HB 691 amends Florida’s reclaimed water statute to create a new process for certain domestic wastewater treatment facilities to modify an already-approved surface water discharge elimination plan. Specifically, a facility may ask the Department of Environmental Protection to amend its plan to include a reclaimed water project that appears in an Outstanding Florida Springs recovery or prevention strategy adopted under state law. The bill directs DEP to approve the request within 60 days if the project meets four conditions: it benefits a rural area of opportunity, provides at least 35 million gallons per day of reclaimed water to benefit an Outstanding Florida Spring, involves more than one domestic wastewater treatment facility, and follows the implementation and discharge-elimination schedule required by the springs statute.
The bill is aimed at accelerating large-scale reclaimed water projects tied to spring restoration and nonbeneficial surface water discharge reduction. It does not broadly rewrite Florida’s water reuse framework, but it creates a targeted amendment pathway for qualifying projects and ties that pathway to existing spring recovery and prevention strategies. The effective date is July 1, 2025.
HB 691 would amend section 403.064, Florida Statutes, governing reuse of reclaimed water, by adding a new authorization for plan amendments for certain wastewater utilities. It would require DEP to act on qualifying requests within 60 days and would integrate reclaimed water projects into the state’s Outstanding Florida Springs restoration framework under section 373.805. The practical effect is to streamline approval for multi-facility reclaimed water projects that support spring protection, rural economic areas, and the elimination of surface water discharges.
The available context suggests generally favorable treatment of the bill, as reflected by its movement alongside a companion measure that ultimately passed and became law. No committee transcript or recorded vote data is provided here, so there is no detailed record of debate or opposition in the supplied materials. The bill’s focus on spring restoration, reclaimed water reuse, and rural benefits indicates a policy area that is typically framed as environmental and infrastructure improvement.
The main policy constraints in the bill are also the likely points of contention: it limits eligibility to projects that benefit a rural area of opportunity, provide a very large volume of reclaimed water, involve more than one treatment facility, and conform to the springs recovery schedule. Those requirements suggest the bill is designed for a narrow set of projects rather than general statewide use, which may raise questions about administrative flexibility, project eligibility, and whether the 60-day approval deadline gives DEP enough time for review. No specific opposition or amendment disputes are included in the provided record.