Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

       ENROLLED
       2022 Legislature                          SB 2508, 2nd Engrossed
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                                             20222508er

       An act relating to environmental resources; amending
       s. 373.026, F.S.; providing requirements for budget
       amendments requesting the release of state funds for
       specified water project components; conforming
       provisions to changes made by the act; authorizing the
       release of state funds for specified water projects;
       amending s. 373.036, F.S.; requiring modifications to
       water management district annual work plans to be
       submitted to the Secretary of Environmental Protection
       for review and approval; amending s. 373.1501, F.S.;
       requiring the South Florida Water Management District
       to make a specified certification to the Legislature
       regarding its recommendations to the United States
       Army Corps of Engineers; providing legislative
       findings; requiring water shortages within the Lake
       Okeechobee Region to be managed in accordance with
       certain rules; requiring that changes to certain rules
       be ratified by the Legislature and presented to the
       Governor; providing that such changes shall take
       effect after a specified timeframe if certain
       requirements are not met; amending s. 373.4141, F.S.;
       authorizing the Department of Environmental Protection
       to enter into agreements or contracts with certain
       entities to expedite the evaluation of certain
       environmental permits; providing requirements for such
       agreements or contracts; authorizing the department to
       receive funds received pursuant to such an agreement
       or contract; requiring such funds to be deposited into
       the Grants and Donations Trust Fund; amending s.
       570.71, F.S.; specifying that the Department of
       Agriculture and Consumer Services may acquire land or
       certain related interests in land for specified public
       purposes; revising the types of project proposals for
       which the department may accept applications; revising
       the activities prohibited under certain easements;
       removing a requirement that certain department rules
       give preference to certain types of lands; amending s.
       570.715, F.S.; revising the procedures the department
       must comply with for certain land acquisitions;
       providing for a type two transfer of the William J.
       âBilly Joeâ Rish Recreational Park within the Agency
       for Persons with Disabilities to the Department of
       Environmental Protection; providing for the
       continuation of certain contracts and interagency
       agreements; reenacting s. 570.93(1)(a), F.S., relating
       to an agricultural water conservation program;
       providing effective dates.
        
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

       Section 1.âEffective upon this act becoming a law,
paragraph (b) of subsection (8) of section 373.026, Florida
Statutes, is amended to read:
       373.026âGeneral powers and duties of the department.âThe
department, or its successor agency, shall be responsible for
the administration of this chapter at the state level. However,
it is the policy of the state that, to the greatest extent
possible, the department may enter into interagency or
interlocal agreements with any other state agency, any water
management district, or any local government conducting programs
related to or materially affecting the water resources of the
state. All such agreements shall be subject to the provisions of
s. 373.046. In addition to its other powers and duties, the
department shall, to the greatest extent possible:
       (8)
       (b)âTo ensure to the greatest extent possible that project
components will go forward as planned, the department shall
collaborate with the South Florida Water Management District in
implementing the comprehensive plan as defined in s.
373.470(2)(b), the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Protection Plan as
defined in s. 373.4595(2), and the River Watershed Protection
Plans as defined in s. 373.4595(2). Before any project component
is submitted to Congress for authorization or receives an
appropriation of state funds, the department must approve, or
approve with amendments, each project component within 60 days
following formal submittal of the project component to the
department. Prior to the release of state funds for the
implementation of the comprehensive plan, department approval
shall be based upon a determination of the South Florida Water
Management Districtâs compliance with s. 373.1501(5) and (7).
