FloridaHB 14172026HouseWALLET

Department of Environmental Protection

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

15 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 1 costs, 9 mixed.

Coastal projects gain private partnership options

Coastal resilience projects qualify for public-private partnerships, including flood planning, protective infrastructure, property purchases, barriers, and natural-system restoration. Florida's environmental department can offer long-term revenue sharing and faster construction permits to encourage private investment. It can also incorporate public and local-government comments and support specialized training through vocational schools and apprenticeships. The department must publish reports every two years and maintain an online project dashboard. Partnership eligibility does not guarantee funding or project completion.

Lake Okeechobee gains cleanup and wildlife protection

Coordinating agencies must identify nonnative species threatening native plants and wildlife in the Lake Okeechobee watershed and carry out protective measures. The South Florida Water Management District must study reasonable methods for removing phosphorus already in the lake. The study must consider technical feasibility and economics. For feasible projects, the district must immediately pursue design, funding, and permits. The law does not set project costs or guarantee funding.

Okeechobee operators gain help cutting pollution

State agencies must provide technical and financial help for eligible farm and nonfarm pollution-control practices in the Lake Okeechobee watershed. Help depends on available funds, and the law sets no payment amount. Wastewater projects that reduce phosphorus in the watershed receive priority in Florida's revolving loan program. The environmental department must help local governments seek financing, but priority does not guarantee a loan.

Private watershed restoration projects gain grant access

Projects using private or tribal trust land can qualify for watershed grants, including grants under the Caloosahatchee program. Eligible work includes restoring water flow, wetlands or habitat, reducing peak flows, recharging aquifers, and protecting range or timberland from development. Caloosahatchee projects must reduce pollution or harmful-discharge volumes; tribal consent requirements remain. Rural opportunity-area projects receive preference above otherwise equally ranked projects with private partnerships or federal matching funds. Agencies must rank Lake Okeechobee projects annually by pollution-reduction potential, compliance, readiness, and matching funds, and maximize nonstate funding where practical; no award amount is guaranteed.

River communities keep restoration and monitoring programs

The law continues Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie watershed protection plans and construction projects to improve water quality and natural water flow. St. Lucie projects also address aquatic habitats, with the district coordinating with agencies and local governments. The law retains January 1, 2012, as the original deadline for each project's first phase, not a new future deadline. Research programs must track water volume and timing from Lake Okeechobee and each watershed, including their contributions to the estuaries. The provisions state no construction or monitoring funding amount.

Some sewer customers face added disposal fees

Beginning July 1, 2026, qualifying utilities can add sewer-bill fees in Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Okeechobee, Highlands, Hendry, and Glades counties. Utilities must dispose of sewage sludge in the Lake Okeechobee watershed and use approved alternative treatment at a rural opportunity-area facility. The facility's county commission sets the fee, capped at prudent treatment and disposal costs; transportation, shipment, and watershed land-application costs cannot count. Utilities can add the fee immediately without a Public Service Commission rate increase, and must use proceeds for treatment and disposal. Independent financial audits are required at least every three years, with reports sent to legislative leaders and Lake Okeechobee counties.

Environmental reviews change for Florida communities

Florida's environmental department must prepare health-risk statements for all proposed rules that set or change health-based standards. Emergency rules and certain rules matching federal requirements remain exempt. The department takes over the statewide method for identifying wetland boundaries, but legislative approval is still required before it takes effect. The law removes a county hearing and specific boundary-review requirement for adding waters outside described Outstanding Florida Water boundaries. General boundary rules remain, and the law does not designate particular waters or establish a new wetland boundary standard.

Florida environmental agency gains rulemaking power

Beginning July 1, 2026, the law eliminates Florida's Environmental Regulation Commission and gives the environmental department final authority over standards. The department can adopt stricter-than-federal rules without former approval steps, including Governor and Cabinet approval for stricter wastewater discharge rules. Its expanded authority covers public lands, water resources, and pollution programs; general permits must set design or performance requirements that meet standards. The department can adopt rules substantively identical to federal environmental rules through a notice-and-objection process. Notice must appear at least 21 days before filing, and substantially affected people and groups have 14 days to object.

