BOEMRE Awards More Than $1.9 Million for Mississippi Projects

Grants Will Fund New Wastewater Treatment Systems and Land Acquisition

NEW ORLEANS – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) announced that it has awarded three Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) grants totaling $1,904,000 to Harrison County, Miss., the state of Mississippi, and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR). The three awards will fund an improved sewer collection and sanitary treatment system in the Turkey Creek area of Gulfport; the implementation of a wastewater complementary project to make sewer line connections to a newly-installed transmission system in Kiln; and an amendment to the Pass Christian Beachfront Property Acquisition project in Harrison County. 

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 will continue to support important water quality and infrastructure initiatives such as these three projects, which are crucial to Mississippi’s coastal communities,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “CIAP grants enable us to partner with Mississippi and its coastal counties to fund essential municipal projects that will help preserve our critical coastal ecosystems for generations to come.” 

The first grant will provide $239,000 to Harrison County to fund a Canal Road sewer collection system project, which will eliminate the aging sewage treatment plant and unreliable septic systems currently operating in the area. The new system will also provide for the proper collection and treatment of sanitary sewage, and will reduce the discharge of untreated sewage to surface waters that flow into the Turkey Creek Watershed in Gulfport.  

The second grant will provide $1,650,000 to the state of Mississippi for a wastewater complementary plan to reduce the number of individual septic treatment systems for commercial establishments and individual residences in the central Hancock County community of Kiln. This funding will allow for the creation of approximately 300 sewer connections to the newly installed transmission system. The initiative will also reduce pollution from faulty septic tank systems from entering the main watershed in Kiln. 

The third CIAP grant is an amendment to provide $15,000 for additional expenses for the original multi-phase Pass Christian Beachfront Parcel Acquisition project. This parcel will be managed as a public park in partnership with the city of Pass Christian, as part of its master plan for redevelopment of the downtown area. The MDMR will place a conservation easement on the property because of its potential for natural disaster resiliency, ecological conservation, public use, and proximity to other publicly-owned open spaces, such as the beachfront park and the Pass Christian Harbor.  

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.

Contact: BOEMRE Public Affairs-Gulf