BOEMRE Awards $467,500 for Mississippi Projects
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) has awarded two Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) grants totaling $467,518 to the state of Mississippi. The two grants will provide funding for new sewer connections to a recently installed and updated transmission system in Long Beach, Miss., and for the engineering and design phases of a project to expand a small-craft harbor in Pass Christian, Miss.
Created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, CIAP provides funding to the six Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas producing states to conserve and protect the coastal environment. CIAP is an ongoing program with grant funding that is allocated based on the offshore energy revenues collected by the United States.
“BOEMRE is dedicated to assisting Mississippi and its coastal communities with their important conservation projects,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “CIAP grants enable us to support critical facility upgrades and shoreline restoration projects that are helping coastal states preserve our fragile ecosystems for future generations.”
The $351,018 grant will provide critical funding to reduce the number of individual septic treatment systems for residences and commercial establishments in the 28th Street area of Long Beach. The grant will fund the decommissioning of the existing, outdated septic tanks and make approximately 35 sewer connections to the newly installed transmission system. This new system should significantly reduce polluted runoff and better protect the main watershed.
The $116,500 grant will fund Phase I of a two-phase project to expand Pass Christian Harbor. Phase I includes the preliminary design, engineering, project management, final plans and specifications for the future expansion of the small-craft harbor.
The harbor expansion project will also be included in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Clean Marina Program using the program’s Best Management Practices to protect coastal water quality using environmentally sound practices.
CIAP received $250 million in appropriated funds for each of the Fiscal Years 2007-2010, to be disbursed to six eligible OCS oil and gas producing states: Mississippi, Alabama, Alaska, California, Louisiana and Texas.