Bill Text: FL S1772 | 2019 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Little Wekiva River

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Failed) 2019-05-03 - Died in Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government [S1772 Detail]

Download: Florida-2019-S1772-Comm_Sub.html

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       Florida Senate - 2019                             CS for SB 1772
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources; and
       Senators Bracy and Stewart
       
       
       
       
       592-03793-19                                          20191772c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Little Wekiva River; providing
    3         legislative intent; directing the St. Johns River
    4         Water Management District to conduct a specified study
    5         and submit a report to the Acquisition and Restoration
    6         Council and the Board of Trustees of the Internal
    7         Improvement Trust Fund by a specified date and to
    8         develop a specified plan and submit the plan to the
    9         Governor and Legislature by a specified date;
   10         directing the council to make certain determinations;
   11         prohibiting the approval and issuance of permits for
   12         certain development projects and commencement of
   13         certain permitted development projects until the
   14         council makes certain determinations; providing an
   15         effective date.
   16  
   17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   18  
   19         Section 1. (1) The wetlands located in the area south of
   20  State Road 416, north of State Road 50, east of State Road 431,
   21  and west of State Road 441 in the City of Orlando in Orange
   22  County, Florida, are deemed headwaters of the Little Wekiva
   23  River. It is the intent of the Legislature that these headwaters
   24  be considered in the restoration efforts of the Wekiva River
   25  System.
   26         (2)(a) The St. Johns River Water Management District shall
   27  conduct a study that identifies the impact of the Little Wekiva
   28  River headwaters and the surrounding wetlands on the Wekiva
   29  River System, the St. Johns River, and the Floridan Aquifer.
   30         (b) In conducting the study, the district must consider, at
   31  a minimum:
   32         1. The environmental significance of the headwaters and
   33  wetlands related to the Little Wekiva River, the Wekiva River
   34  System, the Wekiva Spring, the St. Johns River, and the Floridan
   35  Aquifer.
   36         2. The environmental impact of industrial development on
   37  the Little Wekiva headwaters located at the intersection of
   38  Princeton Street and John Young Parkway on the Wekiva River
   39  System, the St. Johns River, and the Floridan Aquifer.
   40         3. The importance of the Little Wekiva River headwaters and
   41  related wetlands to overall water quality in the district and
   42  the preservation of natural systems.
   43         4. The risks of future development on the wetlands related
   44  to the Little Wekiva River headwaters and other wetlands along
   45  the Little Wekiva River.
   46         5. The importance of preserving natural systems related to
   47  the Little Wekiva River to prevent nutrient algae blooms in the
   48  Wekiva River System and St. Johns River.
   49         (c) The district shall submit a report detailing its
   50  findings to the Acquisition and Restoration Council and the
   51  Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund before
   52  October 1, 2020.
   53         (3) At the next scheduled meeting of the council after
   54  receiving the report from the district, the council shall
   55  determine if the lands related to the Little Wekiva headwaters
   56  and other areas within the Wekiva River System should be
   57  included in the existing Wekiva-Ocala Connector Project and if
   58  any lands relating to the Little Wekiva River headwaters
   59  constitute a new project under the Florida Forever program.
   60         (4) Except for permits approving water quality projects
   61  that are part of a local government capital improvement, any
   62  permit for development projects on wetlands related to the
   63  Little Wekiva River headwaters and the Wekiva River System may
   64  not be approved or issued, and permitted development projects on
   65  wetlands related to the Little Wekiva River headwaters and the
   66  Wekiva River System for which construction has not begun may not
   67  begin, until the council makes a determination pursuant to
   68  subsection (3).
   69         (5) Based on their findings, the district must develop a
   70  plan to purchase and restore wetlands related to the Little
   71  Wekiva River headwaters and the Wekiva River System and must
   72  submit the plan to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
   73  and the Speaker of the House of Representatives before January
   74  1, 2021.
   75         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.