To establish and amend existing consumptive use permitting criteria to protect water made available by the Loxahatchee River Watershed Restoration Project (LRWRP), a component of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). The proposed rule amends the Applicant’s Handbook for Water Use Permit Applications within the South Florida Water Management District (Applicant’s Handbook) to amend the existing Lower East Coast Regional Water Availability criteria (LEC Rule) and corresponding permit duration to include the several LRWRP project components not presently covered by the LEC Rule. The proposed rule also establishes criteria for the upper Floridan aquifer system groundwater associated with the project’s aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) wells.