Title: Water Conservation

Summary: Authorizes local governments to adopt certain residential & nonresidential landscape irrigation conservation measures; authorizes water management district governing boards & DEP to issue water shortage notice in public information release & post such notice on district's or DEP's website; directs water management district governing boards in affected & adjacent counties to issue certain orders & provide certain notice when emergency conditions exist due to water shortage.

Full Text:
An act relating to water conservation; amending s. 373.227, F.S.; authorizing local governments to adopt certain residential and nonresidential landscape irrigation conservation measures; amending s. 373.246, F.S.; authorizing water management district governing boards and the Department of Environmental Protection to issue a water shortage notice in a public information release and post such release on the district or department website; directing water management district governing boards in affected and adjacent districts to issue certain orders and provide certain notice when an emergency condition exists due to a water shortage; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 373.227, Florida Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (6), and a new subsection (5) is added to that section, to read: 373.227 Water conservati on; legislative findings and intent; objectives; comprehensive statewide water conservation program requirements.-(5) A local government may adopt residential and nonresidential landscape irrigation conservation measures that are more restrictive, but not less restrictive, than the HB 2015 conservation measures required by the department or water management district. Section 2. Subsections (5), (7), and (8) of section 373.246, Florida Statutes, are amended, and a new subsection (8) is added to that section, to read: 373.246 Declaration of water shortage or emergency.-(5) When a water shortage is declared, the governing board or the department shall publish a cause notice thereof to be published in a prominent place within a newspaper of general circulati on throughout the area or issue a public information release to a newspaper of general circulation throughout the area and post the release on the department's or water management district's website.Publication of such notice or release will serve as noti ce to all users in the area of the condition of water shortage. (7)(a) If an emergency condition exists due to a water shortage within an any area of a the district, and if the department, or the executive director of the district with the concurrence of the governing board, finds that the exercise of powers under subsection (1) is not sufficient to protect the public health, safety, or welfare; the health of animals, fish, or aquatic life; a public water supply; or recreational, commercial, industrial, a gricultural, or other reasonable uses, the department or the executive director of the district it or he or she may, pursuant to the provisions of s. 373.119, issue emergency orders reciting the existence of such an emergency and HB 2015 requiring that such action,including, but not limited to, apportioning, rotating, limiting, or prohibiting the use of the water resources of the district, be taken as the department or the executive director deems necessary to meet the emergency. (b)(8) An affected party to whom an emergency order is directed under this subsection (7) shall comply immediately, but may challenge such an order in the manner set forth in s. 373.119. (8) If an emergency condition exists due to a water shortage within an area of a district where wat er bodies are reasonably expected to be affected by withdrawals in an adjacent district: (a) The governing board of the affected district shall issue emergency orders reciting the existence of such an emergency and identifying the water bodies that are reasonably expected to be affected by withdrawals in an adjacent district and the portions of the adjacent district that are reasonably expected to affect those water bodies. (b) The governing board of the adjacent district shall issue emergency orders re citing the existence of such an emergency in the portions of the district identified in the emergency orders issued by the affected district. (c) The adjacent district shall notify each permittee within its jurisdiction of the emergency orders in accorda nce with subsection (6). (d) The orders issued by the affected district shall be in HB 2015 effect in the adjacent district and may only be rescinded, in whole or in part, by the affected district. Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.