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, Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, David J. Hackworth, Director of Engineering, 1100 Kennedy Drive, Key West, Florida 33040 applied on May 23, 2025, for a Class I injection well construction permit. The project is located at the J. Robert Dean Water Treatment Facility (WTF), 19201 Southwest 354th Street, Florida City, Florida 33034, in Miami-Dade County (File 0062368-007-UC/1X, WACS ID 94264). The permittee will drill, construct, and operationally test one, Class I injection well (IW-2) for the disposal of non-hazardous, reverse osmosis concentrate (a byproduct of the water treatment process used to produce drinking water from groundwater withdrawn from the Biscayne aquifer) from the J. Robert Dean WTF. One other injection well (IW-1) is currently operating at this facility with an associated monitor well (MW-1) under a separate underground injection control permit. Construction of IW-2 will increase the overall disposal capacity and provide redundancy to the existing injection well system. Injection well IW-2 is proposed to be constructed with a 22-inch diameter injection casing set to approximately 2,675 feet below land surface (bls), a 13-inch nominal size injection tubing set to approximately 2,665 feet bls with a cemented annulus (alternate design), and total drilled depth of approximately 3,300 feet bls. Injection well IW-2 is designed for a maximum injection rate of 3,507 gallons per minute and a maximum injection volume of 5.05 million gallons per day at an injection velocity of 10 feet per second in the proposed injection tubing of the well. The permitted injection rate and volume will be established after testing of the well is complete. Dual-zone monitor well MW-1 is located within 150 feet of the proposed location of injection well IW-2. MW-1 is completed in the Floridan aquifer with an upper monitor zone at 1,450 to 1,501 feet bls and a lower monitor zone at 1,750 to 1,802 feet bls. 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, Southeast 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 Rufus Dickey, Professional Geologist III, at 850-245-7580. IPL0349354 Jun 15 2026