9505338, 40DER10-1 - Florida Administrative Rules, Law, Code, Register

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Notice: 9505338

Notice of Emergency Rule

Department:

WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS

Division:

Southwest Florida Water Management District

Overview

RULE:

40DER10-1

Dover/Plant City Area Frost-Freeze

SPECIFIC REASONS FOR FINDING AN IMMEDIATE DANGER TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY OR WELFARE:

The Dover/Plant City area is one of the largest strawberry production areas in the country. When a frost/freeze event occurs strawberry and other similar commodity farmers and aquaculture operations pump large quantities of water to protect their crops. Due to the pumping, the Floridan aquifer level drops, sinkholes occur and some local residents’ wells stop working. Depending on the freeze event numerous sinkholes occur and up to 250 dry wells have been reported. From January 3-13, 2010, temperatures in eastern Hillsborough County dropped below 34 degrees for 11 consecutive days. As a result, area farmers again pumped large quantities of groundwater to protect their crops. During this event, this combined pumping dropped the aquifer level 60 feet and caused more than 750 temporarily dry wells for neighboring homeowners. Although pumping groundwater for freeze protection is a best management practice for strawberry, citrus and other industries and was authorized by their water use permits, pursuant to their permits farmers were responsible for fixing hundreds of dry wells. However, problems with the current permit requirements became evident during the January 2010 freeze. The problems included that the permit requirements did not require well mitigation for many of the residents’ dry wells leading many residents to be without water for extended periods or to pay themselves the costs necessary to restore their wells to service. Additionally, some farmers were required to mitigate many wells, some over 100 wells, while other farmers did not have to mitigate any wells. The District had to address provision of water service to some of the residents through an emergency order. A year later the District is still working to resolve complaints and issues resulting from the January 2010 freeze event.
To address these frost/freeze issues for future freeze events, and the District held numerous public and stakeholder meetings and a series of technical work sessions to receive feedback from key stakeholders. The information gathered at these meetings helped staff develop recommendations to prevent a similar situation from happening in the future. These recommendations included amendments to District rules, including changes to farmers water use permit conditions. The District’s objective was to have the rule amendments in effect before the first freeze event might occur in the winter of 2010/2011. Due to the desire of the District to allow extended public input on the rules, the rules will not be in effect until late in the winter, at the earliest.
Frost/freeze events have now already occurred in December 2010 in the Dover/Plant City area and the District is receiving dry well complaints. The weather forecast is for additional freezing temperatures in the Dover/Plant City area and yet to come are the weeks and months with the statistically most frequent freeze events.
Imminent freeze events pose an immediate danger to the public welfare due to the likely interruption of water service for residents in the area and the potential for sinkholes.
The proposed emergency rules will protect the public interest by ensuring that within the Dover/Plant City area everyone with a dry well complaint and those responsible for mitigation of freeze impacts will be subject to a comprehensive, orderly, expeditious and equitable process for addressing impacts and restoring water service.

REASON FOR CONCLUDING THAT THE PROCEDURE IS FAIR UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES:

The procedure used by the District to adopt the emergency rule is fair under the circumstances. Affected persons have had a minimum of one week prior notice of the emergency rule. The District included the proposed emergency rule in the Governing Board’s monthly meeting packet which is available to the public at a minimum of seven days prior to the day that the Board and Executive Director approved and filed the emergency rule for adoption. The public is given an opportunity to comment on all matters before the Board during its meetings. The Board’s meeting packet information is posted on the District’s website. The draft emergency rule was provided to the strawberry growers affected by the emergency rule 14 days prior to the Board and Executive Director action on the rule. The emergency rule will be posted on the District’s website and will be provided to all affected permittees.

SUMMARY:

The rules define the geographic area within which they apply. Within the applicable geographic area, permits are subject to a process that assigns responsibility for the investigation and potential mitigation of dry well complaints resulting from frost/freeze crop protection pumpage. Within the applicable geographic area, permits are made subject to a process for the investigation and potential mitigation of the dry wells and persons with wells affected by the frost/freeze pumping are advised that they may avail themselves of the process that assigns responsibility for investigation and mitigation of their dry wells. Finally, a standard impact mitigation condition included in permits in the applicable geographic area are replaced with an alternative mitigation condition.

THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE EMERGENCY RULE IS:

Pamela Gifford, Office of General Counsel, 2379 Broad St., Brooksville, FL 34604-6899, (352)796-7211, (4156) (OGC #2010010)

PRINT PUBLISH DATE:

12/23/2010 Vol. 36/51

OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE:

Joint Administrative Procedures Committee
Florida Administrative Law Central Online Network (F.A.L.C.O.N.)

RELATED COURT CASES:

Division of Administrative Hearings

FEDERAL eRULEMAKING
WEB PORTAL:

Regulations.gov

HOW TO LINK TO
THIS NOTICE:

http://flrules.org/gateway/ruleno.asp?id=40DER10-1&PDate=12/23/2010&Section=4

REFERENCE MATERIALS:

No reference(s).

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