SB 1382 – Relating to Environmental Resource Management

On Monday, January 27, SB 1382 by Senator Ben Albritton (R-Bartow) was heard by the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee and was reported favorable with 4 yeas and 0 nays. AIF stood in support of this legislation.

Phosphorus and nitrogen are naturally present in water and are essential nutrients for the healthy growth of plant and animal life. The correct balance of both nutrients is necessary for a healthy ecosystem; however, excessive nitrogen and phosphorus can cause significant water quality problems. Phosphorus and nitrogen are derived from natural and human-made sources. Natural inputs include the atmosphere, soils, and the decay of plants and animals. Human-made sources include sewage disposal systems (wastewater treatment facilities and septic systems), overflows of storm and sanitary sewers (untreated sewage), agricultural production and irrigation practices, and stormwater runoff.

The bill includes recommendations from the Blue-Green Algae Task Force. The major topics in this bill include onside sewage treatment and disposal systems (OSTDSs, commonly known as septic systems), wastewater, stormwater, agriculture, and biosolids. The bill also addresses basin management action plans which address watersheds and basins tributary to an affected water body in an effort to reduce pollutants flowing into the water body.

In addition, the bill requires that local governments may not extend legal standing or legal rights to plants, animals, a body of water, or any additional part of the natural environment.

SB 1382 will now move to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Environment and General Government.

AIF supports legislation that addresses the existing water quality issues as Florida’s businesses and citizens alike rely on access to clean, uncontaminated water. This legislation also protects Florida businesses from lawsuits by defining that people cannot sue on behalf of inanimate objects, i.e. rivers, lakes, streams etc.

 

SB 1772 – Relating to Environmental Value of Agricultural Lands and Timberlands

On Tuesday, January 28, SB 1772 by Senator Bill Montford (D-Tallahassee) was heard by the Senate Agriculture Committee and was reported favorable with 5 yeas and 0 nays. AIF stood in support of this legislation.

This legislation establishes a framework for determining the value of environmental benefits provided by agriculture and timber lands. This legislation further directs the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to create a cost-share program to compensate landowners for those environmental benefits.

SB 1772 will now move to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Environment and General Government.

AIF supports efforts to establish a method to more accurately determine the environmental benefits of agriculture and timber on which Florida businesses rely.

 

HB 1343 – Relating to Water Quality Improvements

On Tuesday, January 28, HB 1343, co-sponsored by Representative Blaise Ingoglia (R-Spring Hill) and Representative Bobby Payne (R-Palatka) was heard by the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee and was reported favorable with 12 yeas and 0 nays. AIF stood in support of this legislation.

States are required by the Clean Water Act to maintain the quality of their waters. In Florida, water quality is addressed through water quality standards, total maximum daily loads (TMDLs), basin management action plans (BMAPs), and permits.

The bill addresses water quality impacts. Specifically, the bill addresses water quality issues resulting from on-site sewage treatment and disposal systems (OSTDSs) by:

• Transferring the Onsite Sewage Program from the Department of Health to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP);
• Requiring the departments to submit recommendations to the Governor and Legislature regarding the transfer of the Onsite Sewage Program;
• Creating an OSTDS technical advisory; and
• Requiring OSTDS remediation plans.
  
  

The bill addresses the water quality issues resulting from stormwater by:

• Requiring DEP staff training to include field inspections of stormwater structural controls;
• Requiring DEP and the water management districts to update the stormwater regulations using the most up to date science; and
• Requiring the model stormwater management program to contain model ordinances targeting nutrient reduction.
  
  

The bill addresses water quality issues resulting from domestic wastewater facilities by requiring:

• Local governments to create wastewater treatment plans;
• Sanitary sewage facilities to take steps to prevent sanitary sewer overflows;
• DEP to establish real-time water quality monitoring; and
• Advanced wastewater treatment for domestic wastewater discharges to the Indian River Lagoon.
  
  

The bill also creates a wastewater grant program that requires DEP to provide grants for projects that will reduce excess nutrient pollution. Additionally, the bill requires the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to conduct inspections of producers enrolled in best management practices.

