National Estuary Program At the Forefront of Climate Change Adaptation Hazard Mitigation and Resilience


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at
NATIONAL!
The National Estuary Program:
At the Forefront of Climate Change Adaptation,
Hazard Mitigation, and Resilience
April 21, 2021
Photos: (Upper-left) Center for the Inland Bays —An innovative living shoreline at the Delaware Botanic Gardens at Pepper Creek used branches and logs found in
nearby woodlands to stabilize the shoreline; (Upper-right) Tillamook Estuaries Partnership-Sitka Sedge Bayside. Credit: Tamara Enz, Habitat Assessment &
Monitoring Coordinator; (Bottom-left) Galveston Bay Estuary Program —Trinity Bay Discovery Center Living Shoreline Construction (Bottom-right) - Galveston Bay
Estuary Program - Trinity Bay Discovery Center Living Shoreline Complete.
E PA-842-S-21-001

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Introduction - The National Estuary Program's Critical Role in Addressing
Impacts of the Climate Crisis
Climate change is the defining issue of our time, with impacts global in scope and unprecedented in
scale. Climate change impacts, such as sea level rise, flooding, and coastal acidification, are critical
concerns for coastal communities. These impacts are deeply intertwined with environmental justice (EJ)
and equity, as disadvantaged communities are disproportionately affected and frequently less resilient,
having fewer resources to address them.
In addition to traditional regulatory actions, non-regulatory approaches are needed to address these
critical challenges at all levels of government (federal, state, local, and tribal) while also producing
results for communities most impacted by environmental harms and risks. Partnerships - built around
engaging, convening, collaborating with, providing technical and financial assistance to, and educating
the public and private sectors - are vital to EPA's goal of accelerating progress in response to a changing
climate.
The National Estuary Program (NEP) exemplifies the benefits of partnerships for addressing impacts of
the climate crisis. Section 320 of the Clean Water Act established the NEP as a non-regulatory program
that employs a unique management approach to improve the waters and habitats of 28 estuaries of
national significance.
The NEP Management Conference is a Unique and Proven Governance Model for Delivering Clean
Water Act Programs and Supporting Local Priorities
The NEP's unique governance structure centers
on the Management Conference, which includes
representation from state and local government
and provides a platform for collaborative
decision making in each location. The
Management Conferences are the cornerstones
in a nationwide network of over 1,600 public
and private sector partners - including over 100
state agencies representing 16 sectors of state
government and three commonwealth agencies
across 20 states and one territory. The NEPs
also engage directly with the public to identify
problems and solutions. Each NEP involves
community members and other key partners
to develop Comprehensive Conservation and
Management Plans (CCMPs), which contain actions to apply Clean Water Act program authorities in a
way that fully supports local priorities.
Photo: Sitka Sedge Bayside Sunset. Tillamook Estuaries Partnership - Sitka Sedge
Project. Credit: Tamara Enz, Habitat Assessment & Monitoring Coordinator
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The NEPs Cross Jurisdictional Boundaries to Address the Impacts of the Climate Crisis and other
Environmental Challenges
The NEPs work across jurisdictional boundaries to address environmental issues. The map on the
following page shows the locations of the 28 NEPs. Although the map shows each location as a dot, each
NEP's geographic area is significant and includes the entire watershed. Together, the 28 NEPs cover
approximately 122,350 square miles or nearly double the size of Wisconsin. The NEPs work broadly
across the watershed and address the connection between upstream sources of pollution and
downstream impacts.
