HomeMy WebLinkAboutFYI ADVISORY_Potable Reuse Rulemaking Update Florida Water
44 Environment
Association ' M.
UTILITY COUNCIL
Mwef Member Association
To: FWEA Utility Council
From: David Childs
Re: Potable Reuse Rulemaking Update
Over the past two months, there have been several developments on the potable reuse
rulemaking front, culminating in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's decision
to withdraw its previously proposed amendments to Rule 62-610, F.A.C. The decision to
withdraw the proposed amendments does not reflect a step backwards, but rather a pivot towards
a new, more streamlined regulatory approach to potable reuse.
co
aThe Department has determined that much of the proposed rule language would be more
o appropriately located in a new drinking water rule, which will be codified in a new Chapter 62-
c 656, F.A.C. The Department will be publishing a new Notice of Rule Development for proposed
amendments to Chapter 62-610, F.A.C., along with the related rule development for a new
ce Chapter 62-565, F.A.C., in an upcoming volume of the Florida Administrative Register.
Accordingly, the previously scheduled rule adoption hearing on May 25 has been cancelled.
This change in approach should benefit FWEA Utility Council members, particularly
those members who have longstanding aquifer recharge programs or otherwise utilize reclaimed
water in a manner that offsets the impacts of freshwater withdrawals. Much of the concern
surrounding the Department's Chapter 62-610 rulemaking was not about how the Department
intended to regulate true potable reuse programs, but rather how certain longstanding practices
may inadvertently be swept up and subjected to potentially costly new regulations that lacked
attendant environmental or public health benefits. This decision to regulate potable reuse in a
new chapter 62-656 should help avoid that outcome while also making the regulatory program
easier to navigate, as utilities will note be subjected to numerous cross-references between rule
chapters during the permitting process.
Meanwhile, the small and informal reuse working group of utility representatives and
Department personnel continues to create benefits. This working group is helping the
Department understand the engineering and appropriate staffing certification requirements
needed for successful potable reuse systems. Jeff Greenwell (Hillsborough County/FWEA
Utility Council President), Ed Torres (Orange County), and Ryan Popko (JEA) are serving the
Utility Council membership in this process. They bring an important blend of regulatory,utility
management, and potable reuse project management backgrounds to the conversation. They will
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FloridaEnvironment Water
Association
UTILITY COUNCIL
sswef Member Association Igi. iota
update FWEA Utility Council members on the progress of their discussions during the June 3
FWEA Utility Council Annual Meeting.
If you have any questions regarding the potable reuse rulemaking process, please do not
hesitate to contact me at david@vogelgroupdc.com.
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