Chapter 2003-64 (CS/CS/SB 554), Laws of Florida, amended Section 373.2295, Florida Statutes, to redefine “interdistrict transfer and use” as “a consumptive use that involves the withdrawal of groundwater from a point within one water management district for use outside the boundaries of that district, but does not include a withdrawal and use within the same county.” This change in the statute made it possible for the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) to enter into an interagency agreement under the authority set forth in Subsection 373.046(6), Florida Statutes, (1) whereby the SFWMD would delegate to the SJRWMD its authority to issue a consumptive use permit pursuant to Part II of Chapter 373, Florida Statutes, to the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) for OUC’s entire water supply system and service area in Orange County, Florida. The SFWMD Governing Board gave its final approval to this delegation on September 23, 2003, contingent upon the SJRWMD Governing Board approving OUC’s application for a “System-Wide CUP” subject to substantially the same terms as were recommended in the SJRWMD’s Technical Staff Report dated September 10, 2003. The SJRWMD Governing Board is scheduled to consider the interagency agreement with the SFWMD and OUC’s CUP application at its meeting on October 7, 2003. The agreement further provides that OUC is a third-party beneficiary to the agreement.
 


(1) Subsection 373.046 (6), Fla.Stat., provides in pertinent part, “[when the geographic area of a project . . . crosses water management district boundaries, the affected districts may designate a single affected district by interagency agreement to implement in that area, under the rules of the designated district, all or part of the applicable regulatory responsibilities under this chapter.”