This $850,000 Project Grant awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 under the National Estuary Program (CFDA 66.456) supports the Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP) in implementing its Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) and EPA strategic goals related to water quality and habitat protection. The funded activities include annual assessments of benthic and sediment conditions, seagrass transect monitoring, reporting on bay health indicators, expanding...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 awarded a $850,000 project grant to the Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP) under the National Estuary Program (CFDA 66.456) to support implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) for Tampa Bay. The 5-year grant, awarded on October 1, 2023, will fund activities to attain water quality standards, restore high-priority sites, assess wetland acreage, monitor plant and animal life, and promote public stewardship...
The Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 awarded a $1.4 million project grant to the Tampa Bay Estuary Program under the National Estuary Program (CFDA 66.456) to support implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan and Strategic Plan from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2026. The funding will support habitat restoration, environmental monitoring, outreach and education efforts to improve water quality and protect natural resources in the Tampa Bay estuary....
The Tampa Bay Estuary Program was awarded a $775,000 project grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 under the National Estuary Program (CFDA #66.456) to support implementation of habitat restoration and water quality monitoring plans from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2027. Key deliverables include coordinating activities to attain water quality targets for Tampa Bay and annually report on conditions, developing a 2022 reasonable assurance update, assessing and...
This Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Habitat Conservation program (CFDA 11.463) will provide $14,592,212 to the County of Sarasota, Florida to restore stream, shoreline, and floodplain habitat. The project aims to benefit endangered smalltooth sawfish and recreational species like red drum, while also increasing resilience to sea level rise and removing barriers to low-salinity habitat important for...
This $2,200,000 Project Grant awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the National Estuary Program (CFDA 66.456) will support implementation of the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program's (BBNEP) Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP). Key activities include restoring and protecting wetlands and open spaces, remediating stormwater and wastewater pollution, monitoring water quality and environmental indicators, conducting outreach and education, and...
This Project Grant award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the National Estuary Program (CFDA 66.456) provides $850,000 in funding to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) to support implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) for the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuary. The key activities to be performed under this 5-year grant include: developing an integrated monitoring strategy, creating a research study to support...
This $790,000 Project Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 1 supports implementation of the Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Partnership (MBP) Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan under the National Estuary Program. Over a two-year period from July 2021 through June 2023, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs will deliver a variety of products and services to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity...
The Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 awarded a $500,000 cooperative agreement to the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council under the Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Cooperative Agreements (CFDA 66.818) program. The funding will support brownfields assessment and cleanup planning activities in Sarasota, Charlotte, Glades, Lee, Hendry, and Collier Counties, Florida from July 1, 2022 through September 30, 2026. Specifically, the recipient will...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4, through the Geographic Programs - South Florida Geographic Initiatives Program (CFDA 66.484), has awarded a $648,903 Project Grant to the National Audubon Society to continue physical and ecological parameter monitoring at coastal mangrove wetland sites in northeastern Florida Bay. The project aims to collect and analyze data that are valuable for designing, implementing, and evaluating multiple large-scale Comprehensive Everglades Restoration...
DESCRIPTION:THIS ACTION APPROVES FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF $750,000 FOR THE SARASOTA BAY TO SUPPORT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMPREHENSIVE CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT PLAN (CCMP) AND STRATEGIC PLAN TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY, PROTECT THE NATURAL HABITAT AND LIVING RESOURCES, AND SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE HUMAN USES WITHIN THE SARASOTA BAY ESTUARY PROGRAM.ACTIVITIES:SARASOTA BAY ESTUARY PROGRAM (SBEP) WILL CONTINUE EFFORTS TO COORDINATE EFFORTS AMONG OUR STAKEHOLDERS TO DEVELOP A LOCALLY LED, SCIENTIFICALLY SOUND WATER QUALITY AND ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION PROGRAM FOR THE BAY. AS HAS BEEN VETTED THROUGH THE SBEP'S CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE, TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE AND POLICY BOARDS, THE SBEP'S WATER QUALITY CONSORTIUM MEMBERS WILL PIVOT TOWARDS THE REVIEW OF ONGOING EFFORTS TO DEVELOP A REASONABLE ASSURANCE PLAN (RAP) FOR SARASOTA BAY. A RAP IS A LOCALLY LED ALTERNATIVE TO A STATE OR FEDERAL TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD (TMDL). WHILE A RAP HAS THE SAME GOALS AS MORE TRADITIONAL TMDLS, RAPS ARE DONE IN A MORE COLLABORATIVE EFFORT, WITH MORE LOCAL BUY-IN OF POLLUTANT LOADING MODELS, WATER QUALITY TARGETS, AND LOAD REDUCTION ALLOCATIONS. SUBRECIPIENT:NO SUBAWARDS ARE INCLUDED IN THIS ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT.OUTCOMES:RESULTS/OUTCOMES: BAY PARTNERS GRANTS INVOLVE NOT ONLY OUTREACH AND EDUCATION, BUT THEY ALSO INCLUDE PROJECTS THAT IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF STORMWATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS, REMOVE EXOTIC INVASIVE SPECIES, AND REMOVE DEBRIS FROM INTERTIDAL AND SUBMERGED RESOURCES. CCMP ACTION PLANS: MULTIPLE, CONSISTENT WITH THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACTION PLAN. CITIZENS WITH THE STATE OF FLORIDA AND ESTUARY DIRECTLY BENEFIT FROM THIS PROJECT.