A cooperative agreement is provided to the corporation for the conservation of the SAN juan BAY estuary (CCSJBE) to support implementation of its comprehensive conservation and management plan…

A cooperative agreement is provided to the corporation for the conservation of the SAN juan BAY estuary (CCSJBE) to support implementation of its comprehensive conservation and management plan (CCMP) to improve the water quality, protect the natural habitat and living resources, and support sustainable human uses of the SAN juan BAY estuary (SJBE). The SAN juan BAY estuary partnership (SJBEP), or the estuario, will use bipartisan infrastructure law (BIL) funding to restore the juan meacute; ndez creek, in the municipality of SAN juan through high-impact blue/green infrastructure interventions, achieving medium term restoration of waters communities affected by this body of water, many of which are environmental justice communities. This goal is consistent with the SJBEP's comprehensive conservation and management plan (CCMP), green infrastructure action plan, action 2: create a pilot project for reversing the channelization by concrete of a segment of a river, creek, or freshwater tributary within the SJBE. During the 1ST year of BIL funding will be used primarily on convening relevant stakeholders to plan and carry out the analysis necessary to develop a restoration plan for the juan meacute; ndez creek, which will be achieved through the creation of an infrastructure committee made up of subject matter experts and key decision-makers.activities:the activities and tasks in this workplan implement NEP BIL funding priorities such as: (1) accelerate and more extensively implement CCMP- the restoration of the juan meacute; ndez creek was selected based on the urgency and degree to which vulnerable communities are being affected by sanitary discharges, which has been a long-standing problem. In addition, the activities were chosen to maximize the impact of projects in other program areas funded by other sources which support CCMP implementations such as the multijurisdictional hazard mitigation plan, green infrastructure master plan, and illicit discharge detection and elimination project, and collaborative water quality monitoring efforts. (2) ensure benefits reach disadvantaged communities- in compliance with BIL guidelines, the estuario will develop an equity strategy by june 2023. This strategy will develop a baseline to understand how the projects benefits disadvantage communities and allows the program to quantitatively track its progress. (3) build adaptive capacity of ecosystems and communities-the activities in this work plan prioritize these aspects in the following ways: implementing a robust collaborative water quality monitoring program that will measure changes occurring in the estuary's bodies of water; understanding the impact of droughts and floods on the landscape, habitat, and water supply; and build awareness on how green infrastructure and nature-based solutions help combat climate change. (4) leverage additional resources- the activities in this work plan were selected to complement partner efforts and further current projects that otherwise would not have the resources to be implemented. The program will identify and apply to funding sources for investments in collaboration with partners in technology for a collaborative data dashboard if needed.subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:expected outcomes are as follows: (1) to adopt an adaptive management approach to identify actions and priorities and understand the impact of restoration/infrastructure projects on water quality. (2) improved water quality, and stormwater management, increased coastal resilience, and strengthen the coast through nutrient reduction strategies of bodies of water in the watershed, community made up of experts and knowledge holders. (3) conduct a reconnaissance study of the juan meacute; ndez creek to assess current conditions that is informed by the illicit discharge detection and elimination project. (4) in addition to develop an educational and awareness campaign ARO