Additionally, each budget amendment requesting the release of
state funds for the implementation of a project component or a
water control plan or regulation schedule required for the
operation of the project shall be contingent on the submission
of the certification required in s. 373.1501(7). Nothing in this
paragraph shall constitute a final agency action challengeable
under chapter 120. Once a project component is approved, the
South Florida Water Management District shall provide to the
President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives a schedule for implementing the project
component, the estimated total cost of the project component,
any existing federal or nonfederal credits, the estimated
remaining federal and nonfederal share of costs, and an estimate
of the amount of state funds that will be needed to implement
the project component. All requests for an appropriation of
state funds needed to implement the project component shall be
submitted to the department, and such requests shall be included
in the departmentâs annual request to the Governor. Prior to the
release of state funds for the implementation of the Lake
Okeechobee Watershed Protection Plan or the River Watershed
Protection Plans, on an annual basis, the South Florida Water
Management District shall prepare an annual work plan as part of
the consolidated annual report required in s. 373.036(7). Upon a
determination by the secretary of the annual work planâs
consistency with the goals and objectives of ss. 373.1501(7) and
373.4595 s. 373.4595, the secretary may approve the release of
state funds. Any modifications to the annual work plan shall be
submitted to the secretary for review and approval.
Notwithstanding the requirements of this paragraph, the release
of state funds for the Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir
project, the Lake Okeechobee Watershed project, the C-43 West
Basin Reservoir Storage project, and the Indian River Lagoon
South project is authorized.
       Section 2.âEffective upon becoming a law, paragraph (a) of
subsection (7) of section 373.036, Florida Statutes, is amended
to read:
       373.036âFlorida water plan; district water management
plans.â
       (7)âCONSOLIDATED WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT ANNUAL REPORT.â
       (a)âBy March 1, annually, each water management district
shall prepare and submit to the Office of Economic and
Demographic Research, the department, the Governor, the
President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives a consolidated water management district annual
report on the management of water resources. In addition, copies
must be provided by the water management districts to the chairs
of all legislative committees having substantive or fiscal
jurisdiction over the districts and the governing board of each
county in the district having jurisdiction or deriving any funds
for operations of the district. Copies of the consolidated
annual report must be made available to the public, either in
printed or electronic format. Any modifications to the annual
work plan shall be submitted to the secretary for review and
approval. Such approval does not constitute a final agency
action challengeable under chapter 120.
       Section 3.âEffective upon this act becoming a law,
subsection (7) of section 373.1501, Florida Statutes, is
amended, subsections (10) and (11) are added to that section,
and subsection (4) of that section is reenacted, to read:
       373.1501âSouth Florida Water Management District as local
sponsor.â
       (4)âThe district is authorized to act as local sponsor of
the project for those project features within the district as
provided in this subsection and subject to the oversight of the
department as further provided in s. 373.026. The district shall
exercise the authority of the state to allocate quantities of
water within its jurisdiction, including the water supply in
relation to the project, and be responsible for allocating water
and assigning priorities among the other water uses served by
the project pursuant to state law. The district may:
       (a)âAct as local sponsor for all project features
previously authorized by Congress.
       (b)âContinue data gathering, analysis, research, and design
of project components, participate in preconstruction
engineering and design documents for project components, and
further refine the Comprehensive Plan of the restudy as a guide
and framework for identifying other project components.
       (c)âConstruct pilot projects that will assist in
determining the feasibility of technology included in the
Comprehensive Plan of the restudy.
       (d)âAct as local sponsor for project components.
       (7)âWhen developing or implementing water control plans or
regulation schedules required for the operation of the project,
the district shall provide recommendations to the United States
Army Corps of Engineers which are consistent with all district
programs and plans. The district shall certify to the President
of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
with a copy to the department, in the annual report pursuant to
s. 373.036(7), that its recommendations made pursuant to this
subsection during the previous 12 months are consistent with all
district programs and plans. Nothing in this subsection shall
constitute a final agency action challengeable under chapter
120.
       (10)âThe Legislature finds that the Lake Okeechobee
Regulation Schedule and any operating manual must balance the
different interests across the system, including, but not
limited to, safeguarding the water supply to society and the
environment, reducing high-volume discharges to coastal
estuaries, and providing for flood control.
       (11)âWater shortages within the Lake Okeechobee Region must
be managed in accordance with Chapters 40E-21 and 40E-22,
Florida Administrative Code, as such region is set forth
therein. Any change to such rules may not take effect until
ratified by the Legislature and presented to the Governor, or if
the Legislature fails to act and present to the Governor during
the next regular legislative session, such rules shall take
effect after the next regular legislative session and shall
otherwise comply with s. 120.541.
