Projects in two Southwest Florida communities will share some of the $300 million in state funding from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for 71 new statewide resilience and adaptation projects and three previously awarded projects to help prepare coastal and inland communities for the adverse impacts of flooding and storm surge.
In the new state budget is $356 million for resilience, which includes $300 million for implementing statewide resilience projects as well as $56 million for resilience planning and coral reef protection.
Included in the projects being funded are two projects in Lee County, a $22.724 milion for the the Flint/Pen/Kiker Preserve Flow Collection Drainageway, Phase one, and $10 million for the Fort Myers Beach Reclamation Facility Belt Press and Switchgear replacements.
Also in the mix is a $4.05 million Central County Water Control Districrt Resilient Infrastruction project in Hendry County.
“The funding for this year’s Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan enables us to prepare both inland and coastal communities for the risks of storm surge, rainfall-induced flooding, and hurricanes. It underscores the importance of protecting Florida’s natural resources and critical infrastructure," said Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Shawn Hamilton.
During the past several years the state has invested more than $1.4 billion to increase the coastal and inland resilience of Florida’s communities.
Earlier this year, the award of more than $275 million for 75 resilience projects was made using previously appropriated funding through the Resilient Florida program. Additionally, DEP announced the award of over $28 million to develop or update comprehensive vulnerability assessments. At the conclusion of these assessments, all 67 counties in Florida will have completed a vulnerability assessment.
DEP is currently accepting grant applications through the Resilient Florida Grant Program until Sept. 1, 2023, for new proposed projects that could be funded in the next Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan. Some of these proposals aim to protect critical assets such as transportation and evacuation routes; critical infrastructure; critical community and emergency facilities; and natural, cultural, and historical resources.
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