Florida allows shared stormwater treatment with financial safeguards and limits

Permit applicants may buy measured pollution removal from shared regional stormwater systems to meet treatment requirements. Buyers must be within the system's mapped drainage area. The usual boundary is a federally mapped drainage basin called HUC 12. Applicants seeking permits for regional systems must document financial backing for construction and upkeep throughout the system's expected use. Serving an area outside the usual drainage basin requires evidence of equally effective treatment for shared downstream waters without local harm. The law took effect July 1, 2026. Cost estimates and financial backing must be updated every five years.

Florida's Department of Environmental Protection must issue temporary permits while rules are pending if applicants give reasonable assurance that they meet the law's requirements. Credits measure pollution removed by approved treatment areas. They cover harm only within their service area, which must include at least a federally mapped basin called HUC 8. Credit use must follow the law and permit terms. Using a credit transfers legal responsibility for the covered water treatment requirement to the credit producer. The department may revise temporary permits to match later rules. The department and water management districts must keep recognizing credits already used. The law took effect July 1, 2026. The department was required to file rules for adoption no later than October 1, 2026.

Government bodies outside local government cannot provide the covered regional treatment or sell the covered pollution-removal credits for certain seaport activities. This covers proposed activities that cause or contribute to polluted stormwater at seaports outside the list in section 403.021(9)(b). The restriction applies whether the government body operates independently or under contract with a seaport or local government. Ports in Citrus or Putnam Counties are excluded. The restriction took effect July 1, 2026.