DeSantis: $404M for 113 environmental resilience projects

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited Pinellas and Miami-Dade counties earlier this week to announce the award of grants totaling over $404 million for 113 environmental resilience projects across the state through the Resilient Florida Grant Program.

The main goal of this grants is to help prepare coastal and inland communities for the adverse impacts of flooding and storm surge.

The Governor was joined by House Speaker Chris Sprowls, Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Shawn Hamilton, Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) Dr. Wes Brooks, and other stakeholders to make the announcement.

“For the first time ever, Florida has strategic coordination of statewide efforts to protect our coastal and inland infrastructure, and the dedicated funding to support these projects. This announcement is just the beginning. My administration will continue to support our communities’ resilience efforts across the state,” said DeSantis.

“Sea level rise and flooding impacts our home insurance rates, our businesses, and our communities,” added House Speaker Chris Sprowls. “When I took office as Speaker, I knew we needed to approach this problem in a different and innovative way. That is why we passed the Always Ready bill, carried by Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera, giving our flooding and resiliency issues a long-term vision and plan, for the first time ever, to prepare Florida today for the challenges of tomorrow.”

The projects will enhance Florida’s efforts to protect inland and coastal communities from storm damage spanning across 25 counties.

Including the local match associated with these projects, this state and local investment for resilience totals more than $730 million. 

The list of projects can be found here.