John V. Chibbaro

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) is in the process of significantly updating the state stormwater rules and Environmental Resource Permitting process for the design and operation of stormwater systems. The rulemaking effort has spanned over a year with several versions of new draft rules, the most recent of which was published on February 3, 2023.

On December 15, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency published a final rule recognizing ASTM E1527-21 as the new standard for performing a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (“ESA”). With this final rule, the “-21 standard” will become the governing standard to satisfy the All Appropriate Inquiries (“AAI”) component of establishing an innocent landowners defense under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”).

On April 22, 2021, Miami-Dade County released a draft Climate Action Strategy for public comment. The full draft of the report can be found here. In December 2021, Miami-Dade County released the final version of its Climate Action Strategy. The final plan hopes to improve climate resiliency and decrease emissions by 50% by 2030 by focusing on three key areas: Energy and Buildings, Land Use and Transportation, and Water and Waste.