2023 SOUTH FLORIDA PROGRAM | EPA I R4 SFL 2023 01

Opportunity Information: Apply for EPA I R4 SFL 2023 01

The 2023 South Florida Program grant opportunity is a competitive EPA funding program focused on protecting and restoring South Florida aquatic ecosystems that are facing immediate and emerging ecological stressors. The program is built around the idea that healthy waters are not just an environmental issue, but a core piece of the region's economy and resilience. Fresh waters, estuaries, bays, and coral reef systems provide real, measurable services such as habitat and food-web support, nutrient removal, water filtration, buffering against storms, carbon storage, shoreline stabilization, and other benefits that reduce costs and protect communities. This funding is meant to support work that helps decision-makers understand what is happening in these systems and what interventions can realistically improve conditions.

Geographically, the solicitation targets the EPA-defined South Florida Program region. That includes the full 16-county area served by the South Florida Water Management District and extends to key connected waters such as the Florida Keys, the Florida Reef Tract, the Caloosahatchee Estuary, the Indian River Lagoon, the St. Lucie Estuary, Florida Bay, and Biscayne Bay. Applicants are expected to align their proposed work with issues relevant to these waters and, where needed, use the official program map referenced in Appendix D of the Notice of Funding Opportunity to confirm that project locations fall within the eligible footprint.

This Request for Applications specifically supports the Special Studies/Research component of the South Florida Program. In practical terms, that means EPA is looking for projects that generate actionable information tied to management questions and policy needs, rather than purely academic research. The emphasis is on studies and demonstrations that improve understanding of ecosystem conditions, identify drivers of degradation, and help agencies and stakeholders choose effective strategies for pollution prevention and ecological recovery. Projects should be framed around real-world decision points: what managers need to know, what data are missing, how proposed approaches will be tested or validated, and how results will translate into improved management, regulation, restoration planning, or on-the-ground practices.

The opportunity lists a wide range of eligible project types, signaling that EPA is open to different approaches as long as they are directly relevant to South Florida water quality and ecosystem health. Examples include monitoring, research, and innovative restoration efforts for key species and habitats such as corals, seagrass, sponges, and mangroves, including work that tracks population health, stressors, recovery trajectories, or restoration performance. It also includes research and demonstration projects aimed at mitigating harmful algal blooms, which can be driven by nutrient pollution, hydrologic changes, and warming waters and can cause major ecological and economic damage. Another set of examples targets neighborhood-scale and municipal sources, such as residential canal pollution reduction demonstrations and stormwater pollution reduction demonstrations, which can test practical interventions to reduce nutrient, sediment, bacterial, and chemical loading into waterways.

Monitoring and assessment are also explicitly supported, including water quality monitoring and benthic habitat monitoring. That can involve tracking nutrient concentrations, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, contaminants, temperature, salinity, and biological indicators, as well as evaluating benthic communities that often serve as early warning signals for ecosystem stress. The solicitation also highlights contaminants of emerging concern, specifically naming pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and microplastics. Projects in this area might focus on detection methods, source identification, fate and transport, ecological effects, and management strategies to reduce inputs or impacts, especially where traditional monitoring programs may not yet capture these pollutants well.

A recurring theme across the eligible activities is improving cause-and-effect understanding. EPA is encouraging projects that identify relationships between pollutants and environmental outcomes, investigate localized impacts from potential sources, and address targeted management questions for sensitive ecosystems. The program also welcomes innovative methods for preventing, treating, or handling pollution before it reaches waterbodies, which can include new technologies, novel monitoring techniques, pilot-scale treatment approaches, or new planning and management tools that can be replicated elsewhere in the region.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary EPA funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement instrument, meaning recipients should expect substantial involvement from EPA during the project period compared to a standard grant. The opportunity is associated with CFDA 66.484 and is categorized under environment and infrastructure investments tied to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The posting indicates an award ceiling of $750,000, with an expectation of around 15 awards, suggesting EPA intends to fund multiple projects across different locations and issue areas rather than concentrating resources in a single large effort. The opportunity was created May 18, 2023, with an original application deadline of July 14, 2023. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with the specific eligible applicant types clarified in the Notice of Funding Opportunity under the additional eligibility information section.

• The Environmental Protection Agency in the environment, infrastructure investment and jobs act (iija) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2023 SOUTH FLORIDA PROGRAM" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 66.484.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 18, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 14, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $750,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for EPA I R4 SFL 2023 01

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