Clean Waterways Act Technical Advisory Committee — Summary Report (March 2022)
Prepared by: Division of Water Resource Management
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP)
Date: March 2022
Overview
This statewide report summarizes the work of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) formed under Florida’s Clean Waterways Act (Chapter 2020-150, Laws of Florida). The TAC’s mission was to evaluate stormwater regulations and recommend updates to improve nutrient pollution control and strengthen Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) requirements. Through 13 public meetings, agency collaboration, stakeholder comments, and expert review, the TAC developed a series of recommendations addressing stormwater operation, maintenance, BMP performance evaluation, rainfall data updates, and net improvement criteria for impaired watersheds.
The report includes a detailed list of 33 consensus recommendations and six split-vote recommendations, with topics ranging from updated permitting guidance to BMP library modernization, third-party testing requirements, watershed-based performance standards, and regional stormwater systems. These recommendations provide a scientific and regulatory foundation for future stormwater rulemaking in Florida.
Key Elements of the Report
- Background on the Clean Waterways Act and TAC mandate
- Summary of public involvement and meeting timeline
- 33 consensus recommendations
- 6 split-vote recommendations
- Updates to stormwater permitting and maintenance requirements
- BMP performance evaluation and technology library proposals
- Use of rainfall data (NOAA Atlas 14)
- Watershed-based net improvement criteria
- Regulatory consistency across ERP and MS4 programs