Surface Waters; Requires DEP to incorporate habitat equivalency analysis in uniform mitigation assessment method; requires that permits for dredging & filling include certain requirements; requires permitted entities to bear full cost & responsibility for any damage or destruction caused by dredging, filling, or related activities; designates coral reefs as critical natural infrastructure & nature-based solutions.
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.
SB 1422 designates Florida's coral reefs as "critical natural infrastructure" and a nature-based solution for mitigating climate risks like storms and flooding, specifically protecting reefs in Broward, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach Counties. The bill establishes a tiered penalty system for reef damage: fines start at $225 for minor damage (≤1 sq. m) and rise to $1,500 per square meter for extensive harm (>10 sq. m), with multipliers for repeat offenses (up to quadruple penalties). It also clarifies the Department of Environmental Protection as the state's lead agency for reef protection and allows habitat equivalency analysis for calculating compensation. The law takes effect July 1, 2026.
Food Waste Reduction; Requires DOE to develop specified policy relating to food waste reduction in K-12 schools; provides policy requirements, adoption rates for such policy, & school district requirements.
Nature-based Coastal Resiliency; Authorizes certain dredging & filling of submerged lands & placement of certain shorelines & seawalls within Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve; authorizes erection of specified structures within aquatic preserves; requires DEP to develop by specified date guidelines & standards for nature-based methods to address coastal resiliency; requires DEP & local governments to promote nature-based solutions for coastal resiliency.
Biosolids Management; Prohibiting the Department of Environmental Protection from issuing or renewing a permit for certain biosolids land application sites if there is a permitted wastewater treatment facility that accepts septage for higher levels of treatment and which meets specified requirements, etc.
Release of Conservation Easements; Requires certain water management districts, upon application by fee simple owner of parcel subject to conservation easement, to release conservation easement if specified conditions are met; specifies that land released from conservation easement may be used for development consistent with certain zoning; requires property owners to assume responsibility for stormwater requirements in certain circumstances; requires property owners to comply with specified ordinances & seek approval for modification of certain permits; provides applicability.
Stormwater Treatment; Prohibiting certain stormwater treatment and net improvement activities; defining the term “regional stormwater management system”; requiring that the Department of Environmental Protection or a water management district require an applicant to provide certain documentation of adequate financial responsibility in order to meet certain requirements; authorizing water quality enhancement credits to be used by governmental entities to meet environmental resource permit stormwater treatment performance standards or achieve net improvement, pursuant to specified provisions, etc.
Water Management; Prohibiting counties and municipalities from adopting laws, regulations, rules, or policies relating to water quality or quantity, pollution control, pollutant discharge prevention or removal, or wetlands; preempting such regulation to the state; repealing a provision relating to land management review teams, etc.
Conservation Easements; Requiring a water management district to release a conservation easement upon application of the fee simple owner of a parcel of land if certain conditions are met; requiring that the ad valorem taxes of the property be based on the just value of the property; authorizing such property to be used for development consistent with the zoning designation of the adjacent lands; providing that the property owner assumes responsibility for any stormwater requirements if the property is developed, etc.
