The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has made major revisions to its biosolids regulations to implement the provisions of  2020 legislation, SB-712, which was focused on abating nutrients impacts on Florida’s water resources.  The regulations promise to have major impacts on biosolids management programs and costs and will significantly curtail the land application of Class B biosolids in the State of Florida starting in July of 2022.

SB-712 specifically addressed biosolids as follows:

“Biosolids

The bill requires enrollment in DACS’s BMP program and prohibits the application of Class A or Class B biosolids within 6 inches of the seasonal high water table, unless a nutrient management plan and water quality monitoring plan provide reasonable assurances that the application will not cause or contribute to water quality violations. Permits will have to comply with the statute within two years and with DEP’s biosolids rule within two years of it becoming effective. The bill allows local governments to keep existing biosolids ordinances.”
— From Florida legislation, SB-712

According to a presentation by FDEP’s Maurice Barker at a public meeting on May 27th, there are currently about 130 Class B land application sites permitted in Florida, used mostly for pasture and hay. The biosolids regulations already required nutrient management plans to permit these sites but the new rules make changes to Florida’s Phosphorus Index which will impact land application rates that will now be based on phosphorus (first) and then nitrogen (most common before).  The adjustments to the phosphorus index will be based on the soil’s ability to store P and the water extractable P in the biosolids. FDEP has added a definition for “Percent Water Extractable Phosphorus (PWEP)” to the regulations and generators will be required to determine PWEP for their biosolids.  The rule is expected to substantially reduce land application rates based on phosphorus.

The new rules are being implemented as changers to Florida Administrative Code (FAC) Chapter 62-640.  Florida is not a delegated state for management of the federal Part 503 biosolids regulations but its regulations are based on Part 503 with additional concerns related to set-backs and site permitting for example.  About a third of Florida’s counties have their own rules regarding land application which SB-712 specifically protects.  

NEBRA members like Synagro expect that the prohibition on the application of Class A or Class B biosolids within 6 inches of the seasonal high water table will adversely impact up to 90% of the central and southern Florida land application sites, with greater distances and thus more trucking required to get to land application sites in the northern part of the state. 

Under the legislation and the new rules, biosolids land application permits will be considered “projects of heightened interest” with lots of public education and outreach required.  Other provisions of the regulations include:

  • Requires permitted land appliers to participate in the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Best Management Program;

  • Changes soil fertility testing requirements from every 5 years to every year;

  • Requires ground water monitoring in almost every case and may require surface water monitoring in certain cases.

The rules do not apply to Class AA products which local environmental groups have called a “loop hole”.

In its required Statement of Estimated Regulatory Cost (SERC) issued back in December, FDEP projected a one-time increase in costs due to these new regulations of between $30 million and $600 million and an increase in annual costs of between $30 million and $60 million.  The cost increases are based on expected drops in land application rates which will increase permitting of additional sites by about tenfold and additional transportation costs.  Because of language in SB-712 as well as the significant estimated cost impacts of the new regulations, the changes had to be ratified by the State Legislature (HB-1309) and were signed by Governor DeSantis on June 21st. 

For more information and materials about the new rules, go to DEP Chapter 62-640, F.A.C., Rulemaking | Florida Department of Environmental Protection.