KEY BISCAYNE, FLORIDA — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis awarded $22.7 million to fund water quality projects in South Florida, including $14.5 million for Miami-Dade County.
"Biscayne Bay is an important resource for the state of Florida,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Key Biscayne. “It's the largest estuary in our state and the largest passenger port in the world.”
“We've seen over the years that it has a lot of unique challenges, and there have been a lot of efforts to recognize this and to ameliorate this,” DeSantis said. “In 2021, I signed House Bill 1177, which established the Biscayne Bay Commission to bring federal, state, and regional partners together to focus on the health of Biscayne Bay.”
The awards will help fund clean water projects in the following municipalities:
City of Coral Gables – $2,000,000
City of Miami Springs – $2,000,000
City of North Miami – $2,300,000
Miami River Fund, Inc. – $600,000
Miami-Dade County – $14,500,000
Town of Cutler Bay – $700,000
Village of Key Biscayne – $650,000
“Governor DeSantis understands that Florida’s economy runs on water. Funding critical water quality and restoration projects is not only good for the environment, it’s also good for our economy,” Anna Upton, CEO of the Everglades Trust told The Florida Standard.
RECORD FUNDING FOR PROTECTION OF WATER RESOURCES
On June 2, 2022, DeSantis signed the Fiscal Year 2022–23 budget, surpassing his four-year goal for Everglades restoration. The four-year total of more than $3.3 billion surpassed the goal of $2.5 billion – more than doubling the investment made in the previous four years.
“On his first full day in office, Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 19-12, which laid out his bold vision to protect Florida’s environment. The FY 2022-23 environmental budget continues the Governor’s commitment with historic levels of support for Everglades restoration, water quality protections, vital land acquisitions, and resiliency of inland and coastal communities,” DEP Secretary Shawn Hamilton said in a news release.
