14441668, 40C-2.031 - Florida Administrative Rules, Law, Code, Register

Home

Florida Department of State and Division of Library and Information Services

Notice: 14441668

Notice of Proposed Rule

Department:

WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS

Division:

St. Johns River Water Management District

Chapter:

PERMITTING OF CONSUMPTIVE USES OF WATER

Overview

RULE:

40C-2.031	Implementation
40C-2.041	Permits Required
40C-2.042	General Permit by Rule
40C-2.051	Exemptions
40C-2.101	Publications Incorporated by Reference
40C-2.301	Conditions for Issuance of Permits
40C-2.321	Duration of Permit
40C-2.331	Modification of Permits
40C-2.351	Transfer of Permits
40C-2.361	Renewal of Permits
40C-2.381	Permit Limiting Conditions
40C-2.501	Permit Classification
40C-2.900	Forms and Instructions

PURPOSE:

The St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) is proposing rules as part of a statewide effort headed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and joined by all five water management districts (WMDs), to increase consistency in the consumptive use permitting (CUP) programs (referred to as “CUPcon”).  These proposed rules will make appropriate rule amendments to SJRWMD’s Chapters 40C-1 and 40C-2, F.A.C., and the Applicant’s Handbook: Consumptive Uses of Water (A.H.), to address the following goals of DEP and the WMDs for this CUPcon rulemaking: (1) making the CUP rules less confusing for applicants; (2) treating applicants equitably statewide; (3) providing consistent protection of the environment; (4) streamlining the application and permitting process; and (5) incentivizing behavior that protects water resources, including water conservation. Additional information about the statewide CUP consistency initiative is available at DEP’s website at: www.dep.state.fl.us/water/waterpolicy/cupcon.htm.  SJRWMD is also proposing to create new exemptions and general permits by rule and to repeal Chapters 40C-20, and 40C-22, F.A.C.

SUMMARY:

Specifically, the proposed rule amendments will: (1) amend 40C-2.031 by updating references to the Applicant’s Handbook, Consumptive Uses of Water (A.H.), which is incorporated by reference in 40C-2.101(1)(a); (2) amend 40C-2.041 by reducing the number of permit types down to two (individual and general permit by rule), revising the permit thresholds to allow more permits to be issued by District staff, repealing the lower permit threshold in the Delineated Area (which had required more users to obtain a CUP than in other areas), and require a single permit for withdrawals that serve contiguous property unless each property has a permit that requires metering; (3) amend 40C-2.042 by creating two new general permits by rule (for short-term dewatering and for certain environmental restoration or enhancement projects), clarify the scope of the permit by rule for using water from an air conditioning unit or other water dependent cooling system, and update the reference to the revised application form for landscape irrigation (Form 40C-2.900(3)); (4) amend 40C-2.051 by creating three new exemptions (water used solely for fire protection purposes, the use of seawater from certain non-estuarine areas, and secondary uses supplied solely by reclaimed water) and updating two exemptions (for dewatering to facilitate construction or agriculture); (5) amend 40C-2.101 by incorporating the newly updated and reorganized Applicant’s Handbook (A.H.) (which is described further below) and rules 62-40.416(7)-(8), F.A.C. (regarding reuse impact offsets and substitution credits); (6) amend 40C-2.301 by revising the conditions for issuance; (7) amend 40C-2.321 by updating the reference to the reorganized section of the A.H. governing permit duration and clarifying who can revoke or suspend a permit; (8) amend 40C-2.331 by creating three new permit modifications by letter (letter mods) (permit extension when a public water supplier meets the water conservation incentive criteria, permit extension due to a statutory change, and allocation increase due to a change from annualized allocation to an end of permit allocation), revising letter mod criteria for relocating a well, and updating references to the A.H. and application forms; (9) amend 40C-2.351 and 40C-2.361 by clarifying rule references; (10) amend 40C-2.381 by applying new standard permitting conditions, clarifying conditions, and updating references to the A.H.; (11) amend 40C-2.501(3) by revising and updating the water source types; (12) amend 40C-2.900 by adopting updated application forms and compliance forms and updating references to the A.H.; (13) delete obsolete and duplicative provisions; (14) incorporate recent legislative changes, including changes to sections 373.236(5) and 373.250(5), F.S.; and (15) make conforming, technical, and clarifying changes.
The revised Applicant’s Handbook will contain a consistent order of appearance as well as consistent criteria on several topics, such as water conservation for public supply, 10-year compliance reports, end-of-permit allocations, and types of permits.  In addition, the following changes are made to the Applicant’s Handbook (A.H.): (1) inclusion of procedural changes to prevent an increased regulatory burden from decreasing the number of permit types; (2) inclusion of conforming provisions related to changes made to Chapter 40C-2 and Rule 62-40.416(7)-(9), F.A.C.; (3) deletion of duplicate and obsolete provisions; and (4) terminology and technical revisions.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY:

373.044, 373.113, 373.118, 373.171, 373.227(5), F.S.

LAW:

373.042, 373.0421, 373.083(5), 373.116, 373.118, 373.171, 373.219, 373.223, 373.224, 373.226, 373.227, 373.229, 373.233, 373.236, 373.239, 373.243, 373.350, 403.511, F.S.

PRINT PUBLISH DATE:

4/11/2014 Vol. 40/71

COMMENTS:

From 4/11/2014 To 5/2/2014 (21 Days)
The public comment period for this notice has already expired.

REFERENCE MATERIALS:

Ref-00954 Applicant's Handbook: Consumptive Uses of Water (Appendix I)
Ref-00955 Applicant's Handbook: Consumptive Uses of Water (Appendix L)
Ref-00962 Permit Application for Consumptive Uses of Water
Ref-00963 Water Use Record - EN-50 Form
Ref-00964 Flow Meter Water Calibration Record - EN51
Ref-00965 Annual Statement of Continuing Water Use
Ref-01522 Applicant's Handbook: Consumptive Uses of Water (Parts I, II, and III)

Under Florida law, E-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your E-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.