National Estuary Program Locations
{ Mobl
> Nat
Estuary
Galveston
Bay Estuary
Program
Puget Sound
Partnership
Lower Columbia I
Estuary
Partnership
Tillamook
Estuaries
Partnership
San Franclso )
Estuary
Partnership
Morro Bay
National
Estuary Program
Santa Monica
Bay National
Estuary Program
Casco Bay Estuary Partnership
Plscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership
Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program
Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program
Narragansett Bay National Estuary Program
Peconlc Estuary Program
Long I sland Sound Study
New York - New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program
Barnegat Bay Partnership
Partnership for the Delaware Estuary
Delaware Center for the I nland Bays
Maryland Coastal Bays Program
Albemarle-Pamlico National
Estuary Partnership
Tampa Bay
Estuary
Baratarla-Terrebonne program
National Estuary
Program	Sarasota Bay
Coastal Bend	Estuary Program
Bays and	Coastal and Heartland,"
Estuaries Program	National Estuary
Partnership
I ndlan River
Lagoon National
Estuary Program
San Juan Bay
Estuary
¦		 Program
The NEP Partnership Approach Fosters Innovation and Informs Policy and Regulatory Approaches
In establishing the NEPs, Congress recognized that non-regulatory approaches and innovation were
needed to solve complex environmental challenges. By bringing stakeholders together and providing the
flexibility to test, validate, and share new tools and approaches, the NEPs support the development of
more effective policies and regulations. The NEPs also may review and provide input on regulations and
policy proposals - drawing on their scientific expertise, monitoring capabilities, and their power to
convene and engage with stakeholders and represent diverse viewpoints in policymaking discussions.
For example, the Long Island Sound Study worked with New York and Connecticut to adopt bi-state
TMDLs and develop a nitrogen-trading program, resulting in a 42-million-pound nitrogen reduction. In
another example, based on data from the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program's (SBEP) water quality
monitoring database, in 2010 the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) de-listed all
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Sarasota Bay segments (which previously were listed as impaired for nutrients) and in 2011 the FDEP
incorporated the SBEP's Numeric Nutrient Criteria (NNC) into a state rule. EPA adopted those NNC for
Sarasota Bay in 2012. The Tampa Bay and Coastal and Heartland NEPs took a similar approach.
Through their broad and connected networks, the NEPs implement the directives of Clean Water Act
section 320, while at the same time delivering economic, social, restoration, and community resilience
benefits. The NEPs achieve these results through their support for sound science-based decisions,
convening power, leveraging partner resources, and disseminating innovative tools and best practices.
This white paper demonstrates how the NEPs are an essential delivery mechanism for climate
adaptation, hazard mitigation, protection and restoration of wetlands, and resilience solutions.
Accomplishments - Successful NEP Adaptation, Hazard Mitigation, and
Resilience Projects
The NEPs have been at the forefront of efforts to address climate change impacts in their watersheds for
many years, working in partnership with federal, state, and local partners. This white paper focuses on
more than 145 NEP projects active in the past four years, between Fiscal Years 2017 and 2020 (October
1, 2016 - September 30, 2020). The project counts in this white paper provide a minimum estimate of
the NEPs' activities, as there may be other relevant projects that were not reported.
The NEPs implement a wide-ranging portfolio of climate adaptation, hazard mitigation, and resiliency
projects. This paper organizes them into six categories: 1) Assessment and Planning, 2) Restoration, 3)
Water Infrastructure/Green Infrastructure/Stormwater/Nonpoint Sources, 4) Monitoring and Research,
5) Outreach, and 6) EJ/Equity. NEP actions produce multiple benefits, and many projects address more
than one of the listed categories.
Through their connected networks, the NEPs' work on climate change adaptation, hazard mitigation,
and resilience is widely publicized, shared, and serves as a model for others, extending NEP impacts well
beyond their watersheds. The NEPs share lessons learned on climate vulnerabilities and actions
implemented with federal, state, and local partners through multiple venues. For example, the NEPs'
work on climate change is widely publicized through science conferences (e.g., the annual Restore
America's Estuaries Conference and biennial Coastal & Estuarine Federation Conference). In addition,
the Association of National Estuary Programs (ANEP) is continually educating the 28 NEPs and Congress
on innovative climate change activities as well as other environmental issues to promote the benefit of
these approaches and to encourage their implementation in other watersheds. Technology transfer also
occurs through the annual meetings hosted by ANEP and EPA, where NEPs share projects, successes,
and challenges.
