(1) The Department shall follow the methodology in Part II to develop a Planning List and the methodology in Part III to develop a Study List pursuant to Florida Statutes § 403.067(2) As required by Florida Statutes § 403.067(2), the Planning List and the Study List shall not be used in the administration or implementation of any regulatory program. The Planning List shall be submitted to EPA for informational purposes only. Waters on the Planning List will be assessed pursuant to Florida Statutes § 403.067(3), as part of the Department’s watershed management approach. During this assessment, the Department shall determine whether the waterbody is impaired and whether the impairment is due to pollutant loads using the methodology in Part IV. In cases where a waterbody on the Planning List is determined to be impaired but the Department cannot determine the cause of the impairment, the waterbody shall be placed on a Study List for further analysis to determine the causative pollutant(s) or other factors contributing to the impairment. The Study List also addresses increasing nutrient or nutrient response variable trends in waterbodies. The Department shall only place a waterbody on the Verified List if pollutant loading or concentrations cause or contribute to nonattainment of water quality standards. The resultant Verified List of impaired waters, which is the list of waters for which TMDLs will be developed by the Department pursuant to Florida Statutes § 403.067(4), will be adopted by Secretarial Order and will be subject to challenge under Sections 120.569 and 120.57, F.S. Once adopted, the list will be submitted to the EPA pursuant to section 303(d)(1) of the Federal Clean Water Act.
    (2) Consistent with state and federal requirements, opportunities for public participation, including workshops, meetings, and periods to submit comments on draft lists, will be provided as part of the basin assessment cycle.
Rulemaking Authority 403.061, 403.067 FS. Law Implemented 403.062, 403.067 FS. History-New 6-10-02, Repromulated 1-2-07, Amended 7-2-12, 2-17-16.