Manure and septic waste need watershed plans

Florida's health department must require agricultural-use plans from septic-waste disposal entities in the Lake Okeechobee and Caloosahatchee watersheds. Okeechobee plans must limit phosphorus applications; Caloosahatchee plans must limit nutrient applications, consistent with applicable watershed action plans. Agriculture officials must write Okeechobee rules requiring manure conservation plans, and Caloosahatchee manure appliers must develop such plans. Plans must follow federal agriculture criteria and limit manure applications; rules must cover plan thresholds, approval, inspections, and records. These requirements support cleaner water while adding planning and recordkeeping duties for covered operators.

Okeechobee farms and businesses face pollution rules

State agencies must develop and adopt pollution-control practices for farm and nonfarm runoff in the Lake Okeechobee watershed. Agriculture officials must work with University of Florida experts to review and, when appropriate, revise nutrient application rates. Once farm practices are adopted, operators must follow them or demonstrate water-quality compliance through required monitoring. Covered nonfarm operators must follow practices adopted for their sources, with early work focused on priority basins. Agencies must monitor representative sites and revise practices when pollution persists despite proper use, supporting cleaner water while adding compliance duties.

River pollution plans set goals and duties

Caloosahatchee pollution plans must set measurable 5-, 10-, and 15-year goals, monitor water quality, and review progress every five years. The target is to meet pollution-load limits within 20 years after plan adoption. If that is impractical, the schedule must explain constraints, estimate the needed time, and add milestones. Runoff-control practices must be implemented quickly, adding duties for covered pollution sources. The St. Lucie action plan serves as its watershed pollution-control program, combining rules, improved practices, restored water flow, and alternative technologies to reduce pollution.

Sewage sludge disposal faces watershed limits

Covered sewage-sludge disposal entities need phosphorus-based agricultural-use plans in the Lake Okeechobee watershed and remaining Okeechobee, Glades, and Hendry County areas. Florida cannot approve watershed disposal unless applicants show no added phosphorus to Lake Okeechobee or its tributaries. Caloosahatchee applicants must similarly show that disposal adds no nutrients to that watershed. Both tests balance imports against exports, counting exports only when products generated at the permitted site remove nutrients from the watershed. Disposal restrictions exempt qualifying Class AA sludge marketed as fertilizer under department rules, protecting water quality while limiting other disposal options.

Waste handlers face expanded state oversight

Florida's environmental department gains authority to restrict hazardous-waste disposal and regulate small generators' waste-handling practices. It can ban disposal in waste units other than hazardous-waste landfills, consistent with federal requirements; the law does not itself impose that ban. Small generators must report waste types, amounts, and handling practices within 30 days of a survey or notification. Counties must verify the practices of at least 20% of small generators each year. These controls support safer waste handling while adding reporting and oversight duties for covered businesses.

Air operators get later fee deadlines

Major air-pollution sources must pay annual operating-license fees by June 30, replacing the January 15 through April 1 payment period. Fees not postmarked by June 30 remain subject to a 50% penalty and interest, with statutory exceptions. The state payment requirement does not apply when federal authorities impose annual fees solely to run Florida's major-source permit program. The law also removes specified construction-permit costs from expenses covered by annual operating fees. This gives operators more time to pay but does not guarantee lower fees.

Solar builders face stronger runoff controls

Solar builders seeking covered water-resource permits must include soil testing, stormwater controls, and erosion protections in construction plans. Plans must use phased clearing and stabilization, with construction controls based on storms up to the 100-year, 24-hour storm. A certified Florida stormwater and erosion-control inspector must inspect during construction, and operators must follow construction permit requirements. In the Northwest Florida district, new applications filed after July 1, 2026, require operating stormwater systems designed for the 100-year, 24-hour storm. These rules add construction duties while helping protect nearby land and water from runoff.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

Chip LaMarca
Republican • House

Cosponsors

Agriculture & Natural Resources Budget Subcommittee
Affiliation unavailable
Nathan Boyles
Republican • House
Natural Resources & Disasters Subcommittee
Affiliation unavailable
State Affairs Committee
Affiliation unavailable

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 253 • No: 3

House vote • 3/12/2026

House Floor Vote

Yes: 110 • No: 0

Senate vote • 3/9/2026

Senate Floor Vote

Yes: 34 • No: 3

House vote • 3/4/2026