Registration is
open now for
FSA's 2016 Winter Conference! The Conference will be held at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor on December 7-9. The program includes a great balance of technical sessions, case studies and policy updates, plus an Opening Session focusing on Reclaimed Water. In addition to a great line-up of workshops, exhibits and networking opportunities, this year's conference includes the bi-annual
"DEP Day" plus
Laws, Rules and Ethics for Professional Engineers. Visit FSA's website to view the
agenda, information on
registration fees and more!
Renew Your Membership Now!
FSA's fiscal year begins November 1, 2016. Your membership can easily be
renewed online so you won't miss out on any of FSA's great
member services, including discounts on attending the Winter Conference! Remember that FSA membership is
organizational and while you're renewing, be sure that all of your staff are included in your organization's membership profile. Just login to your profile and view "Relationships" under the "My Profile" tab. Use the
Add/Delete Member Profiles Form to update your listing.
QUESTIONS? Call (888) 221-3124!
Emergency Rule on Pollution Notification
At the direction of Governor Scott, FDEP has adopted an
emergency rule requiring notification of any incident resulting in pollution. While the adoption of the rule seems to be in response to two recent (and significant) sewage spills, it may be overly broad in its wording. The rule seems to require any owner or operator of any installation who has knowledge of a pollution discharge at the installation to provide notice of the discharge within 24 hours of the occurrence to FDEP, the chief elected and appointed officers in the area, and local broadcast television affiliates and a newspaper of general circulation. The terms "installation" and "pollutant" are fairly broad, and there is no definition of "affected area." The rule could be improved in a number of ways, beginning with clearly stating that it applies only to releases of pollution in excess of permitted or statutorily-authorized amounts. The emergency rule is effective for 90 days. FDEP has announced that it will be undertaking a formal, nonemergency rulemaking process and may seek legislation on the subject during the 2017 Session.
Challenges to Health Criteria Dismissed
On September 13th an Administrative Law Judge dismissed all of the petitions challenging FDEP's
human health based criteria rulemaking as being untimely. Parties challenging the rules have 30 days after the judge's decision to file an appeal under the Florida Administrative Procedures Act.
WRDA Passes
The Senate has passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 by a vote of 95 to 3. The House version of the bill (
H.R. 5303) has passed the House on September 28th. Both the Senate and House bills include language that would allow previously authorized environmental infrastructure projects to be eligible for funding.
WOTUS
The due date of September 30th for briefs of FSA and other petitioners on the
WOTUS litigation has been delayed. The petitioners had hoped that the Sixth Circuit's decision on whether internal US Army Corps memos on WOTUS (which had been leaked by Congress and raised serious questions about the rules) would be included in the administrative record prior to the September 30th deadline. However, when the Sixth Circuit failed to resolve the question, FSA and other Petitioners filed a request to delay the briefing date, to which the Court agreed. FSA, and the Florida League of Cities, Florida Rural Water Association and Southeast Stormwater Association remain the only plaintiffs at the Sixth Circuit representing the interests of local government. If allowed to stand, the WOTUS rules will have
significant, negative impacts on local governments and water quality improvement programs - hence the challenge by FSA. The Good News: Implementation of the WOTUS rule remains blocked until a final ruling by the courts!
SW Operators - Don't Forget to Recertify!
FSA's Stormwater Operator Certifications are valid for five years. Does your
Level 1 or
Level 2 Stormwater Operator certification expire in 2016? If so, the last chance to renew certifications in 2016 is one of
two on-line classes scheduled December 15th! You can see when
your certification expires on FSA's website.
