HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: HB 407 Apalachicola Bay Area of Critical State Concern
SPONSOR(S): Shoaf
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 702
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Water Quality, Supply & Treatment 15 Y, 0 N Curtin Curtin
Subcommittee
2) Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations 13 Y, 0 N Byrd Pigott
Subcommittee
3) Infrastructure Strategies Committee 19 Y, 0 N Curtin Harrington
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
The Apalachicola River is the largest river in Florida and provides 35 percent of the freshwater entering the
northeastern Gulf of Mexico. The Apalachicola Bay is a productive estuary and serves as an important nursery
ground for numerous commercially and recreationally important fish and invertebrate species. The
Apalachicola Bay at one point supplied approximately 90 percent of the oysters in Florida and 10 percent
nationally. However, the Apalachicola Bay oyster population began declining in 2013 and by 2020 had
collapsed. In 2020, all wild oyster harvesting was suspended through the end of calendar year 2025.
The Apalachicola Bay Area was designated an Area of Critical State Concern (ACSC) in 1985.
Beginning in the 2023-2024 fiscal year and continuing through the 2027-2028 fiscal year, the bill authorizes the
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to expend up to $5 million each fiscal year for the purpose of
entering into financial assistance agreements with the City of Apalachicola to implement projects that improve
surface water and groundwater quality within the Apalachicola Bay ACSC, including the construction of
stormwater management facilities and central sewage collection facilities, installation of onsite sewage
treatment and disposal systems, direct and indirect potable reuse, and other water quality and water supply
projects. This authorization will expire on June 30, 2028.
The bill may have a negative fiscal impact on state government and a positive fiscal impact on local
government if DEP expends funds for the purposes stated in this bill.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Background
Areas of Critical State Concern
The Governor and Cabinet, sitting as the Administration Commission, 1 may designate by rule certain
areas that contain resources of statewide significance as ACSCs based on the recommendations of the
Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.2 To be designated as an ACSC, the area must:
Contain, or have a significant impact upon, environmental or natural resources of regional or
statewide importance, the uncontrolled private or public development of which would cause
substantial deterioration of such resources;
Contain, or have a significant impact upon, historical or archaeological resources, sites, or
statutorily defined historical or archaeological districts, the private or public development of
which would cause substantial deterioration or complete loss of such resources, sites, or
districts; or
Have a significant impact upon, or be significantly impacted by, an existing or proposed major
public facility or other area of major public investment, including, but not limited to, highways,
ports, airports, energy facilities, and water management projects. 3
Areas currently designated as ACSCs include the Big Cypress Area, 4 the Green Swamp Area,5 the
Florida Keys Area,6 and the Apalachicola Bay Area.7
Apalachicola Bay Area
A former Apalachicola Riverkeeper described the Apalachicola River, floodplain and Bay as
“compris[ing] one of the most biodiverse and productive riverine and estuarine systems in the northern
hemisphere.”8 The Apalachicola River is the largest river in Florida and provides 35 percent of the
freshwater entering the northeastern Gulf of Mexico.9 The Apalachicola Bay is a productive estuary
and serves as an important nursery ground for numerous commercially and recreationally important
fish and invertebrate species. In addition, it “is a major forage area for migratory birds, in particular for
trans-gulf migrants in the spring.”10
The Apalachicola Bay supported a thriving oyster fishery for decades and at one time supplied
approximately 90 percent of the oysters in Florida and 10 percent nationally. 11 However, the
Apalachicola Bay oyster population began declining in 2013 and by 2020 had collapsed. 12 To assist
with restoration and recovery of oysters in the Apalachicola Bay system, the Florida Fish and Wildlife
1 S. 14.202, F.S. (The Administration Commission is part of the Executive Office of the Governor.); see also s. 380.031(1), F.S.
2 S. 380.05, F.S.
3 S. 380.05(2), F.S.
4 S. 380.055, F.S.
5 S. 380.0551, F.S.
6 S. 380.0552, F.S.
7 S. 380.0555, F.S.
8 Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Apalachicola Bay Aquatic Preserve (last updated Feb. 14, 2023),
https://floridadep.gov/ABAP (last visited Apr. 12, 2023).
9 Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), Apalachicola Bay Area, http://www.floridajobs.org/community-planning-and-
development/programs/community-planning-table-of-contents/areas-of-critical-state-concern/city-of-apalachicola (last visited Mar.
27, 2023); see also U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Vision for a Healthy Gulf of Mexico Watershed, p. 19 (June 2013),
https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/gulf-vision-
document.pdf#:~:text=The%20Service%E2%80%99s%20Vision%20for%20a%20Healthy%20Gulf%20of,The%20conservation%20st
rategies%20are%20to%3A%20nUse%20sound%20science%3B.
10 DEP, supra note 8.
11 Id.
12 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, FWC approves measures to support recovery and restoration of oysters in
Apalachicola Bay, https://myfwc.com/news/all-news/oyster-commission-1220/ (last visited Mar. 27, 2023).
