38th Environmental Permitting Summer School

John Hampp, FPL’s Environmental Director, will address the complexities of providing electrical energy in Florida that meets the reliability, price, and environmental energy needs of regulators, customers, and communities. Angela Morrison will explain EPA’s recently finalized carbon dioxide (CO2) emission standards for new, modified, and existing fossil-fuel-fired steam electric generating units (EGUs) and new combustion turbine EGUs that would require the use carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) and hydrogen co-firing, what changed from EPA’s proposal, EPA’s plans for existing combustion turbine EGUs, and what this could mean for Florida utilities. She will also briefly describe other important new greenhouse gas regulations and energy transition projects impacting utilities and industry in Florida. Ken Kosky, who has helped license over 30,000 megawatts of power production in the state, will share his insights on Florida’s electrical generation transition and greenhouse gas emissions in the past, present, and projected for the future. His projections for the future will contrast what would be expected under a business-as-usual case compared to reductions that would occur under EPA’s recently finalized standards that limit CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel-fired power plants. David Thorley, Director of Air Programs for Waste Management, will explain new methods being developed and used to measure and quantify methane emissions from landfills and EPA’s next round of emission standards. Jeff Koerner, Director of the Florida DEP Division of Air, will share updates related to electric vehicle charging stations, electric school buses, electric transit buses, and other projects related to the VW settlement grants.

This informative and extremely popular course has been updated once again for 2023! This panel of agency, industry, and legal experts will explore the projected impacts of climate change and sea-level rise in the context of infrastructure, natural systems, planning, and law. Come prepared with your questions for the panel as they provide a federal overview of the current science and policies related to climate change with a specific focus on impacts in Florida. The discussion will identify current and future regulatory implications of sea-level rise in Florida, regional partnerships/collaborations, and state and federal laws, policies, and regulations that address coastal resiliency. The panel will also examine potential adaptation and mitigation strategies to protect infrastructure and natural systems, anticipated hurdles to adaptation strategy implementation and liability, and legal considerations for climate planning and response. 

This session will provide an overview of policies and regulations that link disaster mitigation policy to climate resiliency issues. The presentation will explore these linkages as well as room for improvement in them.  With major storms continuing to impact Florida every few years, agency orders are also a policy implication to be considered, both in short-term response and long-term planning factors. Case studies will be presented that harmonize the concepts of planning for, or responding to, disasters and incorporating aspects of future resiliency into projects. Finally, the session will also explore an important relationship with insurance and funding mechanisms, some of which provide dual benefits in the disaster mitigation and recovery realm as well as the flexibility to add components that address future resiliency.

This panel will provide an overview of major federal and state air quality legislation, rules, litigation, and initiatives, with focus on how your normal business operations in Florida will be affected. This timely and informative course will examine EPA’s greenhouse gas rule, the new PM NAAQS, updates to the Air Emissions Reporting Rule, and Reclassification of Major Sources, a/k/a Once In, Always In.  This informative session is designed to help you stay current on the latest rules and policies – Come prepared with your questions for this panel of experts.

Advanced Best Management Practices (BMPs) can provide multiple benefits of runoff and pollutant load reduction, aquifer recharge, flood mitigation, reduced freshwater discharges, temperature moderation, reduced water supply consumption for irrigation, shade and habitat, and life cycle cost savings. Traditional stormwater BMPs have varying effectiveness in reducing runoff and nutrient discharges to Florida’s surface waters. Increases in freshwater runoff and nutrient discharges contribute to the list of Florida’s surface waters that are designated as impaired. Excess nutrients also feed harmful algae blooms. Advanced stormwater treatment BMPs can be used in conjunction with, or in lieu of traditional stormwater treatment practices in a BMP Treatment Train to increase runoff capture and nutrient reduction efficiencies. Some local governments and private developers are already implementing these advanced stormwater treatment BMPs. This session will provide an update to policymakers, developers, designers, and other community stakeholders on applications of both green LID and advanced stormwater treatment BMPs that can help reduce excess nutrients in stormwater and better protect Florida’s surface waters. 

As industries move toward a carbon-free society, they are faced with regulatory and operational challenges.  Florida industry representatives from mining, power, ports, and municipalities will discuss their action plans and policies and the benefits (and costs) of moving towards a carbon-free society.