Rulemaking and Regulatory Meetings

PURPOSE: By November 1 of each year, the District is required by statute to publish a notice of rule development for items in its Regulatory Plan resulting from new laws. In 2016, the Florida Legislature amended Section 373.4595, Florida Statutes (F.S.), the Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program (NEEPP), directing the District and FDEP to provide a water quality monitoring program for nonpoint source dischargers not implementing Best Management Practices in the Northern Everglades Watersheds, as required by Section 403.067, F.S. Specifically, NEEPP directs the District to amend Chapter 40E-61, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.) and to adopt new rules. The existing rules govern specified basins within the District which are integral to operation, maintenance, and protection of District water resources. The rules name and adopt “Works of the District” canals, water control structures, rights-of-way, lakes and streams, and other water resources for which the District has responsibility or owns. The rules establish criteria to ensure that use of or connection to the named works or lands are compatible with the District’s ability to carry out the objectives of legislative declarations of policy in Sections 373.016 and 373.451 - 373.4595, F.S. The rules will be amended to be consistent with FDEP’s rulemaking efforts resulting from NEEPP directives.

STATUS: The Notice of Rule Development was published in the Florida Administrative Register on November 1, 2016. As this will be a multi-agency coordination effort with multiple aligning procedural steps, formal activities associated with this effort are anticipated to begin no earlier than January 2017.

• Notice of Rule Development [PDF]