The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will receive $132 million from President Joe Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) over the next five years to help improve the nation's major estuaries, the agency said in a recent news release.
The money will fund projects for climate resilience and address water quality and habitat challenges across 28 estuaries along the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts as well as in Puerto Rico; the release said.
“Communities have been waiting for far too long,” Michael S. Regan, EPA administrator, said in a statement. "This funding is an important investment in equity, clean water and resilience for some of our most treasured water resources.”
The projects will be funded through the National Estuary Program (NEP), which focuses on 28 estuaries deemed to have national significance, the release said.
“Funding from the BIL will enable our 28 National Estuary Programs to accelerate efforts to preserve and improve the health of our iconic coastal waters, especially in underserved communities,” Tom Ford, chair of the Association of National Estuary Programs, director of the Santa Monica Bay National Estuary Program, and CEO of The Bay Foundation; said in the release.
One of the estuaries is in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“The devastation caused by hurricanes Maria and Irma to our island home of Puerto Rico is difficult to imagine for those who were not here to experience it,” Brenda Torres, executive director of the San Juan Bay National Estuary Program, said in the release. “Funding that will flow to San Juan Bay from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will empower us to utilize nature-based solutions and green infrastructure to rebuild in a sustainable and resilient way.”
