SB 64 — Reclaimed Water

Florida Senate - 2021 CS for SB 64 FirstBy Engrossedthe 202164e1Committee Aon billEnvironment toand beNatural entitledResources; An act relating to reclaimed water;

and Senator Albritton 592-01945-21 202164c1 A bill to be entitled An act relating to reclaimed water;

providingdefining definitions;terms;

requiring counties, municipalities, and special districts to authorize graywater technologies under certain circumstances and to provide certain incentives for the implementation of such technologies;

49 Section 1. Subsection1. Present subsection (17) of section 403.064, Florida Statutes, is renumberedredesignated as subsection (18) and amended, and a new subsection (17) is added to that section, to read:

403.064 Reuse of reclaimed water.— (17) By November 1, 2021, domestic wastewater utilities that dispose of effluent, reclaimed water, or reuse water by surface water discharge shall submit to the department for review and approval a plan for eliminating nonbeneficial surface water discharge bywithin January5 1,years, 2032, subject to the requirements of this section.

The plan must include the average gallons per day of effluent, reclaimed water, or reuse water thatwhich will no longer be discharged into surface waters and the date of such elimination,elimination; the average gallons per day of surface water discharge which will continue in accordance with the alternatives provided for in subparagraphs (a)2.

andthe 3.,average andgallons theper levelday of treatmentsurface thatwater thedischarge effluent,which reclaimed water, or reuse water will receivecontinue beforein beingaccordance dischargedwith intothe aalternatives surfaceprovided waterfor byin eachsubparagraphs alternative.(a)2.

and 3., or, if applicable to the utility, under paragraph (b);

and the level of treatment which the effluent, reclaimed water, or reuse water will receive before being discharged into a surface water by each alternative.

9597 The plan may include conceptual projects under sub-subparagraphs 3.a.

(b) The department shall also approve ora denyplan if a planutility demonstrates that it is technically, economically, or environmentally infeasible for the utility to meet any of the conditions provided in paragraph (a) for the discharge within 95 monthsyears after receivingsubmitting the plan.plan to the department;

Athat utilityimplementing maysuch modifyalternatives would create a severe undue economic hardship on the plancommunity served by submittingthe suchutility, modificationas demonstrated by the impact to utility ratepayers, a lack of a reasonable return on investment, and the department;unaffordability of implementing any combination of the alternatives;

and that the plan provides a means to eliminate the discharge to the extent feasible.

(c) The department shall approve or deny a plan within 9 months after receiving the plan and, if a plan is approved, must incorporate it in the utility’s operating permit issued under s.

403.087.

Any applicable environmental and public health protection requirements provided by law or department rule governing the implementation of the plan must also be incorporated into the permit.

A utility may modify the plan by amendment to the permit;

The(d) Upon approval of thea plan orby the department, a modificationutility byshall thefully departmentimplement doesthe notapproved constituteplan finalby agencyJanuary action.1, 2028;

(c) Ahowever, if the utility shallproposes fullyto implement a potable reuse project, provided that the approvedutility planhas byimplemented all other components of the plan, the utility has until January 1, 2032.2030, to implement the potable reuse project component of the plan.

(d) If(e) If a plan is not timely submitted by a utility or approved by the department, the utility’s domestic wastewater treatment facilities may not dispose of effluent, reclaimed water, or reuse water by surface water discharge after January 1, 2028.

(e) A(f) A domestic wastewater utility applyingthat forhas had a permitplan forapproved aby newthe ordepartment expandedpursuant surfaceto waterparagraph discharge(b) shall prepareupdate athe plan inannually accordanceuntil withthe thisutility subsectionis asable partto meet one or more of thatthe permitconditions application.provided in paragraph (a).

The updated annual plan must affirmatively demonstrate that the utility continues to be unable to meet any of the conditions provided in paragraph (a) because it is infeasible to do so and a severe undue economic hardship still exists as provided in paragraph (b).

The department shall review the updated plans to verify that the utility is unable to meet any of the conditions provided in paragraph (a) and that the utility continues to meet the conditions of paragraph (b).

If the department determines that the utility is able to meet any of the conditions and the utility is no longer eligible for approval under paragraph (b), the utility must submit a plan in accordance with paragraph (a) within 9 months after receiving notice of such a determination from the department, and the utility must fully implement such plan within 5 years after receiving an approval by the department.

(g) A domestic wastewater utility applying for a permit for a new or expanded surface water discharge shall prepare a plan in accordance with this subsection as part of that permit application.

(f) By(h) By December 31, 2021, and annually thereafter, the department shall submit a report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives which provides the average gallons per day of effluent, reclaimed water, or reuse water thatwhich will no longer be discharged into surface waters by the utility and the dates of such elimination;

the average gallons per day of surface water discharges thatwhich will continue in accordance with the alternatives provided in subparagraphs (a)2.

and 3., and the level of treatment thatwhich the effluent, reclaimed water, or reuse water will receive before being discharged into a surface water by each alternative and utility;

the average gallons per day of effluent, reclaimed water, or reuse water which is proposed to continue to be discharged under paragraph (b) and the level of treatment which the effluent, reclaimed water, or reuse water will receive before being discharged into a surface water by the utility;

(g) This(i) This subsection does not apply to any of the following:

4.(j) This subsection does not prohibit the inclusion of a plan for backup discharges pursuant to s.

A domestic wastewater treatment facility that is operated by an operator of a mobile home park as defined in s.

723.003 and has a permitted capacity of less than 300,000 gallons per day.

(h) This subsection does not prohibit the inclusion of a plan for backup discharges under s.

(i) This(k) This subsection may not be deemed to exempt a utility from requirements that prohibit the causing of or contributing to violations of water quality standards in surface waters, including groundwater discharges that affect water quality in surface waters.

(b) The Legislature recognizes that sufficient water supply is imperative to the future of thethis state and that potable reuse is a source of water which may assist in meeting future demand for water supply.

(f) To encourage investment in the development of potable reuse projects by private entities, a potable reuse project developed as a qualifying project underpursuant to s.

(2) To promote the beneficial reuse of water in thethis state, a county, municipality, or special district shall:

(a) Authorize the use of residential graywater technologies in their respective jurisdictions which meet the requirements of this section, the Florida Building Code, and applicable requirements of the Florida Department of Health and forhave which a developer or homebuilder has received all applicable regulatory permits or authorizations.authorizations;