Florida rules for springs draw a legal challenge

TALLAHASSEE — A springs advocacy group is challenging newly proposed state rules, saying they will not adequately prevent water withdrawals that could harm what are designated as “Outstanding Florida Springs.”

The Florida Springs Council filed the challenge last week after the state Department of Environmental Protection held a Jan. 6 hearing on the proposed rules, which are designed to carry out a 2016 law.

The challenge, which was sent to the state Division of Administrative Hearings on Friday, makes a series of arguments, including that the proposed rules largely mirror already-existing rules. The challenge said the history of the 2016 law “lays bare the Legislature’s intent to create new, more protective standards for water withdrawals impacting Outstanding Florida Springs.”

“In 2016 when it passed Senate Bill 552 (the law), the state Legislature implicitly determined that these existing rules were inadequate and ineffective in protecting Outstanding Florida Springs from harmful water withdrawals,” the challenge said. “Citing existing and ongoing harm to Florida springs, the Legislature directed DEP (the Department of Environmental Protection) to adopt uniform rules and a definition of harm for issuing permits to prevent water withdrawals from harming Outstanding Florida Springs.”

The 30 designated Outstanding Florida Springs range from the Gainer Spring group in Bay County to Wekiwa Spring in Orange County. They include such spring systems as Wakulla Spring south of Tallahassee; Ichetucknee Springs in North Central Florida; Silver Springs in Marion County; De Leon Springs in Volusia County; and Weeki Wachee Springs in Hernando County.

In information posted on its website about the Jan. 6 hearing, the Department of Environmental Protection said the proposed rules likely will affect “consumptive use permitting” in areas included in the Northwest Florida Water Management District, the Suwannee River Water Management District, the St. Johns River Water Management District and the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

The Florida Springs Council is asking an administrative law judge to issue an order declaring that the proposed rules are what is known in administrative law as an “invalid exercise of delegated legislative authority.” Generally, that would mean the department overstepped its authority or did not comply with the Legislature’s intent.

As an example, the challenge said the Legislature “commanded DEP to adopt new rules to protect Outstanding Florida Springs.” But it said the proposed rules are “unlawfully derivative of rules the Florida Legislature has already implicitly determined are inadequate.”

It also alleged that “apart from trivial differences in wording, the proposed rules … are nearly identical to existing consumptive use permitting rules already presently applicable to Outstanding Florida Springs and in effect since 2014.”

The case has been assigned to Administrative Law Judge E. Gary Early.