A bill sponsored by a state senator who represents Ocala and Marion County was signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis on Thursday, authorizing domestic wastewater treatment facilities to extend protections and restoration efforts to Florida’s springs.
Florida Senate Bill 1228 (House Bill 691) was one of multiple bills signed by the governor this week.
Sponsored by Florida Senator Stan McClain, the bill authorizes a domestic wastewater treatment facility with an approved plan for eliminating “nonbeneficial surface water discharge” to submit a request to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to amend the plan to incorporate a reclaimed water project identified in an Outstanding Florida Springs (OFS) recovery or prevention strategy.
According to the state, the DEP regulates approximately 2,000 domestic wastewater facilities, which treat over 1.5 billion gallons per day of effluent and reclaimed water. Domestic wastewater treatment facilities are operated, maintained, constructed, expanded, or modified with a permit issued by DEP. Methods of disposal include reuse and land application systems, groundwater disposal by underground injection, groundwater recharge using injection wells, surface water discharges, disposal to coastal and open ocean waters, and wetland discharges.
The new bill requires the DEP to approve a request from a facility within 60 days after receipt provided several conditions are met:
- The identified use of reclaimed water will benefit a rural area of opportunity.
- The project will provide at least 35 million gallons per day of reclaimed water to benefit an OFS.
- The project involves more than one domestic wastewater treatment facility.
- The project implementation and surface water discharge elimination schedule meets the requirements for minimum flows and minimum water levels adopted for an OFS and has an implementation date of no later than January 1, 2039. (Section 1)
The law will go into effect on July 1.
Most domestic wastewater treatment facilities must meet either basic disinfection or high-level disinfection requirements, dependent upon the type of discharge. Domestic wastewater treatment facilities that discharge to surface waters must also obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, which is established by the federal Clean Water Act to control point source discharges. NPDES permit requirements for most domestic wastewater facilities are incorporated into the DEP-issued permit
In 2016, the Florida Legislature passed the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act, identifying 30 Outstanding Florida Springs (OFSs) that require additional protections to ensure their conservation and restoration. In 2021, the Legislature passed SB 64, which required all applicants for permits to construct or operate a domestic wastewater treatment facility to prepare a reuse feasibility study as part of their application for the permit. Additionally, domestic wastewater utilities that dispose of effluent, reclaimed, or reuse water by surface water discharge were required to submit a plan to eliminate nonbeneficial surface water discharge by January 1, 2032, to the DEP.
The new law was signed just days after state officials approved conservative easements for over 76,000 acres of land within the Ocala-to-Osceola Wildlife Corridor, closing the final gap in the 100-mile, 1.6-million-acre region that is comprised of heavily forested, private areas connecting the Ocala and Osceola National Forests.