This action provides funding in the amount of $850,000 to the marine environmental sciences consortium to support implementation of the national estuary program (NEP) comprehensive conservation and…

Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 awarded $1.7 million to Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium on October 1, 2025, to support implementation of the National Estuary Program Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan under CFDA 66.456. Performance runs through September 30, 2030, in Alabama.

The award funds assessment of trends in water quality, habitats, natural resources, and uses across tidally influenced drainage basins; coordination of CCMP implementation with state, federal, local agencies, stakeholders, NGOs, and citizens; and monitoring the effectiveness of management conference-approved activities and annual workplans. Deliverables include Science Advisory Committee coordination, baseline and restoration monitoring data, and watershed condition framework support. Expected outcomes are improved understanding of pollutant loads, increased community participation in monitoring, and increased knowledge of environmental status and trends benefiting citizens and local communities in Alabama.

Sub-recipients include the Create a Clean Water Future Campaign (government officials training and grassroots capacity building), an in-house citizen monitoring program, and Bay Keeper (contracted to expand volunteer monitoring). The recipient is Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium, doing business as Dauphin Island Sea Lab, a state-controlled educational institution based on Dauphin Island, Alabama.

This action provides funding in the amount of $850,000 to the marine environmental sciences consortium to support implementation of the national estuary program (NEP) comprehensive conservation and management plan (ccmp). This project seeks to improve community understanding of estuarine health and coastal resilience and support watershed management planning and implementation activities for all tidally influenced drainage basins.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, and monitoring the effectiveness of activities conducted under the management conference approved ccmp and annual workplan. The project will involve 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.subrecipient:create a clean water future campaign- mbnep-in house government officials training program grassroots capacity building: citizen monitoring contract with BAY keeper to expand volunteer monitoring.outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include the science advisory committee coordination, baseline monitoring data, restoration monitoring data, and watershed condition framework support. The expected outcomes include the expected outcomes include improve understanding of pollutant loads, increased community participation in monitoring, increased knowledge of environmental status and trends. The intended beneficiaries include citizens, local communities, etc. In the state of alabama and this estuary directly benefit from this project. The residence of mobile BAY and the general public will benefit through increased knowledge about environmental response to restoration activities, increased knowledge about environmental status and trends, improve water quality, improved health of fisheries, improved watershed management at local scale, reduced trash in waterways, restoration and conservation of stressed habitats, expanded community engagement and ownership, improve ecosystem function and protection, improved community management of ecosystem restoration and protection activities.