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Wit' y�-1 _ ...._ .. r_ t...,..:.., .::.:•� 7:5,a\^»r. � z,.�.-.- �4:-• x. `>^nr "y':i .iti,� 'i'�".. .: ... .. :.:... ,.. '. .-.;r.,..... ,".-.,.:.. .:...n: , <:,' `:\ %' t•:'R .;ate .i5,` . 8.3 OxEE H �.. C O EE B Background: The design of Lake Okeechobee requires lake levels to be kept low before the wet sea- son, to account for additional inflow to ensure that lake levels do not rise to dangerous levels, which could cause the dike to be breached. During a high rainfall event, water enters into the lake from direct rainfall, large basins, and other sources, which causes the water levels in the lake to rise six times faster than can be discharged from the lake. 102 The only outlets that are capable of quickly releasing the nec- essary volume of water from the lake are through the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Canals to the coastal estuaries. For the majority of 2016, Martin, St. Lucie, and Lee counties were under a state of emergency due to the negative effects of freshwater discharges from Lake Okeechobee on the coastal communities and ecosystems Legislation: SB 10 (Bradley) Establishes options for providing additional water storage south of Lake Okeechobee, including the: (1) Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) reservoir project with the goal of providing a minimum of 240,000 acre-feet of water storage; and (2) C-51 reservoir project with the goal of providing approximately 60,000 acre-feet of water storage. Status: On May 9, 2017, the legislation was signed into law by the Governor and is effective immedi- ately. Please note U.S. Rep. Brian Mast will file a bill on May 11, 2017, to expedite Everglades restoration projects, including a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee. His Everglades FIRST Act — it stands for Flow Increases Rely on Storage and Treatment — directs the Army Corps of Engineers to expedite work on reports needed for projects to increase water storage around Lake O and minimize discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers, and the harmful algal blooms they cause. O U ON 1N c3..n s �y. Background: At present, there is no comprehensive notice requirement that all releases of substances be reported under state law. There is also no requirement in current law that all such reporting be ac- cessible to the public. Legislation: SB 1018 (Grimsley) creates the Public Notice of Pollution Act. The bill defines a reporta- ble pollution release as a release to the air, land, or water that is discovered by the owner or operator of an installation, is not authorized by law, and is: (1) reportable to the State Watch Office; (2) reportable to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) or a contracted county pursuant to rules gov- erning storage tank systems; (3) reportable to the DEP pursuant to rules governing underground injec- tion control systems; (4) a hazardous substance; or (5) an extremely hazardous substance. The owner or operator of any installation where a reportable pollution release occurs must provide a notice of the release to the DEP. The notice must be submitted to the DEP within 24 hours after discovery of the reportable pollution release and must contain detailed information described in the bill about the in- stallation, the substance, and the circumstances surrounding the release. DEP is required to publish each notice to the Internet within 24 hours after the DEP receives it. The DEP must also create a sys- tem for electronic mailing that allows interested parties to subscribe to and receive direct announce- ments of notices received by the DEP. The penalties for not complying are up to $10,000 per day for violations of these notice requirements and authorizes the DEP to adopt rules to administer these pro- visions. Effective: If signed by the Governor, the law will go into effect on July 1, 2017. 12 P213