State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Notice of Draft Permit
The Department of Environmental Protection hereby provides notice that it has prepared a draft permit for the proposed project as detailed in the application, subject to the conditions specified in the draft permit and summarized below. The applicant, City of Tampa, Eric Weiss, P.E., Wastewater Department Director, 2700 Maritime Boulevard, Tampa, Florida 33605 applied on October 20, 2025, for a Class I injection well construction permit. The project is located at Howard F. Curren Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility, 2700 Maritime Boulevard, Tampa, Florida 33605, in Hillsborough County (File 0465794-001-002-003-004-005-UC/1X, WACS ID 109072).
The permittee will construct and operationally test five (5) non-hazardous Class I aquifer recharge wells RW-1 through RW-5 and associated monitor wells MW-1 through MW-5. The purpose of the system is to recharge excess reclaimed water meeting High Level Disinfection standards into the Upper Floridan aquifer (UFA) below the lowermost base of the Underground Source of Drinking Water to increase aquifer potentiometric head conditions in the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s (SWFWMD) Southern Water Use Caution Area Most Impacted Area. This system meets the objectives of the SWFWMD recovery plan to mitigate declines in aquifer water levels in the UFA within the MIA. The maximum permitted injection rate for each well will be 12,950 gallons per minute and the maximum injection volume for each well shall be 18.65 million gallons per day. The recharge wells will have final casing to approximately 650 feet below land surface (bls) and an open hole to approximately 1,200 feet bls. The injection zone is proposed to be in the Avon Park Formation and is considered a G-IV aquifer in this area. The monitor wells MW-1 through MW-5 will monitor from approximately 350 feet bls to 400 feet bls which is anticipated to be the first permeable zone above the base of the USDW.
The Department has permitting jurisdiction under Chapter 403 of the Florida Statutes and the rules adopted thereunder. The project is not exempt from permitting procedures. The Department has determined that an Underground Injection Control permit is required for the proposed work.
Any interested person may submit written comments on the draft permit and may request a public meeting within 30 days after publication of this public notice. A request for a public meeting shall be submitted in writing and shall state the nature of the issues proposed to be raised in the meeting. If a public meeting is later scheduled, there will be another 30-day notice period for that meeting. Written comments or a public meeting request shall be submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection, Aquifer Protection Program, 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 3530, Tallahassee, Florida 32399- 2400, which is the office processing this permit application. All comments received within the 30-day period will be considered in formulation of the Department’s final decision regarding permit issuance.
The files associated with this order are available for public inspection during normal business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except state holidays, at the Department of Environmental Protection, Southwest District, and at the Department of Environmental Protection, Aquifer Protection Program office in Tallahassee. Any additional information concerning this project may be obtained by contacting Daniel Warmke, Professional Geologist at 813-470-5741.
August 30, 2026 101738