This second Notice of Proposed Rule Development will address the development and amendment of consumptive use permit criteria and conditions for public water supply applicants and other similar applicants withdrawing groundwater in Central Florida, including Orange, Osceola, and Seminole Counties and southern Lake County. The first Notice of Proposed Rule Development published in the Florida Administrative Weekly on November 3, 2006, Vol. 32, No. 44, page 5129, addressed only public water supply applicants. However, in response to comments received in the ongoing rule development process, the proposed rule development has been expanded to include “other similar applicants.” This St. Johns River Water Management District rule development will be coordinated with similar rule development by the South Florida Water Management District in Orange, Osceola, and Polk Counties and by the Southwest Florida Water Management District in Polk County. This rule development will propose rule amendments to Chapter 40C-2, F.A.C., and the Applicant’s Handbook: Consumptive Uses of Water to address the three Districts’ joint conclusion that: (1) sustainable quantities of groundwater in Central Florida are insufficient to meet future public water supply applicants’ and other similar applicants’ demands; and (2) that there is an immediate need to develop and implement alternative water supply projects in Central Florida to supplement groundwater supplies. The legal description of the affected Central Florida area, called the Central Florida Coordination Area, (CFCA), will be included in the Applicant’s Handbook: Consumptive Uses of Water. Under the proposed rules, water supply utilities and other similar applicants proposing to withdraw groundwater in the CFCA will generally be restricted to demonstrated 2013 demands. Such an applicant may be issued a permit with a duration of up to 20 years for the 2013 allocation if the applicant will develop at least one alternative water supply (AWS) project to supply its water demands above 2013 demand levels. Alternatively, the applicant may demonstrate that AWS development is infeasible for all the increase above its 2013 demand. In this case, the applicant must maximize use of AWS for as much of the increase as is feasible and must use AWS for the remainder of the increase when provided by others, to the extent feasible. A public supply utility or other similar applicant will be restricted to a permit duration of no more than December 31, 2013, if the applicant does not develop AWS or use AWS to meet as much of the increase above its 2013 demand as is feasible. The relationship between the Applicant’s Handbook and Rule 40C-2.301, F.A.C., will be clarified.