FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 2, 2016
DEP ANNOUNCES WATER-QUALITY RESTORATION GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
~Grants available to assist Florida communities with
water-quality improvement~
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Department of
Environmental Protection is currently soliciting applications for the next
cycle of funding through its Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Water-Quality
Restoration Grant Program. Three times each year (March, July and November),
DEP awards funding to local communities and water management districts to
implement and construct best management practices designed to reduce pollutant loads to
impaired waters from urban stormwater discharges. The application deadline is
July 1, 2016, at 5 p.m. EST for the current round of funding.
"The department is pleased to partner with local communities
through grant funding to benefit water quality," said Trina Vielhauer,
director of the Division of Water Restoration Assistance. "We encourage local
governments to apply for funding assistance for eligible projects to improve
water quality in their area."
Funded through annual appropriations from the Florida
Legislature, TMDL grants focus on projects designed to restore impaired
springs, rivers, lakes and estuaries, which need help meeting Florida's
stringent water-quality standards.
Examples of projects that were recently awarded TMDL grants
from the March 2016 cycle include:
Brevard County: Awarded $188,691 for
an underground stormwater treatment system to reduce nutrient loads
and prevent untreated stormwater runoff to a 577-acre basin in north Brevard
County. Currently, untreated stormwater is flowing into north
Indian River Lagoon.
Leesburg: Awarded $195,000 for the construction of a wet detention pond, incorporating an existing forested wetland, to provide stormwater treatment for an urban area of Leesburg. Currently, untreated stormwater is flowing into Lake Griffin.
Ocala: Awarded $328,000 for the installation of filtration systems to treat water leaving ponds and flowing into recharge wells, reducing nutrient loading to the Floridan Aquifer. By adding this innovative filtration system, the city will maximize nutrient reduction capabilities where space for larger treatment systems is limited by residential development.
Orange County: Awarded $649,607 for converting the Lake Marilyn Outfall Canal
(C-6 canal) into a series of vegetative retention areas at Barnett Park. Stormwater from the surrounding 300-acre sub-basin will be collected to irrigate approximately 100 acres of adjacent green space within the park. Currently, the park uses freshwater to irrigate the fields.
The department ranks projects for funding based on the
impaired status of the associated water body, the water-quality improvement
benefit (the estimated pollutant load reductions the project is designed to
achieve), the cost-effectiveness of the project, and the percentage of local
matching funds. Another consideration is whether the applicant has a stormwater
utility fee or other dedicated revenue source to continue effective stormwater
management in the future.
Since 2002, the department has awarded more than $111
million in TMDL grants, including $4.6 million awarded in fiscal year
2014-15 and $5.4 million awarded in fiscal year 2015-16 to date.
Visit the TMDL Water-Quality Restoration Grant Program webpage for more information on the application
process and qualification requirements.
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