South Florida Water Management District

3301 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, Florida 33406 (561) 686-8800 FLWATS 1-800-432-2045


CON 24-06-02


December 9, 1996


SEcEIVED


Kathryn Mennella
St. Johns River WMD
P. O. Box 1429
Palatka, FL 32178-1429

Ed Helvenston
Southwest Florida WMD
2379 Broad Street
Brooksville, FL 34609-6899


Dave Fisk
Suwannee River WMD
Route 3, Box 64
Live Oak, FL 32060

Fern Riccio
Northwest Florida WMD
Route 1, Box 3100
Havana, FL 32333


Janet Llewellyn
Office of Water Policy
Office of Ecosystem Management
Department of Environmental Protection
3900 Commonwealth Blvd., MS 36
Ninth Floor Douglas Building
Tallahassee, FL 32399-3000


wI 1 1996
Cartton Fields Tallahassee
.lkreh Vwarn





Jake Varn

Working Copy


SUBJECT: -Draft MaterialsConcerning Competing-Water- Use-Permit Applications--- -

Enclosed please find the above referenced information which I thought may interest you.
I had tried to maintain a small distribution list for this information by forwarding the
enclosure to only those members of the "Competing Use Committee". However, I
recently received a public records request from an individual who did not serve on the
Committee. Given the increasing potential for more wide-spread discussion of the issues
presented in this package, particularly in light of the approaching legislative session and
the various Governor's Office working groups, I thought it best to distribute this
information to your office.

By way of explanation, two years ago, as an "off-shoot" of the Lower West Coast Water
Supply Plan implementation efforts, the District Governing Board requested staff to meet
with interested members of the regulated community to review issues surrounding
competing water use permit applications. This group, the "Competing Use Committee,"
met over the course of several months and had many interesting and insightful
discussions. The process was intended to provide guidance to the staff and Governing
Board as we develop rules to implement the Lower West Coast Water Supply Plan. Due
to further technical analysis and groundwater modeling, this rulemaking effort remains
suspended. In the interim, the enclosed information package was transmitted to the
members of the Committee and includes staff's summary of major issues discussed at


Governing Board:
Valerie Boyd, Chairman
Frank Williamson, Jr., Vice Chairman
William E. Graham


William Hammond
Betsy Krant
Richard A. Machek


Eugene K. Pettis
Nathaniel P. Reed
Miriam Singer


Samuel E. Poole III, Executive Director
Michael Slayton, Deputy Executive Director


Mailing Address: P.O. Box 24680, West Palm Beach, FL 33416-4680










Water Management Districts and DEP
December 9, 1996
Page 2

the Committee meetings as well as draft rules. The draft rules draw upon Chapter 373,
Fla. Stat., as well as underlying concepts found in both eastern and western common law
concerning water rights. Sources for this exercise include The Model Water Code, the
Restatement Second of Torts and a variety of scholarly text books.

In light of the above described context, it is obvious these documents are not final. In
fact, we welcome comments which anyone may provide. Since the South Florida District
is not actively pursuing adoption of these rules at this time, interagency discussion of the
proposal may not yet be germane. We anticipate renewing our efforts concerning this
subject next year, after completion of the technical analysis. The rules proposing
procedures for addressing competing water use permit applications are expected to be
a primary focus.

Sincerely,



Elizabeth D. Ross
Senior Attorney
Regulatory & Planning Section
Office of Counsel
South Florida Water Management District

EDR/np
Enclosures
c: Jake Varn without enc.