2022 Winter Conference Agenda

DEP Day: Welcome and Opening

Kim Shugar, Director
Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration, FDEP

DEP Day: Status on Statewide Stormwater Rule Revisions
This session will provide updates on the status and next steps for the review of 10/2 stormwater self-certification provisions (Chapter 403.814(12), Florida Statutes), the Stormwater Rulemaking Technical Advisory Committee Summary Report, and the development of proposed statewide stormwater rule revisions under the direction of Section 5 of the Clean Waterways Act of 2020. 

Borja Crane-Amores, Program Administrator - NPDES Stormwater Program
Division of Water Resource Management, FDEP

DEP Day: Ongoing Developments in Phase 1 and Phase 2 Permitting Requirements for MS4s in Florida
Operators of large, medium, and small regulated municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) are required to obtain coverage and comply with permit conditions before discharging to waters of the state.  Phase I permits address discharges of stormwater runoff from "medium" and "large" MS4s and Phase 2 generally regulates discharges from other (smaller) MS4s. This session will provide the latest information on MS4 permitting requirements for Phase 1 and Phase 2 permittees in Florida.

Michelle Bull, MS4 Environmental Manager - NPDES Stormwater Program
Division of Water Resource Management, FDEP

DEP Day: Status on Revisions for WWT Collection and Transmission System Rules
Among numerous other programmatic and policy initiatives, the “Clean Waterways Act” which passed as SB 712 during the 2020 Session, specifically directs FDEP to adopt rules to reasonably limit, reduce, and eliminate domestic wastewater collection and transmission system pipe leakages, inflow and infiltration.  This workshop session will provide updates on the status of rulemaking and the next steps that the Department will take to implement legislative direction.  

Maurice Barker, Biosolids Coordinator - Wastewater Management Program
Division of Water Resource Management, FDEP

DEP Day: Update on Bacteria TMDLs
FDEP initiated the development of TMDLs for fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) in March 2002 for waterbodies that do not meet bacteriological quality criteria designed to protect human health. FDEP is piloting a new consolidated bacteria TMDL approach for impaired waters in the Everglades West Coast Basin to guide the approach for future FIB TMDLs. The presentation will provide an overview of FDEP’s proposed approach, schedule, plans for the next phase(s), and an update on discussions related to the implementation of the FIB TMDLs. 

Ken Weaver, Deputy Director
Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration, FDEP

Laws, Rules and Ethics for Professional Engineers (Additional Fee Applies)
(Separate registration fee required) The course is designed so that the attendees will complete the current continuing education requirements for members in the engineering profession.  It will fulfill the one-hour requirement on “Laws and Rules” and the one-hour requirement for “Ethics.”  (Provider #04636 - Grossman, Furlow and Bayó). 

Ed Bayó, Partner
Grossman, Furlow & Bayó

DEP Day: Overview of Methodology for Prioritizing Waterbodies for TMDL Development
FDEP must develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for waterbodies on the Verified List of Impaired Waters, as required by the Clean Water Act of 1974 and Florida Watershed Restoration Act (Chapter 403.067, Florida Statutes). FDEP prioritizes waterbodies for TMDL development to effectively manage state resources and to ensure the timely restoration of the most ecological and/or recreationally significant waterbodies. FDEP is initiating the development of a second TMDL prioritization, termed “Prioritization 2.0”. Under Prioritization 2.0, FDEP will lay out the procedures for prioritizing TMDL development for the 10-year period using procedures to develop workplans on a biennial basis, which will coincide with the biennial assessment of Impaired Waters. The presentation will provide an overview of FDEP’s methodology for prioritizing waterbodies for TMDL development and will review the waterbodies on the FY22-24 TMDL Workplan.

Kevin O’Donnell, Program Administrator – Water Quality Evaluation and TMDL Program
Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration, FDEP

DEP Day: Afternoon Break

DEP Day: Updates to the BMAP Process
Florida’s Basin Management Action Plans (BMAPs) are continually evolving to meet new requirements identified in Florida law over the past five years. The session will provide an overview on adopted BMAPs, including updates that must be made to all nutrient BMAPs by July 1, 2025.  These required updates are part of the larger efforts included in the Clean Waterways Act. This session will also include information on the transition to an online portal system to better assist with the annual BMAP project reporting.

Diana Turner, Environmental Administrator - Watershed Planning and Coordination
Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration, FDEP

Welcome, Opening Remarks, & FSA Educational Foundation Scholarship Awards

Liz Perez, President
Florida Stormwater Association

Brett Cunningham, Chair
Florida Stormwater Association Educational Foundation

Mary Ellen Winkler, Assistant Executive Director
St. Johns River Water Management District

Sweetwater Wetlands Park: 6-year Operational Review
The City of Gainesville completed construction of the Sweetwater Wetlands Park in 2015, a nutrient reduction project, to meet nitrogen reduction obligations for the City’s wastewater and stormwater systems that were required by the Alachua Sink Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). This presentation will provide an overview of the project including a summary of performance monitoring data of the sediment, trash, and nutrient removed since 2016.