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Conservation Commission suspended all wild oyster harvest and on-the-water possession of wild
oyster harvesting equipment (tongs) from Apalachicola Bay through the end of calendar year 2025.13
The Apalachicola Bay Area was designated an ACSC in 1985. 14 The initial designation included the
City of Apalachicola, the City of Carrabelle, and unincorporated Franklin County (excluding Alligator
Point). In 1993, the designation was amended to reduce the ACSC to only include the City of
Apalachicola.15
The Legislature declared that the intent of establishing the Apalachicola Bay ACSC was to:
Protect the water quality of the Apalachicola Bay Area to ensure a healthy environment and a
thriving economy for the residents of the area and the state;
Financially assist Franklin County and its municipalities in upgrading and expanding their
sewerage systems;
Protect the Apalachicola Bay Area’s natural and economic resources by implementing and
enforcing comprehensive plans and land development regulations;
Assist Franklin County and its municipalities with technical and advisory assistance in
formulating additional land development regulations and modifications to comprehensive plans;
Monitor activities within the Apalachicola Bay Area to ensure the long-term protection of all the
area’s resources;
Promote a broad base of economic growth that is compatible with the protection and
conservation of the natural resources of the Apalachicola Bay Area;
Educate the residents of the Apalachicola Bay Area in order to protect and preserve its natural
resources;
13 Id.
14 Chapter 85-360, Laws of Florida.; s. 380.0555, F.S.
15 DEO, supra note 9.
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Provide affordable housing in close proximity to places of employment in the Apalachicola Bay
Area; and
To protect and improve the water quality of the Apalachicola Bay Area through federal, state,
and local funding of water quality improvement projects, including the construction and
operation of wastewater management facilities that meet state requirements.16
State, regional, and local agencies and units of government in the Apalachicola Bay Area are required
to coordinate their plans and conduct their programs and regulatory activities consistently using
principles for guiding development of the area17 that require:
Land development to be guided so that the basic functions and productivity of the Apalachicola
Bay Area’s natural land and water systems are conserved to reduce or avoid health, safety, and
economic problems for present and future residents of the area;
Land development to be consistent with a safe environment, adequate community facilities, a
superior quality of life, and a desire to minimize environmental hazards;
Growth and diversification of the local economy to be fostered only if it is consistent with
protecting the natural resources of the Apalachicola Bay Area through appropriate management
of the land and water systems;
Aquatic habitats and wildlife resources of the Apalachicola Bay Area to be conserved and
protected;
Water quantity to be managed to conserve and protect the natural resources and the scenic
beauty of the Apalachicola Bay Area;
Water quality to be protected, maintained, and improved for public water supply, propagation of
aquatic life, and recreational and other uses;
No wastes to be discharged into any waters of the Apalachicola Bay Area without first being
given the degree of treatment necessary to protect water uses;
Stormwater discharges to be managed in order to minimize impacts on the bay system and
protect its uses;
Protection of coastal dune systems, specifically the area extending landward from the extreme
high-tide line to the beginning of the pinelands of the Apalachicola Bay Area; and
Public lands to be managed, enhanced, and protected so that the public may continue to enjoy
the traditional use of such lands.18
Effect of the Bill
Beginning in the 2023-2024 fiscal year and continuing through the 2027-2028 fiscal year, the bill
authorizes the DEP to expend up to $5 million each fiscal year for the purpose of entering into financial
assistance agreements with the City of Apalachicola to implement projects that improve surface water
and groundwater quality within the Apalachicola Bay ACSC, including the construction of stormwater
management facilities and central sewage collection facilities, installation of onsite sewage treatment
and disposal systems, direct and indirect potable reuse, and other water quality and water supply
projects. This authorization will expire on June 30, 2028.
B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
Section 1. Amends s. 380.0555, F.S., relating to the Apalachicola Bay ACSC.
Section 2. Provides an effective date of July 1, 2023.
16 S. 380.0555(2), F.S.
17 S. 380.0555(7), F.S.
18 Id.
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II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
The bill authorizes, but does not require, DEP to expend up to $5 million each fiscal year, beginning
in Fiscal Year 2023-2024 and continuing through Fiscal Year 2027-2028 for the purpose of entering
into financial assistance agreements with the City of Apalachicola to implement projects that
improve surface water and groundwater quality within the Apalachicola Bay ACSC.
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
1. Revenues:
The bill may have an indeterminate positive fiscal impact on the City of Apalachicola, if DEP
expends funds in any fiscal year beginning in Fiscal Year 2023-2024 and continuing through Fiscal
Year 2027-2028 for the purpose of entering into financial assistance agreements with the City of
Apalachicola to implement projects that improve surface water and groundwater quality within the
Apalachicola Bay ACSC.
2. Expenditures:
None.
C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:
None.
D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
None.
III. COMMENTS
A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:
1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
Not applicable. This bill does not appear to require counties or municipalities to spend funds or take
action requiring the expenditure of funds; reduce the authority that counties or municipalities have to
raise revenues in the aggregate; or reduce the percentage of state tax shared with counties or
municipalities.
2. Other:
None.
B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
None.
C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
None.
IV. AMENDMENTS/COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES
None.
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