Purposethe project grant for identifying sources of waterbody impairments to determine effective actions to increase water quality of ST

Bay County Board of County Commissioners received a $500,000 formula grant award effective May 1, 2025, through the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States (RESTORE) Act Direct Component Program (CFDA 21.015). The grant supports a three-year planning initiative (through May 1, 2028) to identify sources of water impairment in St. Andrew Bay and determine effective restoration actions to improve water quality across the watershed. Primary deliverables include comprehensive water quality surveys of 39 water bodies within St. Andrew Bay and actionable reports documenting pollution sources and water quality impairments to inform subsequent restoration planning efforts.

Florida State University serves as the subrecipient for this award. The project directly benefits coastal communities in Bay County, Florida, and aligns with the RESTORE Act's objective to support ecological recovery of the U.S. Gulf Coast region through planning and implementation activities. As a noncompetitive formula grant under the Direct Component program, the award was evaluated based on completeness, regulatory conformance, and the awardee's demonstrated capacity to successfully administer complex multi-year environmental restoration initiatives.

Andrew BAY is awarded to BAY county, florida under the restore act direct component program to support the planning of a restoration project for ST. Andrew BAY.activities to be performedto completethe water quality surveys of 39 water bodies in ST. Andrew BAY.end goalexpected outcomesthe project objective is to produce actionable reports on pollution and water quality impairment for the ST. Andrew BAY watershed after implementing a study of the sources of pollutants across the BAY.beneficiariesthe project will benefit the coastal communities of BAY county, florida.subrecipient activitiesflorida state university will be the subrecipient.