This action provides funding in the amount of $850,000 to the county of charlotte

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 4, awarded $850,000 to Charlotte County under the National Estuary Program (CFDA 66.456) effective October 1, 2025, with a completion date of September 30, 2030. This Project Grant funds the implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) for the Coastal and Heartland National Estuary Program (CHNEP). The award supports comprehensive water quality monitoring and assessment activities designed to ensure designated waters meet human use standards for drinking, shellfish harvesting, swimming, and fishing while protecting aquatic life and maintaining water quality. Key deliverables include collection and management of water quality monitoring data through the CHNEP Water Atlas, development of new information resources for public access, and coordination of monitoring efforts with state, federal, local, and non-governmental partners.

The project incorporates monitoring conducted through the Coastal Charlotte Harbor Monitoring Network, which performs monthly water quality sampling in Lower Charlotte Harbor under a contract with Lee County. Activities address core estuary challenges by assessing trends in water quality, habitats, and natural resources; coordinating CCMP implementation among multiple stakeholder groups; and evaluating the effectiveness of management activities. The total federal dollars obligated for this award are $1.7 million, representing funding support through the 2030 completion date for water quality improvement initiatives and pollution reduction programs in Florida's coastal and heartland estuary systems.

The agreement provides funding to coastal and heartland for national estuary program (NEP) to support implementation of the NEP comprehensive conservation and management plan (ccmp). The project will monitor the waters that meet their designated human uses for drinking, shellfish harvesting, or swimming and fishing, while supporting appropriate, healthy aquatic life as well as water quality improvement. Meet or exceed water quality standards for designated uses of natural waterbodies and waterways with no degradation of outstanding florida waters. Support comprehensive and coordinated water quality monitoring programs and projects and programs that reduce pollutants entering waterways. Activities:the projects included will support activities that address the key challenges facing the estuary including assessing trends in water quality, habitats, natural resources and uses; coordinating implementation of the ccmp by the NEP, along with the state, federal, local agencies, stakeholders, ngos, citizens, partners, and others; and monitoring the effectiveness of activities conducted under the management conference approved ccmp and annual workplan. Strategy: support comprehensive and coordinated water quality monitoring programs and projects and programs that reduce pollutants entering waterways. Support a comprehensive and coordinated water quality monitoring and assessment strategy, chnep will continue working with partners to collect water quality monitoring data and uploading IT to the chnep water atlas for access by interested parties and the public. Chnep will work with our partners to develop new information pages on the water atlas as needed.subrecipient:coastal charlotte harbor monitoring network - lower charlotte harbor contract with LEE county to perform monthly water quality sampling, FY24 restoration project(s) TBD and outreach - coastal and heartland, chnep- south florida water management districtoutcomes:the anticipated deliverables include science advisory committee coordination, baseline monitoring data, restoration monitoring data and watershed condition framework support. The expected outcomes include improve understanding of pollutant loads, increase community participation in monitoring, increased knowledge of environmental status and trends. The intended beneficiaries include citizens, local communities, etc. In the state of florida and this estuary directly benefit from this project. The coastal monitoring program supports monitoring of environmental conditions at both the watershed and larger ecosystem scale. Within this program, baseline conditions are established within watersheds and for restoration projects for the purpose of measuring and assessing ecosystem responses. In addition, on a periodic basis, system-wide monitoring of habitats and submerged aquatic vegetation is undertaken to track changes across the florida coastal landscape.