Okaloosa County BOCC — August 18, 2015 — TNC Okaloosa Presentation — reading text

TNC’s Efforts to Support Effective RESTORE Implementation Darryl Boudreau, Director Florida Local Government Relations  FL DWH DISTRIBUTION RESTORE (Transocean $800M, BP $4.4B) Direct Component 1 $56M / $308M 2.5% Traditional Opportunity Federal Component NOAA • Grants 2 $240M / $1.32B Center of • Agency Budgets State Component Excellence 3 $22M • Public Private $44M / $242M Partnerships (P3) NFWF (GEBF) • Emergency Funds $356M Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) $680M ~$565M remaining Economic Settlement $2B (75% Panhandle, 25% statewide)  FLORIDA DWH RELATED FUNDING COMPONENTS • Direct Component (Pot 1) split between the 23 Gulf Coastal Counties Challenge… • Federal Component (Pot 2) administered by the RESTORE Council (5 state, 6 federal members) restoration. Leverage this opportunity to leave • State Component (Pot 3) 23 Counties formed Consortium and are charged with developing state a legacy of improved expenditure plan (Governor and Council approves) environmental and economic resilience • Criminal (NFWF GEBF) FWC charged with submitting state priority funding requests of Gulf Coastal Communities • Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) negotiations between Florida and Trustee Council • Economic Claims (75% to Triumph 25% Legislature)  STRATEGY Harness the energy and focus on the Gulf to create long-term community based watershed groups that continually work together to Identify the most important issues to address to increase the long-term environmental and economic health and stability of Gulf Coastal communities by: We must create links to make the – identifying the priority suite of projects that address the most important issues strongest chainge… – matching each project to the most • RESTORE (Civil) appropriate funding source. • NEBF (Criminal) • NRDA (Environmental) – measuring results and adaptively managing • Triumph (Economic) to ensure maximum effectiveness • Grants, P3, Etc. (Traditional)  WATERSHED PLANNING • Convene stakeholders representing Over 1,300 Federal, State and Local agencies, NGOs, Economic groups and project ideas citizens to identify each watershed’s: totaling over – Priority issues – Root causes of each issue $16 Billion worth – Major actions needed to fix the issues of work… – Specific projects that implement the major actions. • Compile information into watershed …context is plans needed  STATUS • 6 Watersheds formed in Florida  PRIORITY ISSUES • Improve coastal community Main themes of resilience problems that need • Protect and manage natural resources to be addressed • Improve water quality • Education/Outreach • Root Causes varied by watershed  MAJOR ACTIONS • Protect, restore, create and manage natural habitat and resources and increase buffer areas • Increase cooperation and coordination for management, monitoring, funding, implementation, outreach, enforcement • Reduce impacts to groundwater and ensure adequate fresh water availability • Reduce and treat stormwater • Reduce nutrient loading • Reduce sedimentation • Increase economic diversification Watershed Plans Released July 10  INITIAL PROJECTS • Twenty-three projects totaling 29 different actions were submitted (this is only a start…not a comprehensive list) • Projects ranged from single focus projects Choctawhatchee such as stabilizing dirt roads, to multiple Bay projects designed to restore a sub-basin within the watershed. – Protect, restore, create and/or manage natural habitat and resources and increase buffer areas – 10 – Increase cooperation and coordination for management, monitoring, funding, implementation, outreach, enforcement – 10 – Reduce and treat stormwater – 4 – Reduce nutrient loading – 2 – Reduce sedimentation – 3 Choctawhatchee Bay  NEXT STEPS • Create Estuary Programs using the proven NEP model (e.g., Tampa Bay NEP) – State submitted Pot 2 proposal to fund the Goal: (Borrowing from Northwest Florida Estuaries Program Proposal Aristotle, Ensure the – EPA submitted Pot 2 proposal to create whole of Deepwater Estuary Programs (creation of programs and Horizon investments development and adoption of Estuary Plans) – will need long term funding support. is greater than the • Building Blocks: sum of its individual – Watershed Planning – jumpstarts the parts. organizational and priority setting – GEBF Plan (Updates SWIM Plans, seagrass restoration plan and plan for GEBF implementation) – provides core Science and Ecological Restoration Plan  NEXT STEPS • Regionalize Estuary Plans to ensure biggest bang for the buck and regional cooperation (based on SWFL Regional Restoration Plan) – “Team North Florida” • Increase communication and coordination between economic and environmental sectors to ensure investments are complimentary and achieve the greatest and longest lasting improvement for our communities. • Investigate P3 and Bonding alternatives as a way to begin project implementation now.  THANK YOU Working together we can leave the kind of legacy for which our grandchildren and all future generations will be grateful and value. Questions?