Florida Senate - 2025 CS for SB 978
By the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources; and
Senator Berman
592-02514A-25 2025978c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to advanced wastewater treatment;
3 providing legislative findings; requiring the
4 Department of Environmental Protection, in
5 consultation with water management districts and
6 wastewater facilities, to submit to the Governor and
7 the Legislature specified reports on certain sewage
8 disposal facilities in this state by specified dates;
9 providing requirements for the reports; providing an
10 effective date.
11
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
13
14 Section 1. (1) The Legislature finds that the discharge of
15 inadequately treated wastewater and aging sewage disposal
16 facilities compromises the quality of the environment, including
17 freshwater, brackish water, and nearshore and offshore salt
18 waters, and threatens the quality of life and local economies in
19 this state which depend on those resources. The Legislature also
20 finds that the only practical and cost-effective way to
21 fundamentally improve wastewater management is to implement
22 advanced wastewater treatment or better at all sewage disposal
23 facilities with a permitted capacity of greater than 1 million
24 gallons per day in the state.
25 (2) In order to prioritize the upgrade of sewage disposal
26 facilities, by December 31, 2025, the Department of
27 Environmental Protection, in consultation with the water
28 management districts and wastewater facilities, shall submit to
29 the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
30 the House of Representatives a report detailing all of the
31 following for all sewage disposal facilities with a permitted
32 capacity of greater than 1 million gallons per day in this
33 state:
34 (a) Year of construction for the facility and any
35 maintenance or upgrades.
36 (b) Total permitted volume of wastewater treated daily.
37 (c) Actual permitted volume of wastewater treated daily,
38 including the most recent 1-year and 5-year averages.
39 (d) Current level of treatment, including concentrations
40 for all of the following:
41 1. Biochemical oxygen demand.
42 2. Suspended solids.
43 3. Total nitrogen.
44 4. Total phosphorus.
45 5. 1,4-dioxane.
46 6. Perfluorooctanoic acid.
47 7. Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid.
48 8. Molybdenum.
49 9. Other contaminants of emerging concern as determined by
50 the Department of Environmental Protection.
51 (e) Estimated total pollutant load based on permitted
52 volume and concentrations.
53 (f) Disposal methods and the volume discharged to any
54 receiving water bodies, if applicable, pursuant to s.
55 403.064(16), Florida Statutes.
56 (g) Impairment status of any receiving water bodies within
57 the watershed.
58 (h) Implementation status of total maximum daily loads and
59 basin management action plans and recommended reductions for
60 load allocations and wasteload allocations for pollutants of
61 concern.
62 (i) Total volume and concentration of any permitted and
63 nonpermitted wastewater spills since 2010.
64 (j) Elevation of the facility and supporting
65 infrastructure.
66 (k) Location within a floodplain, flood zone, or coastal
67 high-hazard area and, if applicable, the corresponding zone
68 number.
69 (3) By December 31, 2026, the Department of Environmental
70 Protection, in consultation with the water management districts
71 and sewage disposal facilities, shall submit to the Governor,
72 the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
73 Representatives a report outlining a priority ranking process to
74 upgrade all sewage disposal facilities with a permitted capacity
75 of greater than 1 million gallons per day in this state to
76 advanced wastewater treatment by 2036, based on all of the
77 following:
78 (a) Overall environmental benefit of a project based on:
79 1. Water quality in receiving waterbodies, including
80 impairment status;
81 2. Severity and duration of documented algal blooms;
82 3. Loss of submerged vegetation;
83 4. Death of fish and wildlife;
84 5. Public health advisories;
85 6. Quantity and concentration of permitted and nonpermitted
86 spills; and
87 7. Risk of failure.
88 (b) Estimated reduction in nutrient and pollutant loads
89 with advanced wastewater treatment.
90 (c) An explanation of additional projects necessary to meet
91 any adopted total maximum daily loads and basin management
92 action plans if upgrading to advanced wastewater treatment is
93 not sufficient.
94 (d) Cost-effectiveness as determined by a planning-level
95 cost estimate.
96 (e) Potential financial assistance available, including the
97 water quality improvement grant program under s. 403.0673,
98 Florida Statutes, and availability of local matching funds.
99 (f) Project readiness and estimated date of completion.
100 (4) By June 30, 2027, the Department of Environmental
101 Protection, in consultation with the water management districts
102 and sewage disposal facilities, shall submit to the Governor,
103 the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
104 Representatives a progress report on the status of upgrades
105 established under subsection (3) for each sewage disposal
106 facility with a permitted capacity of greater than 1 million
107 gallons per day in this state. The report must include the
108 priority list identified pursuant to subsection (3), the
109 preliminary cost estimates for the upgrades, a projected
110 timeline of the dates by which the upgrades would begin and be
111 completed, and the date by which operations of the upgraded
112 sewage disposal facilities would begin.
113 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.