HB 1395 - Clean Waterways Act Summary

• Transfers onsite sewage program regulation from Department of Health to Department of Environmental Protection, consolidating water quality oversight.

• Establishes wastewater grant program to fund projects reducing nutrient pollution through onsite system retrofits, advanced waste treatment facilities, and connections to central sewer systems with 50% local matching requirement.

• Requires local governments to develop wastewater treatment plans and onsite sewage remediation plans meeting strict nutrient reduction targets; prohibits building permits in non-compliant jurisdictions until plans are approved.

• Creates new notification requirements for sewage spills and building permit moratoriums for wastewater treatment plants experiencing unlawful raw sewage discharges until maintenance is completed.

• Revises basin management action plans for Outstanding Florida Springs to include agricultural remediation and onsite sewage treatment components with specific adoption deadlines by 2021.