SUBJECT
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Legislative Update - Heartland Headwaters Protection & Sustainability Act (Information Item)
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DESCRIPTION
Every year by December 1, the PRWC coordinates and submits the Heartland Headwaters Protection & Sustainability Act Comprehensive Annual Report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the appropriate Water Management Districts.
Through the Heartland Report, PRWC acts as a clearing house for all water-related project funding requests within the region. PRWC provides a mechanism for a consolidated funding request to the State. The funding requested in 2023 was only for expenditures for the upcoming state fiscal year that begins July 1, 2024 and ends June 30, 2025. There were 47 projects submitted for inclusion in this year's report, including two PRWC projects: Southeast Wellfield and the Demand Management Implementation Program. The remaining funding requested was focused on member receiving facilities critical to the delivery of Southeast Water Production Facility-supplied water. The PRWC requested approximately $27,000,000 in State funding to support program implementation in FY2024-2025.
The PRWC, through the Southwest Florida Water Management District, also applied for Alternative Water Supply grant funds administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. These funds are directly applied to the Southeast and West Polk Wellfield Projects, reducing each member's proportionate project share.
PRWC Staff will provide the Board of Directors a brief overview of the 2024 Legislative Session and the outcome of the funding requests.
RECOMMENDATION
This item is presented for the Board's information and no action is required.
FISCAL IMPACT
The legislature provided $2,614,379 million in funding under the Heartland Headwaters Protection & Sustainability Act. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection provided...
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