The following sections highlight examples of key accomplishments where the NEPs are conducting
innovative work and/or implementing projects with a particularly strong connection to climate change,
which can serve as a model and provide best practices for other watersheds. The summary table at the
end of this white paper and the companion Matrix of Climate Change Adaptation, Hazard Mitigation,
and Resilience Projects provide counts and descriptions of additional NEP projects in these categories.
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1. Assessment and Planning
With support from EPA's Climate Ready Estuaries (CRE) Program, nearly all NEPs have conducted vulnerability
assessments for their study areas and applied the results to their CCMPs to ensure the long-term viability of
projects. This approach leads to broader results where state agencies conduct climate vulnerability
assessments and planning to inform their Hazard Mitigation Plans.
The NEPs apply an integral and highly replicable approach for identifying risks associated with climate
change and managing the risks to reduce their impacts. In the past four years, 26 of the 28 NEPs have
implemented more than 80 assessment and planning
projects, including climate change vulnerability
assessments, community resilience and adaptation plans,
and hazard mitigation plans.
The Being Prepared for Climate Change workbook
developed by the CRE Program provides guidance for
conducting risk-based climate change vulnerability
assessments and developing adaptation action plans. EPA
has funded NEPs to conduct climate vulnerability
assessments to identify, analyze, prioritize, and evaluate
potential responses to reduce their climate change risks as
part of their CCMPs, with input and validation from local
stakeholders. As of September 2020, 20 NEPs have
completed vulnerability assessments and the remaining
eight NEPs have vulnerability assessments pending. This
approach can be replicated in other watersheds.
The NEPs are demonstrating effective approaches to climate disaster planning and delivering solutions
that others can emulate. For example, as discussed in the call-out box to the right, the San Juan Bay
Estuary Program's approach to hazard mitigation planning provides a model for other NEPs and for
partners in other watersheds.
2. Restoration
The NEPs and their partners are developing and implementing innovative restoration projects through
the lens of climate change. These include living shorelines and other restoration projects that deliver
ecological and community resilience benefits.
San Juan Bay Estuary Program:
A Model for Hazard Mitigation Planning
Puerto Rico serves as an example of how NEPs
can be leaders in resiliency by partnering with
stakeholders to incorporate local plans into
state/territory-level processes. The San Juan
Bay NEP is working with local partners to use
the CCMP as a model to develop watershed-
based hazard mitigation plans for the eight
municipalities within the NEP's study area.
These plans will conform with the territory's
Hazard Mitigation Plan and will enable
municipalities to work with the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to
ensure projects are eligible for FEMA funding.
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The NEPs are promoting arid achieving habitat restoration, including living shoreline wetland buffers and
other activities, to deliver ecological benefits as well as crucial community resilience benefits. Over the
past four years, 25 of the 28 NEPs have conducted nearly 60 restoration projects to prioritize,
implement, monitor, and scale innovative restoration solutions related to climate adaptation, hazard
mitigation, and resilience.
For example, the Peconic Estuary Partnership (PEP) is using available climate change resiliency and
habitat quality assessment tools like the Climate-Based Critical Lands Protection Strategy Criteria and
Ranking Tool to help decision makers not
only decide which lands to acquire, but
also evaluate which adaptation strategy is
appropriate. This tool was the basis to
prioritize wetland restoration projects in
Peconic's Habitat Restoration Plan. In
2019, PEP worked with local partners to
complete the estuary's first living
shoreline project on Peconic Land Trust's
Widow's Hole Preserve. It will be
monitored to assess efficacy in providing
storm resilience and coastal habitat, and
the changes in shoreline elevation over
time.
NEP backed restoration projects are
yielding community resilience benefits.
For example, the Galveston Bay Estuary
Program implemented the Kemah Living
Shoreline project to reduce wave energy
impacting the shoreline, halt the erosion
of the shoreline, and promote deposition
of suspended sediments landward of the
structure. The construction of the 905-
foot rip-rap breakwater protects the
adjacent shoreline from erosion and
provides for the restoration of 2.8 acres
of intertidal wetland. Anecdotal
observations of the breakwaters during three tropical systems and multiple cool fronts have shown
positive effects of the increased elevation.
