The Division of Waste Management works closely with the department's district offices to implement state and federal laws to protect the environment from the improper handling and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes. This includes regulatory programs for waste facilities and pollutant storage systems, and non-regulatory activities such as financial and technical assistance for recycling and waste reduction. The division also oversees and contracts for the cleanup of sites contaminated with petroleum products, drycleaning solvents, or other hazardous wastes.

The Division of Waste Management has multiple program areas.

• The District and Business Support Program provides technical support services to the division and the district offices.
• The Petroleum Restoration program conducts activities related to cleaning up sites contaminated by discharges from stationary petroleum storage systems. These sites include those determined eligible for state funded cleanup using qualified contractors selected through competitive procurement or selected by the property owner or responsible party and contractors under direct contract with DEP. Sites also include non-program or voluntary cleanup sites that are funded by responsible parties.  
• The  Permitting and Compliance Assistance Program is responsible for implementing the state's financial assurance and financial responsibility programs for Solid and Hazardous Waste and Tanks programs.
• The Waste Cleanup program has five sections.
  • The Waste Site Cleanup Section manages state-funded investigation and cleanup of hazardous waste sites and coordinates with the EPA during cleanup of federal Superfund National Priorities List sites. This section also implements the dry-cleaning Solvent Cleanup Program.
  • The Site Investigation Section investigates cases of known or suspected soil and groundwater contamination statewide and issues technical reports to support district assessment and cleanup decisions. This section also manages the State-Owned Lands Cleanup program.
  • The Federal Programs Section oversees cleanup of Department of Defense and other federal facilities.
  • CERCLA Site Screening conducts site screening assessments on sites with confirmed or suspected contamination to document if there was a release of hazardous substances and to evaluate the site for possible inclusion on the National Priorities List.
  • The Brownfields Redevelopment Program works to reduce public health and environmental hazards in existing commercial and industrial sites that are not in full use, creates incentives to encourage voluntary cleanup and site redevelopment, obtains cleanup target levels, and provides an opportunity for environmental equity and justice.

In addition, the Division of Waste Management houses a Legislative, Business Planning, External Affairs section.  

As of September 30, 2020, the Department of Environmental Protection reports there were 47,404 known contaminated waste sites.  Of this total, 33,353 (70.4%) sites had been cleaned, 10,156 (21.4%) sites were in active cleanup, and 3,895 (8.2%) sites were still awaiting cleanup.

A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment or reuse of which may be complicated by actual or perceived environmental contamination.

Other Reports
Waste Management Database Reports

2020 Florida Brownfields Redevelopment Program Annual Report, Department of Environmental Protection, August 2020.

FDEP Brownfield and CERCLA Site Screening Section Final Report, Department of Environmental Protection and Division of Waste Management, December, 2019.

Websites of Interest
Division of Waste Management Institutional Controls Registry (ICR) Mapping Site
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Land, Waste, and Cleanup Topics
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Contaminated Site Clean-Up Information
Southern Waste Information Exchange
Performance Information

Performance measures and standards for the department may be found in its Long Range Program Plan.

Chapters 376, 381, and 403, Florida Statutes.

Division of Waste Management, 850-245-8705

Website