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Volume 21, Issue 6
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July 2019 |
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Fall Seminar - September 13th, Tampa
"Maintenance of Stormwater BMPs"
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Local governments in Florida are required to provide stormwater management systems. As part of MS4 permitting and the TMDL program, they must also ensure that adequate treatment of stormwater discharges are provided and that the stormwater management system is properly maintained. This Seminar will draw on the expertise of multiple professionals across Florida who are responsible for stormwater BMP maintenance to provide insights on ways to improve your approach to stormwater maintenance. Visit the
FSA Seminar webpage for more information, including the
agenda,
registration fees and to
register online. Discounted, Early-Bird registration ends August 2nd. Register today and save!
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| Biosolids Rulemaking Update |
With legislation providing direction on biosolids disposal policy failing to pass during the Session, FDEP is moving ahead with updates to its existing biosolids permitting rules. Three workshops on the first draft of a revised biosolids permitting rule were held in June. The comment period on the draft rule has been extended to August 15. FSA submitted preliminary comments and it is expected that a second (revised) draft of the rules paired with additional workshops will be released by FDEP before a formal notice of rulemaking is initiated. For more information visit the Department's Biosolids webpage or contact Kristin Gousse.
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| Early Membership Renewal Opening Soon! |
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FSA's fiscal year begins November 1, 2019. First renewal notices for FY 2019-20 will be sent in mid-August to the primary FSA contact for your organization, allowing local government members to pay next year's dues with remaining funds from the current fiscal year.
QUESTIONS? Call (888) 221-3124.
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Blue-Green Algae Task Force
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The third meeting of FDEP's Blue-Green Algae Task Force is set for August 1, 2019 at FAU's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, 5600 US 1 North, Ft. Pierce. Among other things, the charge to the Task Force is to make recommendations for regulatory changes to provide the largest and most meaningful nutrient reductions in key waterbodies. The agenda is available on the Task Force meeting webpage. All FSA members are encouraged to attend.
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The FSA membership elected new Officers and members of the
FSA Board of Directors during last month's Annual Membership Meeting.
FSA's 2019-20 Officers are:
- Kelli Hammer Levy (Pinellas County) - President
- Elliot Shoberg (City of Clearwater) - Vice President
- Elizabeth Perez (Collective Water Resources) - Secretary-Treasurer
- Judy Grim (Volusia County) - Past President
President Kelli Hammer Levy has named the following
Committee Chairs for 2019-20:
- Conference - Melanie Weed (Pinellas County)
- Education - Melissa Long (City of Jacksonville)
- Membership - Lisa Henry (City of Orlando)
- Legislative and Agency Relations - Mark Thomasson (WSource Group)
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There have been no new developments in FSA's challenge to the 2015 WOTUS rules in the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The Court could act at any time by either issuing a ruling or requesting that oral arguments be scheduled. On March 15, 2019 FSA and its partner local government associations filed a
Motion for Summary Judgement seeking to invalidate the rules. FSA reactivated the case in Tallahassee federal court as a precautionary measure in the event that the 2015 WOTUS rule is eventually upheld by another court or the Trump Administration's efforts to repeal/replace the rule are unsuccessful. While FSA has challenged the 2015 WOTUS rule in federal court as being overly broad,
FSA's comments to EPA and the Corps urged the agencies to recognize and retain some of the provisions embedded in the rule when replacement rules are proposed in the future.
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| Triennial Review Underway |
FDEP has initiated its 2019
Triennial Review of state surface water quality standards. The CWA requires such reviews by each state every three years. All surface water quality standards are under review and may be revised as part of the Triennial Review, including waterbody classifications, criteria, site specific criteria, anti-degradation policy, and special protection of certain waters (Outstanding Florida Waters). Three initial workshops/hearings were held in May that were designed to provide a forum for the public to recommend revisions to standards and for FDEP to present initial information about potential revisions to the standards Moving forward, suggested revisions to standards may be provided to
Kaitlyn Sutton at FDEP. Public workshops on recommendations are planned for late summer and it is hoped to have final recommendations presented to the Florida Environmental Regulation Commission for approval by the end of the year.
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| Attention Phase 2 Permit Holders! |
FDEP will be initiating rulemaking to update the 2003 General Permit for Phase 2 MS4 permits shortly. Members whose Phase 2 permits are up for renewal in 2019 and have received a request from FDEP to include new BMPs for waters which are NOT covered by a BMAP are urged to
contact FSA. FSA's position is that the Department must complete further rulemaking before such requests may be required.
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| Winter Conference - Mark Your Calendars Now! |
Be sure to save the date for the 2019 Winter Conference! The conference will be held December 4th-6th at the Hilton Tampa Downtown and will offer three days of education on current stormwater subjects throughout the state of Florida. Registration for the Winter Conference will open in September, mark your calendar. More details will be available soon!
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| MS4 Assessment Project Completed |
The second iteration of the FSA Educational Foundation's research project to quantify the nutrient load reduction value of common MS4 maintenance activities is now complete. The project results are incorporated into the "FSA MS4 Assessment Load Reduction Tool" which calculates the nutrient content of sediment removed during maintenance activities like street sweeping. The amounts of nutrients removed are reported to FDEP and credits are given to the jurisdiction during the BMAP process. Visit the FSAEF webpage for a copy of the Final Report and more information on the research project.
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| Fogarty Training Center - Don't Let Your Certification Expire! |
| FSAEF Scholarship Award - Application Deadline This Friday! |
Applications for the FSA Educational Foundation's 2019 Scholarship Award are due Friday, August 2, 2019. A $2,000 scholarship will be awarded at this year's Winter Conference in Tampa. The $2,000 scholarship is available to graduate students attending a Florida college or university whose areas of study include stormwater science, engineering, management or finance. Please help us spread the word!
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The next Legislative Session begins Tuesday, January 14, 2020 and is scheduled to end on Friday, March 13th. Prior to the start of the Session, the following Interim Committee meeting weeks have been scheduled:
Date
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Event
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September 16-20, 2019
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Interim Committee Week 1
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September 16, 2019
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FY 2020-21 Agency Legislative Budget Requests due
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October 14-18, 2019
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Interim Committee Week 2
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October 21-25, 2019
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Interim Committee Week 3
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November 4-8, 2019
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Interim Committee Week 4
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November 12-15, 2019
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Interim Committee Week 5
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December 9-13, 2019
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Interim Committee Week 6
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January 14, 2020
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Regular Session convenes
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March 13, 2020
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60th day - last day of Regular Session
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Have a job opening you would like to post? FSA offers the perfect solution that allows recruiters to reach qualified stormwater professionals across the state of Florida. FSA members can post position vacancies on the FSA Career Center at no cost for 30 days! Visit the Career Center to post a job announcement or to search for open positions.
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We appreciate your feedback! Please don't hesitate to contact us if have any questions about FSA.
Sincerely,
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