The Department of Environmental Protection gives notice that it is developing rules as instructed by House Bill 639 and as part of the statewide effort to improve consistency in the Consumptive Use Permitting Programs implemented by the Water Management Districts. House Bill 639 requires the Department to initiate rule making by October 1, 2012 to revise the Water Resource Implementation Rule, Chapter 62-40, F.A.C., to include criteria for reuse offsets and credits. The criteria that will be proposed is the product of the Reclaimed Water Policy Workgroup, meeting since January 2009, and comprised of representatives of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida’s five water management districts, Florida Water Environment Association Utility Council, Florida League of Cities, Florida Association of Counties, individual local government utilities, and environmental consulting firms. The Workgroup was convened to discuss how state regulatory policy could better optimize the reuse of reclaimed water. In addition to offsets and credits, Chapter 62-40 will also be revised to include other recommendations of the Reclaimed Water Policy Workgroup and recommendations resulting from the Consumptive Use Permitting Consistency Initiative. The Consumptive Use Permitting Initiative began in the fall of 2011 as a statewide effort headed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and joined by all five water management districts (WMDs), to increase consistency in the consumptive use permitting (CUP), minimum flows and levels (MFLs), and water supply related programs of the WMDs. This rule development is proposed to be coordinated with similar rule development by the other WMDs throughout Florida. This rule development will make appropriate rule amendments to DEP’s Chapter 62-40, F.A.C., to address the following goals of the DEP and the WMDs for this rulemaking: (1) making the CUP rules less confusing for applicants; (2) treating applicants equitably statewide; (3) providing consistent protection of the environment; (4) streamlining the application and permitting process; and (5) incentivizing behavior that protects water resources, including water conservation. Additional information about the statewide CUP consistency initiative is available at DEP’s website at: www.dep.state.fl.us/water/waterpolicy/cupcon.htm.