The NEPs' strong cross-jurisdictional stakeholder networks make them an effective conduit for
disseminating effective restoration tools and best practices, magnifying the impact of the NEPs beyond
the 28 estuaries to other parts of the country.
3. Water Infrastructure/Green infrastructure/Stormwater/Nonpoint Sources
Through state-of-the-art science to identify and plan for climate risk, and the effective leveraging of
non-federal investment, the NEPs can play a crucial role advancing water infrastructure priorities.
Photo: Maryland Coastal Bays-Assateague Post-Restoration Aerial
Protecting Vulnerable Coastal and Estuarine Habitat
across the Nation
Habitat restoration is a mainstay of NEP activities and an
effective strategy to protect vulnerable coastal resources.
Given their mandate under the Clean Water Act (Section
320), the NEPs' habitat protection and restoration efforts
provide many benefits such as improving water quality
and bolstering resiliency.
Since 2006, the NEPs restored or protected over 414,000
acres (equivalent to the combined area of Zion and Rocky
Mountain National Parks). This includes 392,800 acres of
coastal and estuarine habitat.
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Investing in the nation's infrastructure is a critical need, and nowhere is this more evident than for water
and stormwater infrastructure. Eighteen NEPs have implemented over 30 climate adaptation, hazard
mitigation, or resilience projects related to water infrastructure, green infrastructure, stormwater
management, and nonpoint source projects in the last four years.
Through these projects, the NEPs develop and demonstrate cutting-edge approaches to assess and plan
risks related to water and stormwater infrastructure. For example, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program
(TBEP) is implementing a wastewater treatment plant, sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), and sea level
rise risk assessment to quantify the environmental conditions causing SSOs. Mapping historical
precipitation records with records of SSO date and volume, the TBEP will develop a statistical model to
assess future risk of large SSOs. The model will be applied to accepted projected sea level values using a
Monte Carlo methodology, yielding the future probability of overflow events in coming years.
Information like this is essential to plan for and manage climate risk.
The projects also illustrate the power of the
NEPs to connect key partners and leverage
significant financial resources to achieve
shared resilience goals. For example,
starting in 2016, the Puget Sound NEP
worked with The Nature Conservancy to
support the acceleration of integrated
floodplain management in the basin,
supporting both flood resilience and
improved habitat corridors and water
quality for salmon and other resources. The
state now funds the Floodplains by Design
program at $20 million per biennium.
These continuing efforts to build and coordinate regional and local integrated floodplain management
programs have resulted in the reconnection of thousands of acres of floodplain and the restoration of
hundreds of miles of riverine processes. This is one of many examples of the NEPs' effectiveness in
leveraging non-federal resources to address national climate priorities.
4. Monitoring and Research
The NEPs are conducting important monitoring and research and providing valuable data to inform key
monitoring and decision-making processes.
Building on their scientific expertise and high level of credibility, the NEPs conduct ground-breaking
monitoring and research to support decision-makers in taking sound, science-based actions to build
resilience to climate change. The NEPs have conducted nearly 40 climate-related monitoring and
research projects over the past four years (some of these activities have been completed and others are
ongoing). Coastal acidification is a major focus within this category: 19 NEPs have identified coastal
acidification as an emerging threat to the resources in their CCMPs.
Leveraging Resources to Address Critical Needs
On average, the NEPs raise $22 for every $1 provided by
EPA. Over the 2006-2019 period, the NEPs leveraged $6.3
billion from $290 million in EPA grants. This additional
funding came from a variety of federal, state, local, and
private sources.
The NEPs use leveraged resources to upgrade wastewater
and stormwater infrastructure; protect and restore
important habitat; support critical land acquisitions;
conduct outreach and education; and implement other
priority actions contained in their CCMPs.
