Fla. Stat. § 298.225 — Florida Code / Title XXI / Chapter 298 / Section 298.225
298.225 Water control plan; plan development and amendment.
Status: in_force

(1) Any plan of reclamation, water management plan, or plan of improvement developed and implemented by a water control district created by this chapter or by special act of the Legislature is considered a “water control plan” for purposes of this chapter.

(2) The board of supervisors of each water control district must develop or revise the district’s water control plan to reflect the minimum applicable requirements set forth in subsection (3).

(3) Each water control plan for a district or unit must contain, if applicable: (a) Narrative descriptions of the statutory responsibilities and powers of the water control district. (b) A map delineating the legal boundary of the water control district and identifying any subdistricts or units within the district. (c) Narrative descriptions of land use within the district and all existing district facilities and their purpose and function, and a map depicting their locations. (d) Engineering drawings and narrative sufficient to describe each facility’s capacity for the management and storage of surface waters and potable water supply, if applicable. (e) A description of any environmental or water quality program that the water control district has implemented or plans to implement. (f) A map and narrative description of any area outside the water control district’s legal boundary for which the district provides services. (g) Detailed descriptions of facilities and services that the water control district plans to provide within 5 years. (h) A description of the administrative structure of the water control district.

(4) Information contained within a district’s facilities plan prepared pursuant to s. 189.08 which satisfies any of the provisions of subsection (3) may be used as part of the district water control plan.

(5) Before final adoption of the water control plan or plan amendment under s. 298.301, the board of supervisors must submit the proposed plan or amendment to the jurisdictional water management district for review. Within 60 days after receipt of the proposed water control plan or amendment, the governing board of the jurisdictional water management district, or the executive director or designee, if delegated, must review the proposed plan or amendment for consistency with the applicable water resource plans and policies and recommend to the board of supervisors any proposed changes. If the jurisdictional water management district determines that the proposed plan or amendment is incomplete, it may notify the water control district and request additional information. Upon such request, the deadline for review may be extended as agreed by the water control district and the jurisdictional water management district. Within 60 days after receipt of the applicable water management district’s recommended changes, the board of supervisors shall include the recommendations in the water control plan or plan amendment to the extent practicable. If the recommendations are not incorporated, the board of supervisors must specify its reasons in the water control plan or plan amendment adopted. A copy of the water control plan must be filed with the jurisdictional water management district and each local general purpose government within which all or a portion of the district’s lands are located. A district which has an adopted water control plan and is located entirely within an unincorporated portion of a county shall be the exclusive provider within the district for services and facilities as authorized by this chapter or special act and included in an adopted water control plan.

(6) The review or approval of the water control plan by the applicable water management district shall not constitute the granting of any permit necessary for the construction or operation of any water control district work and cannot be relied upon as any future agency action on a permit application.

(7) The board of supervisors must review the water control plan at least every 5 years following its initial development and adoption, and to the extent necessary, amend the plan in accordance with s. 298.301.

(8) If the preparation of a water control plan, engineer’s report, or amendments thereto under this section do not result in revision of the district’s current plan or require the increase of any levy of assessments or taxes beyond the maximum amount previously authorized by general law, special law, or judicial proceeding, a change in the use of said assessments or taxes, or substantial change to district facilities, the provisions of s. 298.301(2)-(9) do not apply to the plan adoption process. This section and s. 298.301 do not apply to minor, insubstantial amendments to district plans or engineer’s reports, and such amendments or reports may be adopted by resolution of the board of supervisors. Minor, insubstantial amendments include amendments to the water control plan which replace, relocate, reconstruct, or improve and upgrade district facilities and operations consistent with the adopted water control plan, but which do not require increasing assessments beyond the maximum amount authorized by law, or amendments to engineer’s reports which do not increase the total assessment of benefits.

History: s. 7, ch. 97-40; s. 6, ch. 98-329; s. 85, ch. 99-13; s. 8, ch. 2000-308; s. 2, ch. 2005-238; s. 82, ch. 2014-22; s. 56, ch. 2020-2.