Florida - Monday May 1, 2023: Governor DeSantis has signed off on $100 in grant funding for 16 Florida counties whose storm or wastewater management systems were damaged by either Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole last year.
During the December 2022 special legislative session, the Governor and the Florida Legislature created the Hurricane Stormwater and Wastewater Assistance Grant Program and allocated $100 million to help impacted local governments address damage to stormwater and wastewater infrastructure as a result of Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection developed an emergency rule for this new program which provides eligible local governments with up to $10 million per project to remediate damage to their stormwater and wastewater systems caused by either of the cyclones.
The three Treasure Coast Counties of Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin are eligible to apply for the grants. The funding is also available to the counties of Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Duval, Flagler, Lee, Manatee, Nassau, Palm Beach, St. Johns, Sarasota and Volusia.
Click on this link to see a list of the communities whose grant requests have already been rewarded.
"Helping communities fully rebuild after disaster and become more resilient in the face of future storms is a top priority for my administration,” said Governor DeSantis in a news release. “Today’s awards will ensure impacted stormwater and wastewater systems are able to be restored as quickly as possible to protect our communities and our environment.”