CS for CS for SB 832 First Engrossed
2025832e1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to former phosphate mining lands;
3 amending s. 376.308, F.S.; providing conditions for a
4 cause of action against certain former phosphate mine
5 sites; creating s. 378.213, F.S.; authorizing
6 landowners to record certain notice of former
7 phosphate mines; specifying requirements for such
8 notice; defining the term “former phosphate mine”;
9 creating s. 404.0561, F.S.; requiring the Department
10 of Health to conduct gamma radiation surveys of former
11 phosphate land parcels upon petition; creating s.
12 768.405, F.S.; requiring that specified documentation
13 of radiation levels be submitted in certain civil
14 actions related to phosphate mining; providing an
15 effective date.
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19 Section 1. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (2) of
20 section 376.308, Florida Statutes, to read:
21 376.308 Liabilities and defenses of facilities.—
22 (2) In addition to the defense described in paragraph
23 (1)(c), the only other defenses of a person specified in
24 subsection (1) are to plead and prove that the occurrence was
25 solely the result of any of the following or any combination of
26 the following:
27 (e) The condition giving rise to the cause of action is a
28 natural geological substance of a former phosphate mine, as
29 defined in s. 378.213, for which:
30 1. A notice has been recorded in accordance with s.
31 378.213(1); and
32 2. The Department of Health has conducted a survey under s.
33 404.0561(1).
34 Section 2. Section 378.213, Florida Statutes, is created to
35 read:
36 378.213 Notice of former phosphate mine site.—
37 (1) A landowner may record a notice in the official records
38 of the county in which the land is located which identifies the
39 landowner’s property as a former phosphate mine. The recorded
40 notice must be in substantially the following form:
41
42 NOTICE
43 This property is a former phosphate mine as defined in
44 s. 378.213(2), Florida Statutes.
45
46 Such recording serves as notice that the land is a former
47 phosphate mine.
48 (2) As used in this section, the term “former phosphate
49 mine” means an area of land upon which phosphate mining has been
50 conducted and which may have been subject to a radiation survey
51 in accordance with s. 404.0561 and state reclamation
52 requirements of ss. 378.201-378.212, but does not include a
53 phosphogypsum stack as defined in s. 403.4154(1)(d).
54 Section 3. Section 404.0561, Florida Statutes, is created
55 to read:
56 404.0561 Survey of former phosphate mining lands.—
57 (1) Upon petition by a current landowner, the department
58 shall conduct a gamma radiation survey of a former phosphate
59 land parcel within 120 days after receipt of the petition to
60 determine the radioactivity levels. The survey must document
61 gamma radiation exposure measurements and the locations of the
62 measurements.
63 (2) The department shall provide a copy of the preliminary
64 survey results to the petitioner within 30 days after completion
65 of the survey. Within 60 days after receipt of the survey, the
66 petitioner may request an additional survey based upon any
67 reasonable belief that the survey was flawed or not
68 representative of conditions on the site. The department shall
69 conduct one additional survey within 90 days after receipt of
70 the petitioner’s request. The additional survey must meet the
71 requirements of this section and is deemed final within 90 days
72 after completion.
73 Section 4. Section 768.405, Florida Statutes, is created to
74 read:
75 768.405 Documentation of radiation levels.—In any civil
76 action based on strict liability under s. 376.313(3), negligence
77 or similar conduct related to an alleged discharge of hazardous
78 substances or condition of pollution related to phosphate
79 mining, including the presence of mining overburden, solid waste
80 from the extraction, or beneficiation of phosphate rock from a
81 phosphate mine; or any other similar claim related to the mining
82 of phosphatic rock or reclamation of a mined area, the plaintiff
83 must include a radiation survey of the property with the
84 complaint. The survey must be prepared by a person certified as
85 either a health physicist by the American Board of Health
86 Physics or as a radiation protection technologist by the
87 National Registry of Radiation Protection Technologists. The
88 survey must be representative and document the measured gamma
89 radiation on the property, including background values
90 determined in accordance with the Environmental Protection
91 Agency’s Multi-agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation
92 Manual; the locations of the measurements; the testing
93 equipment; the testing methodology used, including the equipment
94 calibration date and protocol; and the name of the person
95 performing the survey and describe the person’s relevant
96 training, education, and experience. The survey shall be
97 verified under penalty of perjury as provided in s. 92.525.
98 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.