Florida Senate - 2025                                    SB 1228
       
       
        
       By Senator McClain
       
       
       
       
       
       9-01395A-25                                           20251228__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to spring restoration; amending s.
    3         403.064, F.S.; authorizing certain domestic wastewater
    4         treatment facilities to request the incorporation of
    5         reclaimed water projects identified in Outstanding
    6         Florida Springs recovery or prevention strategies;
    7         requiring the Department of Environmental Protection
    8         to approve such requests within a certain period of
    9         time if certain conditions are met; providing an
   10         effective date.
   11          
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Present paragraphs (f) through (i) of subsection
   15  (16) of section 403.064, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
   16  paragraphs (g) through (j), respectively, and a new paragraph
   17  (f) is added to that subsection, to read:
   18         403.064 Reuse of reclaimed water.—
   19         (16) By November 1, 2021, domestic wastewater utilities
   20  that dispose of effluent, reclaimed water, or reuse water by
   21  surface water discharge shall submit to the department for
   22  review and approval a plan for eliminating nonbeneficial surface
   23  water discharge by January 1, 2032, subject to the requirements
   24  of this section. The plan must include the average gallons per
   25  day of effluent, reclaimed water, or reuse water that will no
   26  longer be discharged into surface waters and the date of such
   27  elimination, the average gallons per day of surface water
   28  discharge which will continue in accordance with the
   29  alternatives provided for in subparagraphs (a)2. and 3., and the
   30  level of treatment that the effluent, reclaimed water, or reuse
   31  water will receive before being discharged into a surface water
   32  by each alternative.
   33         (f) A domestic wastewater treatment facility with an
   34  approved plan may submit a request to the department to amend
   35  the plan to incorporate a reclaimed water project identified in
   36  an Outstanding Florida Springs recovery or prevention strategy
   37  adopted pursuant to s. 373.805. The department must approve the
   38  request within 60 days after receipt of the request if all of
   39  the following conditions are met:
   40         1. The identified use of reclaimed water will benefit a
   41  rural area of opportunity as defined in s. 288.0656(2).
   42         2. The project will provide at least 35 million gallons per
   43  day of reclaimed water to benefit an Outstanding Florida Spring.
   44         3. The project involves more than one domestic wastewater
   45  treatment facility.
   46         4. The project implementation and surface water discharge
   47  elimination schedule meets the requirements of s. 373.805.
   48         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.