EPA Invests Over $50 Million to Protect San Francisco Bay
and Its Watersheds, Build Resilience to Climate Change
Contact: John Senn, 415-972-3999, senn.john@epa.gov
SAN FRANCISCO (June 28,
2023) – The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced 24 projects receiving
nearly $52 million in grant funding at an event in Oakland, Calif., along with
U.S. Representative Barbara Lee and project grantees. The selected projects
will help protect and restore wetlands and water quality, build climate change
resilience, and increase environmental benefits with a focus on underserved
communities in the nine Bay Area counties (Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo,
Marin, Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Contra Costa, and San Francisco).
"The San Francisco Bay is
one of our nation’s most iconic natural treasures and vital ecosystems, and its
shores are home to numerous and diverse Californian communities,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional
Administrator Martha Guzman. "Thanks to the Biden-Harris
Administration's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Justice40 Initiative, EPA is
proudly awarding a record level of funding to protect and restore the Bay's
watersheds and wetlands, and benefit surrounding underserved communities."
“Time and time again, the
Biden-Harris Administration has shown their commitment to environmental justice
and addressing the climate crisis,” said
Congresswoman Lee. “Critical projects throughout my district
will now receive meaningful investment to help improve water quality, protect
and restore wetlands, combat climate change, and more. I’d like to thank the
EPA, Regional Administrator Guzman, President Biden, and all of our grant
awardees for playing their part in building a cleaner, safer climate for all
Californians.”
“The East Bay Regional Park
District’s parklands protect vital habitat for wildlife, including many rare
and endangered species, and help preserve the natural beauty that makes the Bay
Area such a desirable place to live,” said
Park District General Manager Sabrina B. Landreth. “The Park
District thanks President Biden, the EPA, and Congresswoman Lee and her
colleagues in Congress for supporting the grant program.”
Funding for these projects
comes from EPA’s San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund, a
competitive grant program focused on restoring impaired watersheds, reducing
polluted runoff, and building climate change resilience around San Francisco
Bay. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law expanded the Fund’s mandate to increase
equity and access to federal funding and climate resilience support for
underserved communities. Since its inception, the Fund has invested over $120
million through more than 80 on-the-ground projects in the nine Bay Area
counties.
Organizations receiving
federal funding under today’s announcement:
San Francisco Estuary
Institute (three grants totaling $7,625,000) – One grant will address high-priority
pollution data gaps via information collection and modeling to improve PCB and
nutrient management for San Francisco Bay. A second grant will fund pilot
sediment reuse projects to help restore several acres of tidal marsh, transition
zone, and riparian habitat in the Petaluma River, Rheem Creek, Lower Adobe
Creek, and Stevens Creek watersheds. A third grant will be used to build green
stormwater infrastructure for communities in Richmond and East Oakland, with
project partners Urban Tilth and the Oakland Unified School District providing
stormwater green job trainings and community tours.
California State
Coastal Conservancy (two grants totaling $5,500,000) – One grant will support the
restoration of 2,100 acres of former salt ponds to 1,300 acres of tidal marsh
and 800 acres of enhanced managed ponds and improve four miles of existing
levees. The project will also add transition slopes for sea level rise
adaptation and four miles of trail to increase shoreline access. A second grant
will support planning to collaboratively design 10 new living shoreline climate
adaptation projects along the central San Francisco Bay, and also develop
regional guidance for living shoreline and multi-benefit shoreline adaptation
efforts.
San Francisco Estuary
Partnership ($4,329,459)
– Funds will be used to promote a suite of nature-based solutions, from
planning and design to implementation and monitoring, for communities across
the San Francisco Bay area. The project will also restore eight acres of
transitional habitat at the Palo Alto Wastewater Treatment Plant and construct
the first shoreline horizontal levee on the Bay to demonstrate the feasibility
of multi-benefit nature-based solutions.
Marin County
($4,073,070) –
Funds will support the county’s trash reduction activities, including designs
for up to 17 stormwater treatment facilities, construction of a dewatering pad,
and countywide public outreach and engagement. These activities are expected to
capture over 8,000 gallons of trash annually.
Santa Clara Valley
Water District ($3,800,000)
– Funds will support the design and permitting of the re-connection of San
Tomas Aquino and Calabazas creeks to the former salt ponds. This effort will
restore approximately 1,800 acres of tidal marsh and enhance 50 acres of
fresh/brackish marsh.