       Section 4.âEffective upon this act becoming a law, section
373.4141, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
       373.4141âPermits; processing.â
       (1)âGENERAL PROCESSING; TIME LIMITATIONS.â
       (a)âWithin 30 days after receipt of an application for a
permit under this part, the department or the water management
district shall review the application and shall request
submittal of all additional information the department or the
water management district is permitted by law to require. If the
applicant believes any request for additional information is not
authorized by law or rule, the applicant may request a hearing
pursuant to s. 120.57. Within 30 days after receipt of such
additional information, the department or water management
district shall review it and may request only that information
needed to clarify such additional information or to answer new
questions raised by or directly related to such additional
information. If the applicant believes the request of the
department or water management district for such additional
information is not authorized by law or rule, the department or
water management district, at the applicantâs request, must
shall proceed to process the permit application.
       (b)(2)âA permit must shall be approved, denied, or subject
to a notice of proposed agency action within 60 days after
receipt of the original application, the last item of timely
requested additional material, or the applicantâs written
request to begin processing the permit application.
       (c)(3)âProcessing of applications for permits for
affordable housing projects must shall be expedited to a greater
degree than other projects.
       (d)(4)âA state agency or an agency of the state may not
require as a condition of approval for a permit or as an item to
complete a pending permit application that an applicant obtain a
permit or approval from any other local, state, or federal
agency without explicit statutory authority to require such
permit or approval.
       (2)âAGREEMENTS TO PROCESS PERMITS.â
       (a)âThe department may enter into an agreement or a
contract with a public entity, which includes a utility
regulated under chapter 366, to expedite the evaluation of
environmental resource permits or section 404 permits related to
a project or an activity that serves a public purpose. Any
agreement or contract entered into pursuant to this subsection
must be effective for at least 3 years.
       (b)âThe department must ensure that any agreement or
contract entered into by the department does not affect
impartial decisionmaking, either substantively or procedurally.
The department must use the same procedures for decisions that
would otherwise be required for the evaluation of permits for
similar projects or activities not carried out under an
agreement or contract authorized under this subsection.
       (c)âThe department must make all active agreements or
contracts entered into under this subsection available on its
website.
       (d)âThe department may receive funds pursuant to an
agreement or contract entered into under this subsection. Any
funds received pursuant to this subsection must be deposited
into the Grants and Donations Trust Fund and used in accordance
with the agreement or contract.
       Section 5.âEffective January 1, 2023, section 570.71,
Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
       570.71âLand acquisition; conservation easements and
agreements.â
       (1)âThe department, on behalf of the Board of Trustees of
the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, may allocate moneys to
acquire land or related interests in land, such as perpetual,
less-than-fee acquisitions interest in land, to enter into
agricultural protection agreements, and to enter into resource
conservation agreements for any of the following public
purposes:
       (a)âPromotion and improvement of wildlife habitat.;
       (b)âProtection and enhancement of water bodies, aquifer
recharge areas, wetlands, and watersheds.;
       (c)âPerpetuation of open space on lands with significant
natural areas.; or
       (d)âProtection of agricultural lands threatened by
conversion to other uses.
       (e)âPreservation and protection of natural and working
landscapes.
       (f)âPreservation, protection, and enhancement of wildlife
corridors and linkages.
       (2)âTo achieve the purposes of this section, the department
may accept applications for project proposals that:
       (a)âPurchase land or interests in land, such as
conservation easements, as defined in s. 704.06.
       (b)âPurchase rural-lands-protection easements pursuant to
this section.
       (c)âFund resource conservation agreements pursuant to this
section.
       (d)âFund agricultural protection agreements pursuant to
this section.
       (3)âRural-lands-protection easements are shall be a
perpetual right or interest in agricultural land which is
appropriate to retain such land in predominantly its current
state and to prevent the subdivision and conversion of such land
into other uses. This right or interest in property shall
prohibit o