Unit:National Estuary Program
National Estuary Program (NEP)
Currently, 28 estuaries located along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts and in Puerto Rico are designated as estuaries of national significance. Each NEP focuses within a study area that includes the estuary and surrounding watershed.
In overseeing and managing the national program, EPA provides annual funding, national guidance and technical assistance to the local NEPs.
The 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.
Each NEP has a Management Conference (MC) that consists of diverse stakeholders and uses a collaborative, consensus-building approach to implement the CCMP.
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 Indian River Lagoon NEP Management Conference is the IRL Council, a special district of Florida.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; Office of Water; Office of Wetlands Oceans and Watersheds
Subsidiaries: Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program
Partners: IRL Council; Association of National Estuary Programs
Contact
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Mail Code 4204M
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