San Francisco
Department of Recreation & Parks ($3,768,558) – Funds will be used to create
bioretention basins to maximize the capture of stormwater and trash, thereby
enhancing intertidal areas. The project will buffer against future sea level
rise and allow for the continued existence of the intertidal habitats at a
6.2-acre park in an underserved community.
City-County Association
of Governments San Mateo ($3,366,000) – Funds will support continued efforts to reduce trash
entering San Francisco Bay. The project will include a regional workgroup to
develop standard methods to evaluate the effectiveness of trash reduction
measures in waters connecting to San Francisco Bay.
Santa Clara Valley
Water District ($3,000,000)
– Funds will support cleanups of encampment-generated trash, debris, and
hazardous pollutants in nine heavily impacted Santa Clara County creeks,
resulting in 2,000 tons of trash removal and 4,000 square feet of bank
rehabilitation.
Sausalito Marin City
School District ($3,000,000)
– Funds will support the restoration of up to 600 feet of Willow Creek,
providing an outdoor learning environment for the Nevada Campus students of the
Sausalito Marin City School District. Additional green stormwater features will
also be constructed on campus.
The SPHERE Institute
($3,000,000) –
Funds will support design, permitting, and initial implementation costs for
creating new tidal marsh and transition zone habitats to support shoreline
resilience at a park along the Burlingame shoreline.
Contra Costa County
Flood Control and Water Conservation District (two grants totaling $2,800,000) – One grant will support green
stormwater infrastructure planning in old industrial areas throughout the
underserved communities of Contra Costa County. A second grant will help
improve watershed and water quality in Wildcat Creek by constructing a
400-foot-long “fish-friendly” reach and improving the existing sedimentation
basin.
Richardson Bay Regional
Agency ($2,782,586)
– Funds will be used to restore at least 15 acres of eelgrass in Richardson
Bay, continue implementation of the Richardson Bay eelgrass protection and
management plan, develop a restoration and adaptive management plan, and remove
marine debris.
City of Alameda ($1,472,500) – Funds will support creating over
6,000 square feet of green stormwater infrastructure bioretention areas at
three intersections to manage stormwater runoff. This effort will be part of
the City of Alameda Central Avenue Safety Improvement Project.
East Bay Regional Parks
District ($1,200,000)
– Funds will support the removal of over 1,000 toxic creosote-treated timber
piles and 16,500 square feet of creosote-treated structures at Ferry Point Pier
in Richmond.
All Positives Possible
($949,343) – Funds
will be used for shoreline education, fish testing, garbage abatement, and
shoreline preservation efforts, with a focus on training and increasing
participation of community members and leaders from underserved neighborhoods
along the shores of South Vallejo, the Carquinez Strait, and the Napa River.
City of San Jose
($419,002) – Funds
will help teach San Jose high schoolers about watershed protection and support
preparedness for climate change-related natural disasters, instilling
resiliency and environmental stewardship in the next generation of young
adults.
San Mateo County
($404,400) – Funds
will support purchasing, installing, and maintaining a large trash capture
device capable of removing about 3,500 gallons of trash per year from the North
Fair Oaks community. The project will also develop an education and outreach
program with a local youth engagement program.
Rose Foundation
($366,713) – Funds
will support high school students from underserved communities and build their
capacity as meaningful, active partners in planning a more equitable and
sustainable water future at two project sites – Oakland Estuary and the Arroyo
Viejo Creek watershed.
Acterra: Action for a
Healthy Planet ($358,708)
– Funds will be used to build capacity and climate change resilience in two
underserved communities of San Mateo County (Belle Haven and North Fair Oaks
neighborhoods) through trainings, community-led vulnerability assessments, and
a feasibility analysis for nature-based solutions that enhance water quality
and climate justice.
University of
California Regents, Berkeley ($343,685) – Funds will be used to pilot the EcoBlock program to
improve stormwater capture on an urban block in an underserved neighborhood in
Oakland bordering Sausal Creek.
San Francisco Bay is a
designated "estuary of national significance" under the Clean Water
Act. The Bay and its tributary streams, situated in an urban area with more
than seven million people, provide crucial fish and wildlife habitat at the
heart of the larger Bay-Delta Estuary. In partnership with numerous non-profit
organizations, watershed groups, land trusts, government agencies, and resource
conservation districts, the San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund
has made significant progress in restoring water quality, ‘greening’
development, and building resilience to climate change impacts across San
Francisco Bay and its watersheds.
For more information about
EPA’s San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund, visit: http://www.epa.gov/sfbay-delta/sf-bay-water-quality-improvement-fund.
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