Bill > H7005

This bill aims to enhance Florida's environmental resource management by establishing a public database for conservation lands, providing assistance to self-suppliers of water, and authorizing pilot projects for water management districts (WMDs) to address water scarcity and quality issues. It mandates the adoption of minimum flows and levels (MFLs) for Outstanding Florida Springs, requiring concurrent adoption of recovery or prevention strategies to restore or protect these vital water bodies, and establishes the Central Florida Water Initiative Area to coordinate water management across multiple districts. The bill also introduces requirements for monitoring consumptive use permits, prioritizes certain public-private partnerships for water storage and quality improvements on agricultural lands, revises the Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program, and modifies membership qualifications for the Harris Chain of Lakes Restoration Council. Furthermore, it requires funding plans for water resource development work programs, allows private landowners to assist WMDs, and promotes cost-share criteria for conservation efforts. A significant provision is the creation of the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act, which authorizes funding for nutrient and sediment reduction and conservation pilot projects, revises basin management action plans (BMAPs), designates treated potable water supply as a surface water use, and requires the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) to assess water resources and conservation lands.