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.