Florida environmental agency asks for new rule to cut water pollution from new housing

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is proposing an update to statewide stormwater rules that aims to reduce water pollution allowed from new developments by about 50%.

FDEP anticipates permitting over 14,000 development projects that could create stormwater runoff in the next five years. As stormwater drains into local waterways, the water tends to collect nutrients from fertilizer and organic matter that can have a negative impact on water quality.

Those nutrients can create harmful algal blooms, such as red tide and blue-green algae, which have plagued Florida in recent years.

But development and engineering interests are pushing back on the proposed change, which ultimately must be approved by the Florida Legislature.

The rules are being updated at the direction of 2020’s Clean Waterways Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation that calls for tightening water pollution standards around the state.

“Stormwater-related pollution represents one of the largest potential contributors of nutrients throughout the state,” FDEP says.

Advocates of the proposed rules hope they can help curb toxic algae blooms and seagrass die-offs occurring across Florida and contribute to restoring the health of water bodies.

FL agency wants better pollution rules

“The proposed regulations address stormwater pollution at its source, and that is the most cost-effective strategy,” said Beth Alvi, director of policy for Audubon Florida during a public hearing on Wednesday. “Further, it appropriately places the financial burden on the activity that is creating the source of nutrient pollution.”

In its 2022 water quality assessment, FDEP found that over half of the Florida water bodies it surveyed were polluted, including over 15,000 miles of rivers and streams, over 2 million acres of lakes and 3 million acres of estuaries.

Excessive levels of nutrients, bacteria and dissolved oxygen were the top contributors.

“Today, the discussion before the Florida legislature is about nutrients,” said John Coates, a project manager with FDEP during Wednesday’s hearing.

Coates said it is time to update state standards based on the latest science.

The new rule would establish uniform water treatment standards for development projects. They would require the removal of 80-95% of nitrogen and phosphorous from stormwater runoff from new development sites. By comparison, the state’s current standards reduce nitrogen loads by about 33% and phosphorous loads by 69%, FDEP estimates.

For redevelopment sites, the new standards would call for 45-60% load reductions of nitrogen and 80-95% of phosphorous.