FL H0653

Establishes the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act, designating Outstanding Florida Springs (all historic first-magnitude springs plus named springs like Wekiwa and De Leon), requiring DEP to complete impairment assessments by July 1, 2018, delineate priority focus areas, and adopt basin management action plans within 2 years, with 20-year implementation targets and 5-, 10-, and 15-year milestones for nutrient reduction and minimum flow/level recovery strategies.

Prohibits specific activities in priority focus areas, including new domestic wastewater facilities (≥100,000 gpd) unless meeting advanced treatment standards (≤3 mg/l total nitrogen), new onsite sewage systems on lots under 1 acre conflicting with remediation plans, new hazardous waste facilities, unregulated biosolids land application, and new agricultural operations not implementing best management practices.

Creates the Central Florida Water Initiative (covering Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, and southern Lake Counties), requiring DEP and three water management districts to develop a single multidistrict regional water supply plan, a unified hydrologic planning model, and uniform rules—including a single definition of "harmful to the water resources," residential per capita water use goals, and consistent permit review processes—with rulemaking initiated by December 31, 2015.

Requires adoption of minimum flows and levels for Outstanding Florida Springs by July 1, 2017 (July 1, 2026 for Northwest Florida WMD) using emergency rulemaking authority, with recovery/prevention strategies adopted concurrently rather than "expeditiously," including project lists, priority rankings, cost estimates, and WMD financial assistance of at least 25% of total project cost.

Protects water conservation efforts by prohibiting water management districts from reducing consumptive use permit allocations solely because actual use is below permitted levels due to documented conservation measures, and prohibiting reductions in agricultural irrigation permits due to weather events, crop diseases, market conditions, or crop type changes.

Restructures the Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program, aligning Lake Okeechobee, Caloosahatchee River, and St. Lucie River watershed protections with basin management action plans under §403.067, shifting evaluation cycles from every 3 years to every 5 years beginning March 1, 2020, and requiring DACS to mandatorily (changed from permissive) adopt rulemaking criteria for animal manure management.

Enhances regional water supply planning by requiring plans based on at least a 20-year planning period for a 1-in-10-year drought, mandating water management districts submit 5-year work programs with project-level funding plans, and requiring consolidated annual reports that include priority-ranked project lists with quantitative benefit estimates and a grading system for each watershed reflecting impairment severity.

Creates a solid waste landfill closure account within the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund for DEP to contract with third parties to close abandoned or ordered-closed landfill facilities, with $2,339,764 appropriated for FY 2015-2016; separately appropriates $2,635,706 recurring and $1,520,528 nonrecurring with 4 FTE positions for consolidating state conservation land titles by July 1, 2018.

Encourages public-private partnerships for water storage, groundwater recharge, and water quality improvements on private agricultural lands, with baseline wetland/surface water conditions documented before improvements and preserved for regulatory purposes throughout and after the agreement; requires alternative water supply project applicants to pay at least 60% of construction costs with waivers for financially disadvantaged communities.

Requires DEP to adopt a new surface water classification protecting waters used for treated potable water supply, establish uniform data quality standards for water quantity/quality collection and analysis as a prerequisite for state funding, and authorizes water quality credit trading using land set-asides, constructed wetlands, and other improvement projects in nutrient-impaired waters.