Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited Florida International University’s Biscayne Bay Campus on Tuesday morning to announce nearly $30 million in new state funding to protect South Florida’s waters and coral reefs.
Standing in front of FIU’s hospitality building in North Miami, DeSantis said the state is awarding $20 million in grants for Biscayne Bay water quality projects.
“Today we’ll be awarding $20 million in grants and aid for the Biscayne Bay water quality improvement projects,” he said. “These grants will support a total of eight projects.”
The money will help cities including Homestead, Cutler Bay, Miami Shores, North Miami and Miami Beach upgrade aging infrastructure and improve water quality. Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner said the state’s support will help move long-planned projects forward.
“We’ve actually spent significant resources from Miami Beach to research and investigate the best ways that we can fix the problem,” said Meiner. “This grant from the state is going to help us a lot in implementing those solutions.”
DeSantis also announced nearly $10 million for 11 projects aimed at restoring Florida’s coral reef.
“We’ll be funding 11 projects… prioritized and awarded based on impact of scaling up land-based coral infrastructure and capacity,” he said.
FIU President Jeanette Núñez told reporters the university is committed to supporting the work.
“We’re excited about being able to use our existing resources and continue investing alongside the vision that the governor has had,” she said, adding that FIU wants to make sure the projects are “practical” and aligned with the Department of Environmental Protection.
The governor says the state’s goal is to restore 25% of Florida’s coral reef by 2050.
