No. SB 1386
Filed under Healthcare.
Implementation of the Recommendations of the Blue-Green Algae Task Force; Requiring owners of certain onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems to have the systems periodically inspected beginning on a specified date; requiring the Department of Environmental Protection to administer the inspection program and implement program standards, procedures, and requirements; requiring that estimated pollutant load reductions in basin management action plans meet or exceed certain total maximum daily load requirements; revising requirements for the allocation of pollutant load reductions in such plans, etc.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDOwners of onsite sewage treatment systems, commonly called septic systems, must have them inspected at least once every 5 years starting July 1, 2026, unless the system already needs an operating permit.
The Department of Environmental Protection runs the inspection program and phases it in county by county over 10 years, with areas near natural springs required to comply first.
Separately, water-quality cleanup plans for polluted basins must now set pollution-reduction targets that actually meet the daily pollution limit for that water body, not just fall short of it.
Those plans must also assign pollution cuts to specific sources instead of whole basins, account for growth using state population and agriculture data, and track whether projects over $1 million actually work.
AIStarting July 1, 2026, owners of onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems, other than those already needing an operating permit, must have the system inspected at least once every 5 years.
AIA basin management action plan's estimated pollutant load reductions must now meet or exceed the total reduction actually needed to satisfy the total maximum daily load for that water body.
AIPlans can no longer assign required pollutant reductions to an individual basin or to all basins as a whole; reductions must instead go to each identified point source or category of nonpoint sources.
AIFor any listed project costing more than $1 million, the department must monitor it and write an assessment of whether it is actually reducing nutrient pollution or water use, updated with each plan revision.
AIThe inspection mandate phases in county by county over 10 years, with first priority given to counties within a designated priority focus area for protecting natural springs.
AIThe department must adopt enforcement procedures for a system owner who fails to get the required inspection and for a contractor who fails to timely report inspection results.
AIInstead of vaguely identifying mechanisms, plans must now use University of Florida population growth estimates and state agricultural water-use data to project future pollution increases and plan to mitigate them.