Bill Text: FL S0738 | 2024 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Environmental Management

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 3-1)

Status: (Failed) 2024-03-08 - Died in Messages [S0738 Detail]

Download: Florida-2024-S0738-Comm_Sub.html

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       Florida Senate - 2024                       CS for CS for SB 738
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Judiciary; and Environment and Natural
       Resources; and Senator Burgess
       
       
       
       
       590-02632-24                                           2024738c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to environmental management; amending
    3         s. 373.4131, F.S.; requiring that nonindustrial
    4         stormwater management systems be designed with side
    5         slopes that meet certain minimum design requirements;
    6         providing an exception; superseding certain side slope
    7         rules; amending s. 376.313, F.S.; revising
    8         construction relating to causes of action for damages
    9         to real or personal property directly resulting from
   10         certain discharges or other conditions of pollution;
   11         providing legislative intent; requiring the department
   12         and water management districts to conduct holistic
   13         reviews of their respective agency’s coastal
   14         permitting processes and permit programs; providing
   15         the scope and purpose of the reviews; requiring the
   16         department and water management districts to submit
   17         reports of their findings and proposed solutions to
   18         the Governor and the Legislature by a specified date;
   19         providing an effective date.
   20          
   21  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   22  
   23         Section 1. Subsection (7) is added to section 373.4131,
   24  Florida Statutes, to read:
   25         373.4131 Statewide environmental resource permitting
   26  rules.—
   27         (7) A side slope for a nonindustrial stormwater management
   28  system, in or adjacent to residential or urban areas that are
   29  accessible to the general public, must be designed, except as
   30  provided in paragraph (a), with a horizontal-to-vertical ratio
   31  no steeper than 4:1 to a depth of at least 2 feet below the
   32  control elevation and must be stabilized with vegetation to
   33  prevent erosion and provide for pollutant removal.
   34         (a) A side slope for a nonindustrial stormwater management
   35  system, in or adjacent to residential or urban areas that are
   36  accessible to the general public, may be designed with a steeper
   37  than 4:1 horizontal-to-vertical ratio if the slope incorporates
   38  adequate temporary and permanent erosion and sediment control
   39  best management practices. A system designed or authorized to be
   40  steeper than 4:1 must be fenced, be greenscaped, or have other
   41  barriers installed sufficiently to prevent accidental incursion
   42  into the system.
   43         (b) All side slope rules adopted by the department, water
   44  management districts, or delegated local programs under this
   45  part as of July 1, 2024, are superseded by this subsection and
   46  may be repealed without further rulemaking pursuant to s. 120.54
   47  by publication of a notice of repeal in the Florida
   48  Administrative Register and subsequent filing of a list of the
   49  rules repealed with the Department of State.
   50         Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 376.313, Florida
   51  Statutes, is amended to read:
   52         376.313 Nonexclusiveness of remedies and individual cause
   53  of action for damages under ss. 376.30-376.317.—
   54         (3) Except as provided in s. 376.3078(3) and (11), nothing
   55  contained in ss. 376.30-376.317 do not prohibit a prohibits any
   56  person from bringing a cause of action in a court of competent
   57  jurisdiction for all damages to real or personal property
   58  directly resulting from a discharge or other condition of
   59  pollution covered by ss. 376.30-376.317 and which was not
   60  authorized by any government approval or permit issued pursuant
   61  to chapter 373, chapter 376, or chapter 403. Nothing in This
   62  chapter does not shall prohibit or diminish a party’s right to
   63  contribution from other parties jointly or severally liable for
   64  a prohibited discharge of pollutants or hazardous substances or
   65  other pollution conditions. Except as otherwise provided in
   66  subsection (4) or subsection (5), in any such suit, it is not
   67  necessary for such person to plead or prove negligence in any
   68  form or manner. Such person need only plead and prove the fact
   69  of the prohibited discharge or other pollutive condition and
   70  that it has occurred. The only strict-liability exceptions
   71  defenses to such cause of action are shall be those specified in
   72  s. 376.308 or s. 376.82.
   73         Section 3. Holistic review of coastal permitting processes
   74  and other programs.—
   75         (1) The Legislature intends to do all of the following:
   76         (a) Build a more resilient and responsive government
   77  infrastructure to allow for quick recovery after natural
   78  disasters, including hurricanes and tropical storms.
   79         (b) Promote efficiency in state government across all
   80  branches, agencies, and other governmental entities and identify
   81  any area of improvement within each entity which allows for a
   82  quick and effective delivery of services.
   83         (c) Seek out ways to improve the state’s administrative
   84  procedures in relevant fields to build a streamlined permitting
   85  process that withstands disruptions caused by natural disasters,
   86  including hurricanes and tropical storms.
   87         (2) The Department of Environmental Protection and each
   88  water management district shall conduct a holistic review of
   89  their respective agency’s current coastal permitting processes
   90  and other permit programs. The review must, at a minimum,
   91  include coastal construction control line permits; joint coastal
   92  permits; environmental resource permits; state-administered
   93  section 404 permits consistent with the terms of the United
   94  States Environmental Protection Agency’s approval; and
   95  permitting processes related to water supply infrastructure,
   96  wastewater infrastructure, and onsite sewage treatment and
   97  disposal systems.
   98         (3) The purpose of the reviews required under subsection
   99  (2) is to identify areas of improvement and to increase
  100  efficiency within each process and program. Factors that must be
  101  considered in the review include all of the following:
  102         (a) The requirements to obtain a permit.
  103         (b) Time periods for review, including those of commenting
  104  agencies, and approval of a permit application.
  105         (c) Areas for improved efficiency and decision-point
  106  consolidation within a single project’s purpose.
  107         (d) Areas of duplication across one or more permit
  108  programs.
  109         (e) The methods of requesting a permit.
  110         (f) Potential modifications to memoranda of agreements
  111  between the state and the Federal Government governing delegated
  112  or approved federal permitting programs, which modifications
  113  would improve the efficiency and predictability of the program’s
  114  administration, including allowing consistent administration of
  115  a permit by a state or federal entity over the lifetime of a
  116  permitted project.
  117         (g) Any other factors that may increase the efficiency of a
  118  permitting process and may allow for improved storm recovery.
  119         (4) By December 31, 2025, the department and each water
  120  management district shall provide their findings and proposed
  121  solutions in a report to the Governor, the President of the
  122  Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
  123         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.