifies the research objectives,
225 the cost-share responsibilities of the parties, and a schedule
226 that details the beginning and ending dates of the project.
227 4. When where water quality problems are demonstrated,
228 despite the appropriate implementation, operation, and
229 maintenance of best management practices and other measures
230 required by rules adopted under this paragraph, the department,
231 a water management district, or the Department of Agriculture
232 and Consumer Services, in consultation with the department,
233 shall institute a reevaluation of the best management practice
234 or other measure. Should the reevaluation determine that the
235 best management practice or other measure requires modification,
236 the department, a water management district, or the Department
237 of Agriculture and Consumer Services, as appropriate, shall
238 revise the rule to require implementation of the modified
239 practice within a reasonable time period as specified in the
240 rule.
241 5. Agricultural records relating to processes or methods of
242 production, costs of production, profits, or other financial
243 information held by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
244 Services pursuant to subparagraphs 3. and 4. or pursuant to any
245 rule adopted pursuant to subparagraph 2. are confidential and
246 exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
247 Constitution. Upon request, records made confidential and exempt
248 pursuant to this subparagraph shall be released to the
249 department or any water management district provided that the
250 confidentiality specified by this subparagraph for such records
251 is maintained.
252 6. The provisions of Subparagraphs 1. and 2. do not
253 preclude the department or water management district from
254 requiring compliance with water quality standards or with
255 current best management practice requirements set forth in any
256 applicable regulatory program authorized by law for the purpose
257 of protecting water quality. Additionally, subparagraphs 1. and
258 2. are applicable only to the extent that they do not conflict
259 with any rules adopted by the department that are necessary to
260 maintain a federally delegated or approved program.
261 7. For the sole purpose of establishing a total maximum
262 daily load for pathogens in a surface water, the department must
263 provide a domestic wastewater utility with a defensible
264 expectation of compliance with state water quality standards for
265 fecal indicator bacteria when the utility implements and
266 maintains a program as a certified blue star utility in
267 accordance with s. 403.1839 and demonstrates a history of
268 compliance with wastewater disinfection requirements
269 incorporated in the utility’s operating permit for any discharge
270 into the impaired surface water.
271 Section 3. Subsection (11) is added to section 403.087,
272 Florida Statutes, to read:
273 403.087 Permits; general issuance; denial; revocation;
274 prohibition; penalty.—
275 (11) Subject to the permit duration limits for a utility
276 permitted pursuant to s. 403.0885, a blue star utility certified
277 pursuant to s. 403.1839 shall be issued a 10-year permit for the
278 same fee and under the same conditions as a 5-year permit upon
279 approval of its application for permit renewal by the department
280 if the certified blue star utility demonstrates that it:
281 (a) Is in compliance with any consent order or an
282 accompanying administrative order to its permit;
283 (b) Does not have any pending enforcement action against it
284 by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the
285 department, or a local program; and
286 (c) If applicable, has submitted annual program
287 implementation reports demonstrating progress in the
288 implementation of the program.
289 Section 4. Present subsection (6) of section 403.161,
290 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (7), and a new
291 subsection (6) is added to that section, to read:
292 403.161 Prohibitions, violation, penalty, intent.—
293 (6) Notwithstanding any other law, the department may
294 reduce the amount of a penalty based on the person’s investment
295 in the assessment, maintenance, rehabilitation, or expansion of
296 the permitted facility.
297 Section 5. Subsection (2) and paragraphs (a) and (b) of
298 subsection (3) of section 403.1838, Florida Statutes, are
299 amended to read:
300 403.1838 Small Community Sewer Construction Assistance
301 Act.—
302 (2) The department shall use funds specifically
303 appropriated to award grants under this section to assist
304 financially disadvantaged small communities with their needs for
305 adequate sewer facilities. The department may use funds
306 specifically appropriated to award grants under this section to
307 assist nonprofit utilities providing wastewater services to
308 financially disadvantaged small communities. For purposes of
309 this section, the term “financially disadvantaged small
310 community” means a county, municipality, or special district
311 that has a population of 10,000 or fewer, according to the
312 latest decennial census, and a per capita annual income less
313 than the state per capita annual income as determined by the
314 United States Department of Commerce. For purposes of this
315 subsection, the term “special district” has the same meaning as
316 provided in s. 189.012 and includes only those special districts
317 whose public purpose includes water and sewer services, utility
318 systems and services, or wastewater systems and services. The
319 department may waive the population requirement for an
320 independent special district that serves fewer than 10,000
321 wastewater customers, is located within a watershed with an
322 adopted total maximum daily load or basin management action plan
323 for pollutants associated with domestic wastewater pursuant to
324 s. 403.067, and is wholly located within a rural area of
325 opportunity as defined in s. 288.0656.
326 (3)(a) In accordance with rules adopted by the department
327 Environmental Regulation Commission under this section, the
328 department may provide grants, from funds specifically
329 appropriated for this purpose, to financially disadvantaged
330 small communities and to nonprofit utilities serving financially
331 disadvantaged small communities for up to 100 percent of the
332 costs of planning, assessing, designing, constructing,
333 upgrading, or replacing wastewater collection, transmission,
334 treatment, disposal, and reuse facilities, including necessary
335 legal and administrative expenses. Grants issued pursuant to
336 this section may also be used for planning and implementing
337 domestic wastewater collection system assessment and maintenance
338 programs to identify conditions that may cause sanitary sewer
339 overflows or interruption of service to customers due to a
340 physical condition or defect in the system.
341 (b) The rules of the department Environmental Regulation
342 Commission must:
343 1. Require that projects to plan, assess, design,
344 construct, upgrade, or replace wastewater collection,
345 transmission, treatment, disposal, and reuse facilities be cost
346 effective, environmentally sound, permittable, and
347 implementable.
348 2. Require appropriate user charges, connection fees, and
349 other charges sufficient to ensure the long-term operation,
350 maintenance, and replacement of the facilities constructed under
351 each grant.
352 3. Require grant applications to be submitted on
353 appropriate forms with appropriate supporting documentation, and
354 require records to be maintained.
355 4. Establish a system to determine eligibility of grant
356 applications.
357 5. Establish a system to determine the relative priority of
358 grant applications. The system must consider public health
359 protection and water pollution abatement.
360 6. Establish requirements for competitive procurement of
361 engineering and construction services, materials, and equipment.
362 7. Provide for termination of grants when program
363 requirements are not met.
364 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.