Source: EPA, www.epa.gov/nep/financing-strategies-used-
national-estuary-program
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The NEPs have demonstrated their leadership
on this issue by expanding the use of
autonomous pC02 and pH sensors deployed in
estuarine and nearshore environments. Twelve
NEPs are at various stages in their deployments,
collecting measurements, analyzing data,
reporting, performing outreach, and identifying
opportunities for collaboration. The NEPs are
integrating their preliminary results into action
plans in several ways, including their CCMPs,
State of the Bay reports, and other
opportunities for stakeholders to work together
to access and use the data to inform future
monitoring efforts and other NEP activities.
Beyond their work on coastal acidification, the NEPs are undertaking many other important monitoring
and research efforts. These efforts include but are not limited to: measuring the success of natural and
nature-based features; critical coastal habitat assessment and coastal wetland assessments; diagnostic
monitoring of illicit water discharges; eelgrass restoration monitoring; blue carbon habitat projects; and
wetlands storm surge and coastal forest research. These efforts can inform crucial planning and policy
decisions in communities across the nation.
5. Outreach
The NEPs play a key role in engaging with all types of stakeholders to communicate information and
ensure all voices are represented in planning and decision-making processes.
The NEPs facilitate effective two-way communication with communities about climate issues that affect
those communities, serving as a trusted source of information as well as listening to and giving voice to
local stakeholders. Stakeholder collaborative outreach, education/training, and engagement are integral
to nearly all NEP work. Twenty-two NEPs have implemented nearly 40 projects in the last four years that
focus on climate-related outreach.
One notable example is the Albemarle-Pamlico NEP
(APNEP) project with the North Carolina Commission
of Indian Affairs to work with tribal communities in
the region to develop a strategy for incorporating
resilience into tribal planning and community
engagement processes. The project will also involve
an analysis of tribal engagement in climate and
resilience planning efforts around the U.S. as well as
assistance from the Virginia Coastal Policy Center
coordinating with state agencies and tribal
communities in Virginia. Approaches like this can be
replicated in other areas of the country to advance state and tribal climate or resilience building efforts.
Coastal Acidification Monitoring in Tampa Bay
The Tampa Bay Estuary Program has partnered with
the U.S. Geological Survey for development and
deployment of two ocean carbon systems for
monitoring coastal acidification parameters within
the Tampa Bay estuary and approximately 60 miles
offshore to examine diurnal and seasonal fluctuations
in coastal acidification parameters within and near
the Bay, and to compare Gulf of Mexico and Tampa
Bay Estuary trends for assessment of the potential
mitigation role of seagrass in Tampa Bay. These
ocean carbon systems will support ongoing local
experiments within the bay on the effects of seagrass
beds on seawater carbon chemistry as well as blue
carbon research activities. This project addresses
specific CCMP actions.
Designing for Impact: Promoting Low Impact
Development (LID) Implementation
The Houston Galveston Area Council partnered
with the City of Mont Belvieu and the City of
Pearland in this pilot project to make their
municipal codes more "LID-friendly." The Council
presented the City of Pearland with a tailored
report outlining impediments to LID
implementation in their code, proposing code and
ordinance revisions, and prioritizing LID
techniques appropriate for their jurisdiction. The
Council concluded the project by hosting a
community LID workshop.
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Other significant outreach activities
conducted by the NEPs have included:	JB
working with municipalities to assess
CSO vulnerability to sea level rise and	/
engage the public; participating in a
Resilience Coalition to enhance	-M
county, city, and stakeholder	Jf
understanding of changing risks and	\	^*^3*
best practices and policies for	Jgr 'S
increasing resilience; producing	k mm	^
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educational materials about local
climate change impacts and solutions;	j \ ,
developing tools that allow local	WI r - "A Jte >	W 1
planners in coastal counties to
1	Photo: Tampa Bay Estuary Program - Tampa Bay Regional Resilience Coalition
determine suitable areas to implement
natural infrastructure; and training municipal staff and resource managers to account for sea level rise in
order to update land acquisition priorities.
6. Environmental Justice and Equity
NEPs demonstrate leadership on climate-related EJ and equity issues; and opportunities abound for
scaling-up efforts in this key area.
