Presented August 20, 2004[1]

Setting MFLs for Rivers in Peninsular Florida 

1.       In order to accurately set MFLs for rivers in peninsular Florida, the WMD must establish the rainfall signature.

2.       Dr. Marty Kelly of the SWFWMD has identified a statistically significant relationship between the water temperatures in the North Atlantic and river flows in Florida. 

3.       There appears to be a thirty-year cycle in river flows for both the rest of continental United States and peninsular Florida.  However, continental United States' rivers and Florida rivers experience counter cyclical behavior.  The dividing line seems to extend from Jacksonville to the mouth of the Suwannee River.  Rivers along the dividing line seem to be bimodal experiencing river flow patterns for both the peninsular Florida and the continental United States.

4.       The impact to MFLs is that those river levels set for water bodies south of the dividing line may not accurately reflect the river flows anticipated to occur over the next thirty years.  Those MFLs set on rivers north of the dividing line may experience lower flows over the next thirty years.

5.       Similar impacts may be reflected on flood plain designations since the rainfall patterns may be significantly altered.

6.       The reason for the greater river flows and flood plain intrusion from the rainfall signature may be correlated to the frequency of hurricane activity across and near peninsular Florida caused in part by the change in North Atlantic water temperatures.

Reservations and Ad Valorem Taxes

1.       There is a legislative effort being mounted to designate a specific millage amount raised by WMDs to fund new water supply development.

2.       Local governments are viewing the WMDs taxing ability as an alternative source of funding for water supply projects that have been funded in the past by local governments.

3.       Revenues collected for water supply and wastewater disposal by local governments have been sources of additional revenues over and above the cost of providing services that has been used for the provision of other local government services.  Rather than tap into those surplus revenues for new water supply development, local governments are planning to seek new legislation that would identify a specific level of WMD taxing authority to fund new water supply development.

4.       The local governments justification for this effort is the statutory authority the WMD have for the reservations of water to meet environmental needs.  The argument is that if the WMD are reserving water for natural systems, they should fund replacement water supplies for local governments.

5.       Since the passage of the reservation language in section 373.223(4), F.S. in 1973[2], there has been only one reservation of water for Paines Prairie in Alachua County and only one other reservation is being considered currently.

Efficient Transportation Decision Making (ETDMs)

1.       The Florida Department of Transportation and the Water Management Districts entered into an agreement to develop a more efficient decision making process.

2.       The FDOT and the WMDs have divergent interests that the agreements are intended to bridge.

3.       The FDOT is seeking more certainty in the permitting conditions earlier in the design process so that there are fewer design alterations later in the process.

4.       The WMDs want to know the final design for FDOT projects before they commit to the conditions of the required permits.

5.       The difficulty in implementing the FDOT proposal is the cost to the WMDs of the additional necessary staff to review and comment on design proposals on a real time basis and before the designs are fully established.

6.       Limited funds have been appropriated to minimally staff the WMDs through outsourced contracts to attempt to meet the FDOT needs.

Environmental Resource Permitting Penalties

1.       In recent years, the SWFWMD has been seeing a higher incidence of "jump-starting construction" without obtaining the necessary ERP for projects. 

2.       The District's ERP penalty matrix allowed for the imposition of a portion of the penalty to reflect the "economic gain" a permittee realizes by prematurely starting a project without a permit.

3.       Penalties associated with jump-starting were just being considered a cost of doing business by a few parties and avoidance of those calculated penalties were insignificant as an incentive to seek an ERP prior to commencing construction.

4.       Significant gains were realized by some developers through the avoidance of carry costs on construction mortgages, faster entry into the market for completed housing products and ad valorem tax avoidances by first starting the project then seeking the permit after being noticed.

5.       The District has revisited its penalty matrix and adjusted its economic gains consideration to try to create a disincentive to starting construction without first obtaining the necessary ERP.

[2] The language was moved to subsection (4) in 1998 without change.