HB 909 – Relating to Pollution Control Standards

On Thursday, February 24, HB 909 by Representative Bobby Payne (R-Palatka) was read a third time on the House floor and passed with 98 yeas and 16 nays.

Risk-based corrective action is a decision-making process used to assess and respond to incidents of contamination. The bill specifies that the Secretary of Environmental Protection has exclusive jurisdiction in setting standards or procedures for evaluating environmental conditions and assessing potential liability for the presence of contaminants on land that is classified as agricultural and is being converted to a nonagricultural use. The bill prohibits the Secretary from delegating such authority to a city, a county, or another unit of local government through a local pollution control program, but it does not preempt the enforcement authority of a local government through a local pollution control program.

HB 909 will now go to the Senate for consideration.

SB 1210, the Senate companion bill, is in the last of three committee stops.

AIF supports legislation unifying regulatory authority over site assessments for current or former agricultural lands by making the Florida Department of Environmental Protection the sole authority for evaluating environmental conditions and assessing potential liability for the presence of contaminants on current or former agricultural properties.