Florida Senate - 2024                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1532
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì672450ÃÎ672450                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/15/2024           .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————




       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
       The Committee on Rules (Brodeur) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment
    2  
    3         Delete lines 41 - 82
    4  and insert:
    5  subsection (1), paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (3), and
    6  paragraphs (a) and (j) of subsection (7) of that section are
    7  amended, to read:
    8         373.4134 Water quality enhancement areas.—
    9         (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—The Legislature finds
   10  that:
   11         (b) An expansion of existing authority for regional
   12  treatment to include offsite compensatory treatment in water
   13  quality enhancement areas to make enhancement credits available
   14  for purchase by an applicant or a governmental entity entities
   15  to address impacts regulated under ss. 373.403-373.443 this part
   16  is needed.
   17         (d) Water quality enhancement areas are a valuable tool to
   18  assist an applicant governmental entities in providing a
   19  satisfying the net improvement of the water quality in a
   20  receiving waterbody that does not meet standards or in
   21  satisfying the environmental resource permit performance
   22  standard under s. 373.414(1)(b)3. to ensure significant
   23  reductions of pollutant loadings.
   24         (e) Water quality enhancement areas that provide water
   25  quality enhancement credits to applicants governmental entities
   26  seeking permits under ss. 373.403-373.443 this part and to
   27  governmental entities seeking to meet an assigned basin
   28  management action plan allocation or reasonable assurance plan
   29  under s. 403.067 are considered an appropriate and permittable
   30  option.
   31         (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
   32         (a) “Applicant” means a governmental entity that seeks to
   33  purchase water quality enhancement credits to meet an assigned
   34  basin management action plan allocation or reasonable assurance
   35  plan or a governmental entity or a private sector entity that
   36  seeks to purchase water quality enhancement credits for the
   37  purpose of achieving net improvement under s. 373.414(1)(b)3. or
   38  satisfying environmental resource permit performance standards.
   39         (3) WATER QUALITY ENHANCEMENT AREAS.—
   40         (b) Water quality enhancement credits may be sold only to
   41  governmental entities seeking to meet an assigned basin
   42  management action plan allocation or reasonable assurance plan
   43  or to applicants for the purpose of achieving net improvement or
   44  meeting environmental resource permit performance standards
   45  under s. 373.414(1)(b)3. after the governmental entity has
   46  provided reasonable assurances have been provided for the
   47  assurance of meeting department rules for design and
   48  construction of all onsite stormwater management, as required by
   49  law.
   50         (c) A water quality enhancement area must be used to
   51  address contributions of one or more pollutants or other
   52  constituents in the watershed, basin, sub-basin, targeted
   53  restoration area, waterbody, or section of waterbody, as
   54  determined by the department, in which the water quality
   55  enhancement area is located that do not meet applicable state
   56  water quality standards or environmental resource permit
   57  performance standards criteria.
   58         (7) ENHANCEMENT CREDITS.—
   59         (a) The department or water management district shall
   60  authorize the sale and use of enhancement credits to applicants
   61  governmental entities to address adverse water quality impacts
   62  of activities regulated under ss. 373.403-373.443 this part or
   63  to assist