No. CS/CS/CS/SB 1294
Filed under Environment & Water.
Biosolids Management; Prohibiting the land application of bulk Class AA biosolids fertilizer and compost products from exceeding the appropriate agronomic rate; requiring the owner or operator of certain land application sites to maintain application records for a specified timeframe and make such records available to the Department of Environmental Protection upon request; requiring the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, on a specified basis and beginning on a specified date, to publish and make publicly available recommended agronomic rates for the reuse of bulk Class AA biosolids fertilizer and compost products; prohibiting Class AA biosolids fertilizer products and certain Class AA biosolids compost products from being marketed or distributed for agricultural land application unless specified requirements are met, etc.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDBulk Class AA biosolids fertilizer and compost can no longer be applied to land above the agronomic rate a site actually needs. Bulk application that amounts to disposal, rather than genuine reuse, is banned outright and enforced under the state's pollution law.
Whoever owns or runs a site where bulk biosolids are applied must keep five years of records on what was applied, how much, when, and by whom, and hand them to state regulators on request.
A Class AA biosolids fertilizer product can no longer be marketed or sold for farm use unless it meets Florida's fertilizer law, and a nutrient-free compost version needs independent certification through a national composting-quality program.
State regulators must begin rulemaking by November 2026 to enforce the new distribution rules. The University of Florida must publish science-based recommended application rates every two years, starting no later than November 2027.
AIBulk Class AA biosolids fertilizer and compost may not be applied to land above the site's agronomic rate, the science-based nutrient rate a crop or site can actually use. Below that rate, the application must be managed as genuine reuse, not disposal.
AIBulk land application of biosolids, including Class AA biosolids, is banned outright once it functions as disposal rather than beneficial reuse, meaning the applied nutrients cannot reasonably be used by a crop and biosolids are effectively discarded on site. Violations fall under the state's pollution-control law.
AIAn owner or operator of a site receiving bulk biosolids for agricultural land application must keep five years of records covering what was applied, its source, quantities, dates, and who transported and applied it, and provide them to the department on request.
AISite-level recordkeeping does not apply to Class AA biosolids products that are dry, 25 percent moisture or less, and stay in stable granular form. Instead, whoever distributes such a product must keep 5 years of records on its characteristics, quantity, application area, date, and recipient.
AIA Class AA biosolids fertilizer product may not be marketed or distributed for farm use unless it meets Florida's fertilizer law. A Class AA compost product making no nutrient claims needs certification under a national composting-quality seal program instead.
AIThe University of Florida's agricultural-science institute must publish recommended agronomic rates for Class AA biosolids every two years, starting by November 1, 2027, based on a review of scientific literature. The department separately must start rulemaking to implement the new distribution rules by November 1, 2026.