The Administration's Executive Orders on
EJ/equity and climate change put a renewed
focus on these issues and how they intersect. In
response to our country's "converging economic,
health, and climate crises that have exposed and
exacerbated inequities," the Executive Order on
Advancing Racial Equity and Support for
Underserved Communities through the Federal
Government calls for "a comprehensive approach
to advancing equity for ail, including people of
color and others who have been historically
underserved, marginalized, and adversely
affected by persistent poverty and inequality."
Collaboration to Increase Social Resilience in
Midcoast Maine
The Casco Bay Estuary Partnership is providing
leadership and staff support for a regional effort
to build a socially diverse network of climate
change and resilience practitioners, while
improving coordination to address barriers to
climate adaptation. A central goal of the project
is to reduce the threat of climate change, storm
events, and coastal flooding to the region's most
vulnerable populations. A planned scenario-based
exercise will bring together conservation, social
services, emergency management, and municipal
government representatives to identify common
concerns and overlapping goals.
Additionally, the Administration's Executive
Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis
states that the Federal Government "must advance environmental justice" and "bolster resilience to the
impacts of climate change." The NEPs have demonstrated their ability to work effectively with
underserved communities to bolster resilience to the impacts of climate change, and they are poised to
build on and expand these efforts.
Across the country, nine NEPs have initiated 14 climate adaptation, hazard mitigation, or resilience
projects related to EJ and equity in the past four years. For example, SJBEP has launched a platform
offering long-term community resilience support to reduce stressors that the most disadvantaged
watershed communities face. The SJBEP has now transformed five community centers into resilience
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hubs; each is equipped with solar power, water quality assessment equipment, first aid equipment,
electrical appliances and kitchen equipment to provide food for the community, emergency backpacks,
defibrillators, and cots.
In another example of the NEPs' advancement of EJ and equity goals, the Mobile Bay National Estuary
Program (MBNEP) has supported several activities to address climate vulnerabilities in the low-lying,
minority, traditionally underserved Toulmins Spring Branch (TSB) community. An Auburn University
team assessed hydrology, calibrated a stormwater management model, and conducted water quality
sampling in the TSB Subwatershed. The MBNEP-funded Prichard Drainage Study recommended low
impact development measures to improve stormwater management and reduce flooding. The MBNEP
initiated a Rain Barrel Installation Program in the TSB community to concentrate installation of barrels in
target neighborhoods to reduce runoff and educate residents about sources and mitigation of
stormwater runoff.
The NEPs' strong track record of delivering environmental, economic, and resilience benefits in the
areas described above - restoration, water infrastructure/living shorelines, monitoring, and outreach -
makes them uniquely well-positioned to work with communities to address EJ/equity and climate issues
in a holistic, meaningful way. One example of this is Transforming Urban Water, a collaborative initiative
led by the San Francisco Estuary Partnership that advances innovative nature-based solutions for the
San Francisco Bay shoreline in conjunction with wastewater treatment facilities that provide multiple
benefits including habitat, water quality improvements, and sea level rise adaptation. Launched in
Spring of 2019, the initiative: 1) engages community partners in ongoing and potential nature-based
solutions projects; 2) supports capacity building and resource sharing on design, permitting,
construction, planning, and public engagement; 3) advances research and monitoring; and 4) supports
an integrated approach that brings diverse perspectives to the table through the lens of equity and
resilience. This approach can provide a model for other NEPs and watersheds.
Building on Success - Emerging Opportunities for NEPs to Advance the Climate
and Equity Agenda
The NEPs are an essential element in EPA's toolbox, providing non-regulatory approaches built around
engaging, convening, partnering with, providing technical and financial assistance to, and educating the
public and private sectors.
The NEPs are delivering results on climate change adaptation, hazard mitigation, and resilience in their
communities. Building on their unique structure and accomplishments to date, NEPs are well-positioned
with their existing partnerships to make advances in multiple critical areas such as furthering equity and
climate change adaptation and hazard mitigation planning, and building resilient water and stormwater
infrastructure.
