News Releases from Region 04

Cocoa Beach, Fla. Recognized by EPA for Excellence and Innovation in Clean Water Infrastructure

ATLANTA (November 9, 2018) – On Wednesday, November 7, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized the Minuteman Causeway Stormwater/Streetscape improvement project in Cocoa Beach, Fla. as one of 30 clean water infrastructure projects for excellence and innovation within the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program. Honored projects include large wastewater infrastructure projects to small decentralized and agriculture projects.

“The Clean Water State Revolving Fund plays an integral role in advancing the President’s infrastructure agenda, providing communities with low-interest loans so that they can modernize aging infrastructure, create good jobs, and better protect public health and the environment,” said EPA Office of Water Assistant Administrator Dave Ross. “The scale and complexity of the 2018 PISCES recognized projects represent the determination, coordination, and creativity our partners put forth to achieve their water quality goals.”

"The Clean Water State Revolving Fund is an extremely important source of funding to ensure communities in the southeast have access to clean water, safe drinking water and the infrastructure necessary to support local needs," said EPA Region 4 Administrator Trey Glenn.

Cocoa Beach constructed an urban stormwater project to reduce nutrients from entering the Banana River Lagoon. The project treats stormwater from an 8.34-acre watershed and reduces nitrogen and phosphorous from seeping into the groundwater. Total construction costs for the project were $5.2 million, of which, the CWSRF financed $1.8 million that was used to match a 319 Nonpoint Source grant. The project reduced nutrient loading for the Indian River Lagoon and added aesthetic value along city streets to attract new businesses to the area.

The CWSRF is a federal EPA-state partnership that provides communities a permanent, independent source of low-cost financing for a wide range of water quality infrastructure projects. Over the past 31 years, CWSRF programs have provided more than $132 billion in financing for water quality infrastructure.

EPA’s Performance and Innovation in the SRF Creating Environmental Success (PISCES) program celebrates innovation demonstrated by CWSRF programs and assistance recipients.

Learn more about each of the 2018 PISCES-recognized projects at https://www.epa.gov/cwsrf/pisces.