Initiation of Rulemaking to Amend Environmental Resource Permitting Rules 40D-4.091

In recognition of new Federal rules regarding mitigation, the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) is considering enhancements to Environmental Resource Permitting (ERP) criteria pertaining to wetland creation, restoration and enhancement, and opportunities for greater consistency with Federal rules. At the June 2008 Governing Board meeting, the board approved the initiation of rulemaking to amend the ERP criteria. District staff will schedule the item for discussion with the District’s advisory committees and the community in hopes of approving changes to the rule by the end of the year.

On March 31, 2008, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the new rule that clarifies how to provide compensatory mitigation for unavoidable wetland and stream impacts. The new rule changes where and how mitigation is to be completed, but maintains existing requirements on when mitigation is required. The rule also maintains the requirement for applicants to avoid or minimize impacts to aquatic resources before proposing compensatory mitigation projects to offset permitted impacts.

For more information on changes to the Federal rule, please visit:
http://www.usace.army.mil/cw/cecwo/reg/citizen.htm

Water Shortage Actions

On January 9, 2007, SWFWMD issued Water Shortage Order No. SWF 07-02 to declare once-per-week lawn watering restrictions and other modified Phase II (Severe Water Shortage) restrictions for the entire sixteen county area. The water shortage order has been extended on three occasions since 2007.

Based on drought indicators specified in the water shortage plan, SWFWMD extended the current water shortage declaration through September 30, 2008. Also, due to an interagency agreement with the St. John’s River Water Management District (St. John’s), the water shortage order was expanded to include all of Marion County. The interagency agreement will allow the portion of Marion County that is located in St. John’s to follow St. John’s year-round conservation rules when not in a drought. During times of drought declaration, the portion of Marion County that is in St. John’s will follow rules specified in SWFWMD water shortage rules.

The most current rainfall data for the northern, central and southern regions of SWFWMD are reported below.

2008 Rainfall (in inches)

Governing Board Elects Executive Officers

The new officers of the Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board are as follows:

Also, the Committee Chairs were appointed as follows:
Regulation Committee: Sallie Parks
Resource Management Committee: Hugh Gramling
Finance and Administration Committee: Ron Oakley
Outreach and Planning Committee: Maritza Rovira-Forino

Current Issues Updates:

Central Florida Coordination Area Rules Development and Implementation
SWFWMD continues to coordinate with the St. John's and South Florida Water Management Districts on the development of regulations for the Central Florida Coordination Area (CFCA). The first phase of regulations was approved by all three Governing Boards at their December 2007 meetings. Resource Projects and Regulation staff are reviewing the South Florida Water Management District's (SFWMD) draft Kissimmee River yield study to determine the water supply implications. The original projected yield of this project was significantly reduced in the draft study, which, within SWFWMD, could affect water supply for Polk County. The three districts continue to meet to collaboratively review the Kissimmee River yield report in detail. Additionally, SWFWMD and SFWMD are coordinating on a study of the lower Floridan aquifer that could potentially supply Polk County. The three districts have been meeting to develop a plan to evaluate the sustainability issues of the CFCA and discuss the next phase of regulations that will focus on longer-term solutions to the area's water resource issues.

Year-Round Water Conservation Measures - Statewide Consistency Initiative
SWFWMD currently has the most stringent set of adopted year-round water conservation measures, including a maximum of twice-per-week lawn watering. Year-round measures for St. John’s also include a twice-per-week lawn watering schedule; however, St. John’s currently allows people to pick their own watering days unless their local government has an ordinance to the contrary, a provision which makes the rule difficult to enforce. Year-round measures for SFWMD currently include a three-times-per-week lawn watering schedule and these measures are only in effect for three of its counties. In an effort for the three large water management districts to be more consistent, rules of the three districts were reviewed, modified as appropriate and agreed to by the executives of all three agencies. Each agency has initiated rule development so that the agreed-upon consistency concepts can be discussed with the regulated public, adjusted based on input received, and then used as the basis for amendments to applicable regulations. SWFWMD and SFWMD have concluded their series of public workshops. St. John’s is still in the process of holding its public workshops. District staff is reviewing all input received and is consulting with each other in the process of preparing revised draft rule amendments reflecting the agreed-upon watering days and times and also addressing the need to improve the efficiency of use for reclaimed water blends.

Inter-District Coordination

SWFWMD has an ongoing outreach effort to enhance the inter-district coordination that occurs between the permit review staff of SWFWMD and SFWMD on projects that have the potential to affect the water resources located within the other district. This outreach effort is in addition to the efforts occurring in the northern portion of SWFWMD such as establishing a uniform per capita rate and emergency water conservation measures. Of particular concern are projects located in the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA) as well as any surface water related concerns such as flooding. A notification process has been initiated between the two water management districts to create discussions between permit review staff from both agencies during the initial review of a permit application that is of interest to the adjoining district. This allows the district staff of both water management districts to provide each other with the necessary local water resource expertise and insight into the nuisances of how specific rules are applied by each district. Coordination is currently occurring on several water use projects and the I-75 expansion project situated within Lee and Charlotte counties.

Best Management Practices (BMPs) Research & Education Coordination Meeting

SWFWMD staff attended the Florida BMP Research and Education Coordinating Committee (BRECC) interagency meeting on May 20-21, 2008. This committee is comprised of representatives of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), the University of Florida Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), and Florida's five water management districts. The main goals of the BRECC are to: (1) establish priorities and coordinate funding across FDACS, FDEP,
and the water management districts for BMP research and extension conducted by IFAS; and, (2) coordinate the communication and publication of research results and extension activities to the public and other constituents. The goal of the workshop in May was to present current knowledge, identify knowledge gaps, and discuss future research efforts related to keeping water and nutrients in the root zone of Florida's crops to improve the overall quality of Florida's waters and help achieve Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) objectives.