Bill Amendment: FL S1000 | 2022 | Regular Session

NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List

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Bill Title: Nutrient Application Rates

Status: 2022-06-09 - Chapter No. 2022-177 [S1000 Detail]

Download: Florida-2022-S1000-Senate_Committee_Amendment_114662.html

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       Florida Senate - 2022                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1000
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì114662&Î114662                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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       The Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (Albritton)
       recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment 
    2  
    3         Delete lines 38 - 181
    4  and insert:
    5  Region Certified Crop Adviser Exam, who holds a 4R Nutrient
    6  Management Specialty certification, and whose credentials have
    7  been verified by the society’s Florida Certified Crop Adviser
    8  Board.
    9         (33) “Rate tailoring” means the application of nutrients in
   10  accordance with s. 576.045(4).
   11         Section 2. Section 576.045, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   12  read:
   13         576.045 Nitrogen and phosphorus; findings and intent; fees;
   14  purpose; best management practices; waiver of liability;
   15  compliance; rules; exclusions; expiration.—
   16         (1) FINDINGS AND INTENT.—
   17         (a) The Legislature finds that:
   18         1. Nitrogen and phosphorus residues have been found in
   19  groundwater, surface water, and drinking water in various areas
   20  throughout this the state at levels in excess of established
   21  water quality standards. The Legislature further finds that some
   22  fertilization-management practices could be a source of such
   23  contamination.
   24         2. Nutrient application rate recommendations are general
   25  guidelines, not site-specific absolute rates, and that such
   26  rates may not take into account the latest methods of producing
   27  agricultural commodities or changes to nutrient application
   28  practices which are appropriate due to disease, new crop
   29  varieties, changes in United States Department of Agriculture
   30  Agricultural Marketing Service standards, growing techniques, or
   31  market conditions.
   32         3. To gain efficiency and be able to compete successfully
   33  with foreign producers that benefit from lower costs of
   34  production and favorable trade conditions, many producers in
   35  this state grow more product per acre, resulting in higher
   36  production at lower overall costs. This high-efficiency crop
   37  production requires nutrient application to be based on the
   38  intensity of production on a per-acre basis, rather than the
   39  lower per-acre production on which past research based its
   40  recommended nutrient application rate.
   41         4. Florida citrus faces challenges that include citrus
   42  greening, citrus canker, freezes, windstorms, and other events
   43  that result in the fruit not being harvested. In order to
   44  continue production of this state’s iconic crop, nutrient
   45  application rates must reflect fruit grown on the tree after the
   46  bloom during the growing season and not fruit ultimately
   47  harvested for market delivery.
   48         (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to:
   49         1. Improve fertilization-management practices as soon as
   50  practicable in a way that protects this the state’s water
   51  resources and preserves a viable agricultural industry. This
   52  goal is to be accomplished through research concerning best
   53  management practices and education and incentives for the
   54  agricultural industry and other major users of fertilizer.
   55         2. Accommodate continued agricultural production without
   56  interruption as research to formally revise nutrient application
   57  rates is completed.
   58         3. Authorize the use of rate tailoring in recommended
   59  nutrient application rates when rate tailoring is supported by
   60  written recommendations from a certified professional and
   61  documented using production and field data that is retained for
   62  review during the best management practices implementation
   63  verification process.
   64         (2) FEES.—
   65         (a) In addition to the fees imposed under ss. 576.021 and
   66  576.041, the following supplemental fees shall be collected and
   67  paid by licensees for the sole purpose of implementing this
   68  section:
   69         1. One hundred dollars for each license to distribute
   70  fertilizer.
   71         2. One hundred dollars for each specialty fertilizer
   72  registration.
   73         3. Fifty cents per ton for all fertilizer that contains
   74  nitrogen or phosphorus and that is sold in this state.
   75         (b) All fees paid to the department under this section are
   76  due and payable at the same time and in the same manner as the
   77  fees specified in ss. 576.021 and 576.041 and are subject to all
   78  provisions contained in those sections.
   79         (c) All fees paid under this section must be deposited into
   80  the General Inspection Trust Fund and are exempt from the
   81  provisions of s. 215.20. These funds are to be appropriated
   82  annually to the department and allocated according to a
   83  memorandum of understanding between the department and the
   84  Department of Environmental Protection. The allocation of
   85  indirect costs to these funds by any state agency is
   86  specifically prohibited.
   87         (3) USE OF FUNDS PURPOSE.—The funds collected pursuant to
   88  subsection (2) must be used by the department for:
   89         (a) Research, development, demonstration, and
   90  implementation of suitable interim measures, best management
   91  practices, or other measures used to achieve state water quality
   92  standards for nitrogen and phosphorus criteria. Implementation
   93  of interim measures, best management practices, and other
   94  measures may include cost-sharing grants, technical assistance,
   95  implementation tracking, and conservation leases or other
   96  agreements for water quality improvement.
   97         (b) Approving, adopting, publishing, and distributing
   98  interim measures, best management practices, or other measures.
   99  In the process of developing, approving, and adopting interim
  100  measures, best management practices, or other measures, the
  101  department shall consult with the Department of Environmental
  102  Protection, the Department of Health, the water management
  103  districts, environmental groups, the fertilizer industry, and
  104  representatives from the affected farming groups.
  105         (c) Reimbursing the Department of Environmental Protection
  106  for costs incurred which are associated with:
  107         1. Monitoring and verifying the effectiveness of the
  108  interim measures, best management practices, or other measures
  109  approved and adopted under subsection (7) (6) at representative
  110  sites. The Department of Environmental Protection shall use its
  111  best professional judgment in making the initial determination
  112  of the effectiveness of the interim measures, best management
  113  practices, or other measures.
  114         2. Sampling, analysis, and restoration of potable water
  115  supplies, pursuant to s. 376.307, found to contain levels of
  116  nitrate in excess of state water quality standards, which excess
  117  is determined to be the result of the application of fertilizers
  118  or other soil-applied nutritional materials containing nitrogen.
  119  
  120  This subsection must be implemented through a memorandum of
  121  understanding between the department and the Department of
  122  Environmental Protection.
  123         (4) RATE TAILORING.—The use of rate tailoring to
  124  recommended nutrient application rates is authorized where rate
  125  tailoring is supported by a certified professional.
  126         (a) When recommended nutrient application rates published
  127  by the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the
  128  University of Florida or other state universities and Florida
  129  College System institutions that have agricultural research
  130  programs are not appropriate for a specific producer due to soil
  131  conditions, disease, crop varieties, subsequent crop rotations,
  132  planting density, market requirements, or site-specific
  133  conditions, written recommendations from a certified
  134  professional may be used to tailor the recommended nutrient
  135  application rates for that producer. The determination that the
  136  published nutrient application rates are not appropriate and the
  137  recommendation for the tailoring of nutrient application rates
  138  must be documented with one or more of the following records, as
  139  appropriate: soil tests, plant tissue tests, pathology reports,
  140  yield response curves, growth records, or site-specific
  141  conditions, together with records specifying the application
  142  rate, the types or forms of nutrients used, the nutrient sources
  143  used, and the placement and timing of the nutrient sources. A
  144  producer must retain the records for 5 years to support the use
  145  of rate tailoring.
  146         (b) Producers using rate tailoring must be enrolled in and
  147  implementing all other best management practices adopted by the
  148  department and identified in the enrolled notice of intent
  149  required under subsections (5) and (6) or s. 403.067(7)(c).