Gail Mowry, PE, Engineer Utility Designer IV
City of Gainesville

Amy Goodden, PE, Project Engineer
Jones Edmunds

Chris Keller, PE, PWS, President
Wetland Solutions

Obstructions on the Path to Restoring Impaired Waters
Multiple rules and regulations have been established to restore impaired waters and maintain water quality criteria. However, some processes used to assess water quality, quantify nutrient loadings, and determine load reductions are scientifically flawed. This presentation will discuss issues related to Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), Numeric Nutrient Criteria (NNC), reuse irrigation, and alternatives for improvement will be presented.

Harvey Harper, PhD, PE, President
Environmental Research & Design

Facilitating Cohesion in Stormwater Maintenance
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is developing and implementing two initiatives to improve stormwater facility inspection and maintenance processes, create a statewide stormwater asset inventory, and promote consistent maintenance standards statewide. This session will provide an overview of how these programs will standardize stormwater facility inspection and maintenance in addition to allowing real-time updates to existing stormwater asset inventory, facility inspections, and maintenance needs.

Nico Pisarello, GISP, Water Resources Professional
Geosyntec

Janet Hearn, PE, Senior Engineer
Geosyntec

Biochar for Stormwater Pollutant Removal
Elevated bacteria levels in the nation’s surface waters are a public health issue contributing to sick pets, beach closures and posing immediate health risks to anyone who recreates in or consumes the water. Until now, there have been limited ways to reduce bacteria levels in stormwater, most of which are prohibitively expensive. This session will provide an overview of recent Biochar and Iron-Enhanced Sand Filter (BIESF) demonstration projects that reveal how Biochar, a special type of charcoal, can be used to help remove bacteria from stormwater. The presentation will detail the demonstration projects and results.

Ed Matthiesen, PE, Principal, Senior Civil Engineer
Stantec

When All Else Fails:  A Case Study for Pumping
The City of St. Pete Beach faces flooding threats from sea level rise, King Tides, and rainstorms.  Saturated soils, tide valve closures, and the presence of seawalls leave pumping as the only mitigative option.  This presentation will reveal a spreadsheet-based approach that can generate concept level design, pump station costing, and visual graphics for public presentation use. 

Azad Shah, MS, MBA, PE, Senior Project Manager
Madrid-CPWG

Steve Tarte, CEO
Madrid-CPWG

Mike Clarke, Public Works Director
City of St. Pete Beach

Rising Groundwaters More Imminent Threat to Septic Systems than Sea Level Rise
What’s that smell?!?! Your septic system may be in danger from threats you can’t see. We flipped the vulnerability assessment (VA) model on its head and looked at the threat to septic systems from climate change related variables. We found that groundwaters were rising faster and posed a more imminent threat to septic systems than sea level rise. This session will review research that was tailored to a community's needs providing actionable results for both science and community planning.

Tricia Kyzar, PhD, Researcher, Spatial Analyst, Project Manager
University of Florida

Jessica Beach, PE, Chief Resilience Officer
City of St. Augustine

It’s time to relax!  So get comfortable and join us for snacks, drinks, and the chance to win a door prize.  This will be the final hour to visit FSA’s Exhibitors, be sure to stop by to learn more about Florida’s emerging stormwater technologies!

Advancing the Sapphire Necklace Restoration Concept
The City of Winter Haven is developing a One Water Master Plan for integrated water resources management over a 50-year horizon. A key element of the plan is to advance the Sapphire Necklace Restoration Concept by prioritizing interconnected regional projects, forming an extensive greenway loop around the City, and providing water storage, wetlands restoration, resiliency, recharge, and water quality improvement. This presentation will provide an overview of the Concept including a project prioritization tool used to sort projects using cost effectiveness parameters. 

Jeff Herr, PE, DWRE, VP
Brown and Caldwell

Resilient Ready: Thinking Outside the Traditional Stormwater Box
The Resilient Ready Tampa Bay project was coordinated by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council using FDEP Resilient Florida grant funding. It took three representative ecosystem types (inland basin, coastal, and barrier island) and brainstormed innovative ways to reimagine stormwater management in three  locations. This presentation will be an overview of the project with specific concentration on outcomes that resulted in new innovate ways to manage stormwater through green and grey infrastructure, recreation, parks, and community involvement.

Ashlee Painter, CFM, Sustainability Coordinator
City of Oldsmar

Case Study: Creating a Path to Climate Resilience for a Coastal Treatment Facility
In 2017 Hurricane Irma pushed up the Atlantic Coast and through the City of Daytona Beach, FL as a Category 2 storm.  Surge associated with the storm came within inches of flooding the City’s Bethune Point Water Reclamation Facility’s MCU building.  This event was the catalyst for the City to conduct a study to examine vulnerability of the facility to storm surge incorporating projected future sea level rise. The session will review the process that was utilized by the City to assess climate vulnerability of the facility and will discuss the process that the City used to create a road map to make the facility climate resilient into the future.

Craig Wells, Resilience Lead
Freese and Nichols

Curtis Burkett, Senior Project Manager
Freese and Nichols