New Water Law Will Tighten BMP Rules in Florida
July 6, 2020 While 2020 will go down as the year of the coronavirus, it also will mark the passage of landmark water legislation aimed at protecting the precious resource and stemming harmful algal and red tide outbreaks.
This year’s legislative session was able to wrap up its business and pass the Clean Waterways Act just in time prior to COVID-19 emerging. At press time, Gov. Ron DeSantis had not signed the legislation, but it is expected that he will.
The 111-page bill addresses agriculture, using biosolids as fertilizer, regulation of septic tanks, wastewater treatment systems, enhanced penalties, and other rules. It is part of the governor’s multibillion-dollar plan to improve the state’s water quality.
BMP Changes
The new law will bring some notable changes to the state’s agricultural best management practices (BMP) program, which is administered by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). According to the agency’s 2019 annual BMP report, approximately 54% of the state’s agricultural acreage is currently enrolled in the program that aims to conserve water and reduce nutrient runoff.
According to Kim Shugar, Deputy Director of Water Policy for FDACS, there will be two key changes growers should be aware of. The first will focus on record keeping.
“FDACS will now be required to collect and keep growers’ nutrient program records, with particular focus on nitrogen and phosphorus,” she says. “In the past, we’ve reviewed the records of growers who are enrolled in the BMP program but have not collected those records. We will now provide this documentation to the Department of Environmental Protection to help the agency identify areas where more restoration efforts need to occur.”
While the state will collect the fertilizer records of enrolled growers, that documentation will not be made available to the public. Growers are covered under a public records exemption.
“The other big change in the legislation is how we conduct our implementation verification site visits,” Shugar says. “This is where we meet with the producers who are participating in the program to review their records and inspect their farms to ensure BMPs are being implemented correctly. Under the law, we will now be required to conduct these visits every two years.”
Shugar says most farms are currently (before the law passed) inspected every four to five years. If fully budgeted, the legislation would fund the addition of eight more staff members to help conduct the on-site visits.
Priority Areas
While the new law applies to the entire state when it comes to new BMP rules, Shugar says the legislature laid out areas of priority.
“The lawmakers clearly identified the basin management action plans (BMAPs) as a priority and also identified specific BMAP areas to focus on in the first year,” she says. “One of those areas is the Northern Everglades Estuaries Protection Area, which includes Lake Okeechobee, the Indian River Lagoon, as well as the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers. The bill also prioritized Silver Springs when it comes to the spring areas. We will prioritize resources in these areas but will continue to look statewide because we have BMAPs throughout Florida.”
The legislation also will require that BMP manuals will need to be updated regularly to reflect the latest knowledge and research. The cattle manual will be the first updated, followed by sod
and citrus.
“We will work closely with UF/IFAS and other research institutions to be sure we keep the manuals updated and provide guidance to growers on the proper agronomic rates for the crops covered.”
Protecting Florida Waters
Coming in August: Florida Grower magazine will begin a series of articles featuring growers who are taking a proactive approach to protecting the water resources on and around their farms. The stories will investigate how production practices, equipment, and technology are helping growers do more to protect water.