PROTECT Florida Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3324 To modify the project for Central and Southern Florida to include public health considerations, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 18, 2019 Mr. MAST (for himself and Mr. POSEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To modify the project for Central and Southern Florida to include public health considerations, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prioritizing Revised 4 Operations To Eliminate Cyanobacteria Toxins in Florida 5 Act’’ or the ‘‘PROTECT Florida Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. MANAGEMENT OF THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN 7 FLORIDA SYSTEM. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary of the 9 Army for Civil Works shall direct the Army Corps of Engi- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 Jun 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3324.IH H3324 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3324 IH neers to modify water infrastructure management in Cen- 1 tral and Southern Florida to ensure public health shall 2 overlay all authorized project purposes. Such authorized 3 project purposes shall include— 4 (1) flood control; 5 (2) navigation; 6 (3) water supply for agricultural irrigation, mu- 7 nicipalities, industry, and Everglades National Park; 8 (4) regional groundwater control, and salinity 9 control; 10 (5) enhancement of fish and wildlife; and 11 (6) recreation. 12 (b) PUBLIC HEALTH.—For the purposes of this Act, 13 the term ‘‘public health’’ is defined as follows: 14 (1) Managing Lake Okeechobee and the Central 15 and Southern Florida system— 16 (A) to minimize the potential of toxic 17 cyanobacteria and other harmful algal blooms; 18 and 19 (B) prevent discharges containing 20 cyanobacteria or related toxins into the St. 21 Lucie and Caloosahatchee watersheds, down- 22 stream users, and other areas where such 23 cyanobacteria or related toxins will cause or ex- 24 acerbate public health risks. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 Jun 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3324.IH H3324 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3324 IH (2) Ensuring the integrity and stability of the 1 Herbert Hoover Dike. 2 (3) Maintaining all provisions of applicable 3 State, Federal, and Tribal water quality laws, poli- 4 cies, and regulations. 5 (4) Ensuring necessary water volume and qual- 6 ity reaches the greater Everglades, Tribal lands, Ev- 7 erglades National Park, Florida Bay and 8 Caloosahatchee Watershed to restore the natural 9 habitat. 10 (c) MODIFICATION OF OPERATIONS.—The Secretary 11 of the Army shall modify operations of all current project 12 elements to ensure that public health of all citizens, in- 13 cluding downstream users, shall overlay the operating re- 14 gimes of these various elements. 15 (d) MASTER OPERATIONAL MANUAL.—The Sec- 16 retary of the Army shall update or develop a Master Oper- 17 ational Manual, in cooperation with the State of Florida, 18 to ensure that all of the various existing operational 19 project elements of the Central and Southern Florida 20 project shall be managed as a system to protect public 21 health and Everglades Restoration. As new elements are 22 completed and added to the project, the Master Oper- 23 ational Manual shall be updated to include the new fea- 24 tures. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 Jun 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3324.IH H3324 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3324 IH (e) STUDY.—The Secretary of the Army, in conjunc- 1 tion with the National Academies of Sciences, shall under- 2 take a study of the legacy of pollution and nutrient loading 3 as well as the impacts of soil amendments from current 4 and past operational regimes. The study shall include— 5 (1) the components of the nutrient load and soil 6 amendments, and how this nutrient loading is and 7 will continue to impact Everglades restoration ef- 8 forts; and 9 (2) proposed solutions to ameliorate the impacts 10 of this pollution to downstream watersheds. 11 (f) SCOPE.—Nothing in this section shall be con- 12 strued to alter or amend— 13 (1) the Water Rights Compact between the 14 State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida; 15 (2) the water quality standards of the 16 Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida; 17 (3) State water quality standards, applicable 18 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 19 discharge permits, and Everglades Forever Act wa- 20 tershed permits; or 21 (4) the schedule for completion of the Central 22 Everglades Planning Project or Comprehensive Ev- 23 erglades Restoration Plan projects authorized on or 24 before enactment of this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 Jun 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3324.IH H3324 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3324 IH (g) PROHIBITION ON USE OF RESTORATION 1 FUNDS.—No restoration funds shall be used by the Sec- 2 retary to undertake Deep Well Injection (DWI) of flood 3 or any other excess waters. 4 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 5 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec- 6 essary to carry out the provisions of this Act. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 Jun 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3324.IH H3324 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS