Florida Senate - 2025 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 978
Ì308288PÎ308288
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
03/17/2025 .
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The Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (Berman)
recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. (1) The Legislature finds that the discharge of
6 inadequately treated wastewater and aging sewage disposal
7 facilities compromise the quality of the environment, including
8 freshwater, brackish water, and nearshore and offshore salt
9 waters, and threatens the quality of life and local economies in
10 the state that depend on those resources. The Legislature also
11 finds that the only practical and cost-effective way to
12 fundamentally improve wastewater management is to implement
13 advanced wastewater treatment or better at all sewage disposal
14 facilities with a permitted capacity of greater than 1 million
15 gallons per day in the state.
16 (2) In order to prioritize the upgrade of sewage disposal
17 facilities, by December 31, 2025, the Department of
18 Environmental Protection, in consultation with the water
19 management districts and wastewater facilities, shall submit to
20 the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
21 the House of Representatives a report detailing all of the
22 following for all sewage disposal facilities with a permitted
23 capacity of greater than 1 million gallons per day in the state:
24 (a) Year of construction for the facility and any
25 maintenance or upgrades.
26 (b) Total permitted volume of wastewater treated daily.
27 (c) Actual permitted volume of wastewater treated daily
28 including the most recent 1-year and 5-year averages.
29 (d) Current level of treatment, including concentrations
30 for each of the following:
31 1. Biochemical oxygen demand.
32 2. Suspended solids.
33 3. Total nitrogen.
34 4. Total phosphorus.
35 5. 1,4-dioxane.
36 6. Perfluorooctanoic acid.
37 7. Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid.
38 8. Molybdenum.
39 9. Other contaminants of emerging concern as determined by
40 the Department of Environmental Protection.
41 (e) Estimated total pollutant load based on permitted
42 volume and concentrations.
43 (f) Disposal methods and the volume discharged to any
44 receiving waterbodies, if applicable, pursuant to s.
45 403.064(16), Florida Statutes.
46 (g) Impairment status of any receiving waterbodies within
47 the watershed.
48 (h) Implementation status of total maximum daily loads and
49 basin management action plans and recommended reductions for
50 load allocations and wasteload allocations for pollutants of
51 concern.
52 (i) Total volume and concentration of any permitted and
53 nonpermitted wastewater spills since 2010.
54 (j) Elevation of the facility and supporting
55 infrastructure.
56 (k) Location within a floodplain, flood zone, or coastal
57 high-hazard area and, if applicable, the corresponding zone
58 number.
59 (3) By December 31, 2026, the Department of Environmental
60 Protection, in consultation with the water management districts
61 and sewage disposal facilities, shall submit to the Governor,
62 the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
63 Representatives a report outlining a priority ranking process to
64 upgrade all sewage disposal facilities with a permitted capacity
65 of greater than 1 million gallons per day in the state to
66 advanced waste treatment by 2036, based on all of the following:
67 (a) Overall environmental benefit of a project based on:
68 1. Water quality in receiving waterbodies, including
69 impairment status;
70 2. Severity and duration of documented algal blooms;
71 3. Loss of submerged vegetation;
72 4. Death of fish and wildlife;
73 5. Public health advisories;
74 6. Quantity and concentration of permitted and nonpermitted
75 spills; and
76 7. Risk of failure.
77 (b) Estimated reduction in nutrient and pollutant loads
78 with advanced waste treatment.
79 (c) An explanation of additional projects necessary to meet
80 any adopted total maximum daily loads and basin management
81 action plans if upgrading to advanced waste treatment is not
82 sufficient.
83 (d) Cost-effectiveness as determined by a planning-level
84 cost estimate.
85 (e) Potential financial assistance available, including the
86 water quality improvement grant program under s. 403.0673,
87 Florida Statutes, and availability of local matching funds.
88 (f) Project readiness and the estimated date of completion.
89 (4) By June 30, 2027, the Department of Environmental
90 Protection, in consultation with the water management districts
91 and sewage disposal facilities, shall submit to the Governor,
92 the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
93 Representatives a progress report on the status of upgrades
94 established under subsection (3) for each sewage disposal
95 facility with a permitted capacity of greater than 1 million
96 gallons per day in this state. The report must include the
97 priority list identified pursuant to subsection (3), the
98 preliminary cost estimates for the upgrades, a projected
99 timeline of the dates by which the upgrades would begin and be
100 completed, and the date by which operations of the upgraded
101 sewage disposal facility would begin.
102 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.
103