Florida Senate - 2024 CS for CS for CS for SB 738 By the Committees on Fiscal Policy; Judiciary; and Environment and Natural Resources; and Senator Burgess 594-03390-24 2024738c3 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to environmental management; amending 3 s. 373.4131, F.S.; requiring that nonindustrial 4 stormwater management systems be designed with side 5 slopes that meet certain minimum design requirements; 6 providing an exception; superseding certain side slope 7 rules; amending s. 376.313, F.S.; revising 8 construction relating to causes of action for damages 9 to real or personal property directly resulting from 10 certain discharges or other conditions of pollution; 11 providing an effective date. 12 13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14 15 Section 1. Subsection (7) is added to section 373.4131, 16 Florida Statutes, to read: 17 373.4131 Statewide environmental resource permitting 18 rules.— 19 (7) A side slope for a nonindustrial stormwater management 20 system, in or adjacent to residential or urban areas that are 21 accessible to the general public, must be designed, except as 22 provided in paragraph (a), with a horizontal-to-vertical ratio 23 no steeper than 4:1 to a depth of at least 2 feet below the 24 control elevation and must be stabilized with vegetation to 25 prevent erosion and provide for pollutant removal. 26 (a) A side slope for a nonindustrial stormwater management 27 system, in or adjacent to residential or urban areas that are 28 accessible to the general public, may be designed with a steeper 29 than 4:1 horizontal-to-vertical ratio if the slope incorporates 30 adequate temporary and permanent erosion and sediment control 31 best management practices. A system designed or authorized to be 32 steeper than 4:1 must be fenced, be greenscaped, or have other 33 barriers installed sufficiently to prevent accidental incursion 34 into the system. 35 (b) All side slope rules adopted by the department, water 36 management districts, or delegated local programs under this 37 part as of July 1, 2024, are superseded by this subsection and 38 may be repealed without further rulemaking pursuant to s. 120.54 39 by publication of a notice of repeal in the Florida 40 Administrative Register and subsequent filing of a list of the 41 rules repealed with the Department of State. 42 Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 376.313, Florida 43 Statutes, is amended to read: 44 376.313 Nonexclusiveness of remedies and individual cause 45 of action for damages under ss. 376.30-376.317.— 46 (3) Except as provided in s. 376.3078(3) and (11),nothing47contained inss. 376.30-376.317 do not prohibit aprohibits any48 person from bringing a cause of action in a court of competent 49 jurisdiction for all damages to real or personal property 50 directly resulting from a discharge or other condition of 51 pollution covered by ss. 376.30-376.317 and which was not 52 authorized by any government approval or permit issued pursuant 53 to chapter 373, chapter 376, or chapter 403.Nothing inThis 54 chapter does notshallprohibit or diminish a party’s right to 55 contribution from other parties jointly or severally liable for 56 a prohibited discharge of pollutants or hazardous substances or 57 other pollution conditions. Except as otherwise provided in 58 subsection (4) or subsection (5), in any such suit, it is not 59 necessary for such person to plead or prove negligence in any 60 form or manner. Such person need only plead and prove the fact 61 of the prohibited discharge or other pollutive condition and 62 that it has occurred. The only strict-liability exceptions 63defensesto such cause of action areshall bethose specified in 64 s. 376.308 or s. 376.82. 65 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.