HB 1343 will now move to the House Appropriations Committee.

AIF supports legislation that addresses the existing water quality issues as Florida’s businesses and citizens alike rely on access to clean, uncontaminated water.

 

HB 1363 – Relating to Basin Management Action Plans

On Tuesday, January 28, HB 1363 by Representative Toby Overdorf (R-Stuart) was heard by the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee and was reported favorable with 11 yeas and 0 nays. AIF stood in support of this legislation.

The federal Clean Water Act (CWA) requires states to adopt water quality standards (WQS) for navigable waters. The CWA requires states to develop lists of water bodies that do not meet WQS, which are called impaired waters. States are then required to develop a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for the particular pollutants causing the impairment. The TMDL is the maximum allowable amount of the pollutants the water body can receive while maintaining WQS. Once a TMDL is adopted, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) may develop and implement a basin management action plan (BMAP), which is a restoration plan for the watersheds and basins connected to the impaired water body. A BMAP must integrate appropriate management strategies available to the state and must include milestones for implementation and water quality improvement, and associated water quality monitoring.

The bill requires nonpoint source dischargers (farm water runoff, for example) who discharge into a basin included in an adopted BMAP to comply with interim measures, best management practices (BMPs), other measures adopted by rule by DEP or the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS), or management measures adopted in a BMAP.

The bill further requires DEP, DACS, or the water management district (WMD), to verify by site visit the implementation of such requirements at least once every two years. The bill requires DEP, DACS, and owners of agricultural operations in the basin to develop a cooperative agricultural regional water quality improvement element as part of a BMAP under certain circumstances. The bill further requires DEP, DOH, local governments, and WMDs to develop a cooperative urban, suburban, commercial, or institutional regional water quality improvement element as part of a BMAP under certain circumstances.

HB 1363 will now move to the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee.

AIF supports legislation that addresses the existing water quality issues as Florida’s businesses and citizens alike rely on access to clean, uncontaminated water.

 

HB 1199 – Relating to Environmental Protection Act

On Wednesday, January 29, HB 1199 by Representative Blaise Ingoglia (R-Spring Hill) was heard by the House Civil Justice Subcommittee and was reported favorable with 14 yeas and 1 nay. AIF’s Senior Vice President of State and Federal Affairs, Brewster Bevis, stood in support of this legislation.

Florida authorizes a citizen to assert standing to stop activity that will affect his or her use or enjoyment of air, water, or natural resources. However, court rulings and legislation in the U.S. and worldwide have suggested specific legal rights of nature may exist authorizing a person to assert standing on behalf of natural resources.

While U.S. Supreme Court precedent clearly limits standing for environmental claims to only an action causing injury to a human, dissenting opinions suggesting otherwise have recently caught the attention of environmental activists attempting to assert standing on behalf of the environment, often resulting in lengthy yet unsuccessful litigation.

The bill amends the Florida Environmental Protection Act to prohibit a local government regulation, ordinance, code, rule, comprehensive plan, charter, or any other provision of law:

• From recognizing or granting any legal right to a plant, animal, body of water, or any other part of the natural environment that is not a person or political subdivision; or
• Granting a person or political subdivision any specific rights relating to the natural environment.
  
  

The bill provides that the prohibition on granting rights to nonpersons may not limit the:

• Ability of an aggrieved or adversely affected party to appeal and challenge the consistency of a development order with a comprehensive plan, or to file an action for injunctive relief to enforce the terms of a development agreement or to challenge compliance of the agreement with the Florida Local Government Development Agreement Act; or
• Standing to maintain an action for injunctive relief as otherwise provided by the EPA for:
• Department of Legal Affairs;
• Any political subdivision of the state; or
• A resident of the state.
  
  

The bill may prevent costly litigation related to granting rights to natural resources, when current legal precedent suggests such rights may not be granted at the state or local level.

HB 1199 will now move to the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee.

AIF supports legislation that protects Florida businesses from lawsuits by defining that people cannot sue on behalf of inanimate objects, i.e. rivers, lakes, streams, etc.