EJ, diversity, equity, and inclusion are growing focus areas for the NEPs, as disadvantaged communities
face disproportionate barriers to climate adaptation and are often more vulnerable to climate change
impacts such as more severe and frequent storms, increased flooding, and negative effects on
subsistence fisheries. EPA currently co-chairs an NEP Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion workgroup to build
on positive examples of EJ and equity efforts, share lessons across NEPs, and coordinate to expand
activities in this important area. EPA's commitment to environmental justice and water equity provides
a strong opportunity to build on the NEPs' EJ activities and successes of the past four years.
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Climate change is impacting the frequency and severity of natural disasters. The NEPs can work with
local communities to access FEMA funding through their local hazard mitigation plans, given a recent
change in FEMA policy that allows funding to be accessed for pre-disaster planning. Building on their
ongoing hazard mitigation planning efforts, the NEPs are able to work with communities to help them
access critical resources for disaster preparedness.
Water and stormwater infrastructure face severe threats from climate change. The NEPs have
demonstrated success in working with state and local governments to enhance the resilience of these
critical infrastructure elements.
Overall, the NEPs are critical partners to states, local governments, and communities faced with EJ
issues, in addressing the impacts of the climate crisis and have proven themselves as effective delivery
mechanisms for adaptation, hazard mitigation, and resilience solutions. The NEP program looks forward
to engaging with our partners, continuing to advance the Agency's ambitious agenda on climate, EJ and
equity, hazard mitigation, and water-related infrastructure and other emerging priorities.
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Number of NEP Adaptation, Hazard Mitigation, and Resilience Projects by Category*
NEP
Assessment
and Planning
Restoration
Water
Infrastructure,
Stormwater,
NPS
Monitoring
and
Research
Outreach
EJ and
Equity
Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program (APNEP)
5
1
1
0
4
1
Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program (BTNEP)
0
2
3
0
2
0
Barnegat Bay Partnership (BBP)
4
0
0
2
1
1
Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program (BBNEP)
1
1
0
1
0
0
Casco Bay Estuary Partnership (CBEP)
6
4
2
4
3
1
Coastal & Heartland National Estuary Partnership (CHNEP)
2
2
1
0
1
0
Coastal Bend Bays & Estuary Program (CBBEP)
1
1
1
1
2
0
Delaware Center for the Inland Bays (DCIB)
3
2
3
1
2
0
Galveston Bay Estuary Program (GBEP)
1
2
2

1
0
Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program (IRLNEP)
4
0
1
1
1
1
Long Island Sound Study (LISS)
0
2
1
1
1
0
Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership (LCEP)
3
3
0

1
0
Maryland Coastal Bays Program (MCBP)
4
3
2
1
0
0
Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program (MBNEP)
1
1
0

1
0
Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP)
2
2
1
1
1
1
Morro Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP)
4
2
2
1
0
0
Narragansett Bay Estuary Program (NBEP)
3
4
0

0
0
New York - New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program (HEP)
5
1
2
1
1
0
Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (PDE)
4
3
2

4
1
Peconic Estuary Partnership (PEP)
2
3
0
1
1
0
Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP)
2
2
0
1
3
0
Puget Sound Partnership (PSP)
3
2
1
1
0
1
San Francisco Estuary Partnership (SFEP)
4
4
3
2
1
3
San Juan Bay Estuary Program (SJBEP)
5
2
1
2
4
4
Santa Monica Bay National Estuary Program (SMBNEP)
2
3
0
3
0
0
Sarasota Bay Estuary Program (SBEP)
2
0
0
0
1
0
Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP)
5
4
2
4
1
0
Tillamook Estuaries Partnership (TEP)
5
3
0
4
2
0

83
59
31
39
39
14
This table presents information on 149 NEP projects across six categories. Many of these projects address more than one category. The information was
provided by EPA's NEP Regional Coordinators in 2020. Darker shading in the cells indicates a larger number of projects (white=0, dark red=6 projects).
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