FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 5, 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. Through this program, DEP
awards funding to local communities and water management districts to implement
and construct projects designed to reduce pollutant loads to impaired
waters from stormwater discharges. The application deadline is Nov. 1,
2016, at 5 p.m. EST for the current round of funding.
"The department is pleased to partner with local
communities by providing 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.
Specifically, the TMDL grant
program provides funding assistance for communities to implement projects to
better manage or treat stormwater. Stormwater runoff is generated when
rain flows over land or impervious surfaces and does not seep into
the ground. As the runoff flows over paved streets, parking lots and
building rooftops, it accumulates debris, nutrients, sediment or other
pollutants that could adversely affect water quality if the runoff is left
untreated and runs into nearby surface waters.
Examples of projects that were recently awarded TMDL grants from
the July 2016 cycle include:
Leesburg: Awarded $250,000 to construct dry retention swales with underdrains along a 1,200-foot former railroad right-of-way, which will provide stormwater treatment for the Heritage Estates neighborhood. Currently, untreated stormwater flows into Lake Harris, part of the Upper Oklawaha River Basin.
Maitland: Awarded $400,000 to replace discharge pipes to direct stormwater flow into sediment-removing baffle boxes before heading into the 8-acre Lake Gem. Additionally, the accumulated sediment in Lake Gem, which contains phosphorous, will be removed by mechanical dredging. This project is part of the Lake Jesup Basin Management Action Plan and fulfills a portion of Maitland’s required phosphorous reduction allocation.
Winter Haven: Awarded $750,000 for water-quality improvements to Lake Conine by restoring a 33-acre parcel owned by the city, and reducing pollutants in the Upper Peace Creek Watershed area. Future phases of the project will include constructing recreational features such as walking trails, picnic pavilions, boardwalks, fishing piers and playgrounds.
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 dedicated revenue source to continue effective stormwater management in
the future.
Since 2002, the department has awarded more than $114 million in
TMDL grants, including
$5.4 million awarded in fiscal year 2015-16 and $1.4 million in fiscal year 2016-17, 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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