Orange Beach, Ala. – (OBA) – Orange Beach was awarded a grant from the NOAA Marine Debris Program and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and is one of five entities to receive the grant in the 2022 Hurricane Response Marine Debris Removal Fund.
The awards will go to Gulf of Mexico states impacted by the 2020 and 2021 hurricane seasons, totaling approximately $1.6 million in federal funds. Federal funding is supplemented by grantee matching contributions, bringing the total investment of these marine debris projects to approximately $2.4 million.
The 2020 and 2021 hurricane seasons inflicted severe damage to communities and coastal resources across the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, leaving a swath of destruction and large amounts of debris in coastal areas. This debris poses hazards to navigation, commercial fishing grounds, and sensitive ecosystems.
The supported projects will assess remove, and dispose of marine debris that was caused by or moved by the storm. This will prevent further damage to sensitive coastal habitats and species and reduce the impacts of marine debris on properties, community infrastructure, assets of economic importance, and navigation safety. The funded projects are: