Unit:National Estuary Program
National Estuary Program (NEP)
The NEPs are located in a variety of institutional settings, including state and local agencies, universities and individual nonprofits. In overseeing and managing the national program, EPA provides annual funding, national guidance and technical assistance to the local NEPs.
The 28 NEPs develop and implement Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plans (CCMPs), which are long-term plans that contain actions to address water quality and living resource challenges and priorities. The NEP challenges and priorities are defined by local, city, state, federal, private and non-profit stakeholders.
Each NEP has a Management Conference (MC) that consists of diverse stakeholders and uses a collaborative, consensus-building approach to implement the CCMP. Moreover, each MC ensures that the CCMP is uniquely tailored to the local environmental conditions and is based on local input, thereby supporting local priorities.
The NEP is a non-regulatory program established by Congress and was authorized by section 320 of the Clean Water Act in 1987.
The Indian River Lagoon was nominated as an Estuary of National Significance and joined the NEP in 1990 under the sponsorship of the St. Johns and South Florida Water Management Districts. The Program's Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) was published in 1997 and updated in 2008.
Today, the IRLNEP is sponsored by the IRL Council, which was established in February 2015 as a special district of Florida. The IRL Council includes representatives of five counties bordering the lagoon (Volusia, Brevard, the Indian River County Lagoon Coalition, St. Lucie and Martin counties), the St. Johns River and South Florida Water Management Districts, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The U.S. EPA provides guidance to the IRL Council.The NEP is a collaborative, efficient, and adaptable ecosystem-based network of organizations that protects and restores 28 estuaries of national significance.
Hierarchy
Affiliations
Parent Organizations: Environmental Protection Agency
Subsidiaries: IRL Council
Partners: Association of National Estuary Programs
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