Interoffice Memorandum
DATE: March 26, 2026
TO: Mayor Jerry L. Demings and County Commissioners
THROUGH: N/A
FROM: Tanya Wilson, AICP, Director, Planning, Environmental, and Development Services Department
CONTACT: Elizabeth R Johnson MPA, CEP, PWS, Acting Manager
PHONE: (407) 836-1511
DIVISION: Environmental Protection Division
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approval and execution of State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection Standard Grant Agreement Agreement Number: NS137 Project Title (Project): Mosher Drive NSBB-UFF Project in the amount of $225,000. A match in the amount of $232,906 is required. District 2. (Environmental Protection Division)
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PROJECT: Florida Department of Environmental Protection Grant Agreement Number NS137 Mosher Drive Nutrient Separating Baffle Box with Upflow Filter Project.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this Consent Item is to request that the Board approve a grant agreement between Orange County and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to provide funding for the construction of a water quality improvement project in the Wekiwa and Rock Springs Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) area. The total amount of funding awarded by FDEP Grant Number NS137 is $225,000 with $232,906 matching funds provided by Orange County towards the total project construction costs of $457,906. The funding will be made available through a cost reimbursement grant, which requires execution of a grant agreement with the FDEP. The grant agreement start date was July 1, 2025, which was the date the state received the funding. The grant agreement expires September 30, 2030 which allocates approximately five years from the grant begin date to complete project related tasks including time for the grant award recipients to be selected and notified, time for the project to be bid for construction, contracts to be executed, construction of the project to be completed, and for the post construction report to be prepared and sent to FDEP for final acceptance. The project is currently in the design phase. Once the design is complete, the project will be bid for construction. The contract will be awarded to the lowest qualified bidder. Once the contractor provides the preconstruction submittals, the notice to proceed will be issued and construction will commence.
As background, the Wekiwa and Rock Springs BMAP was finalized in 2018 by the FDEP, and Orange County was identified as a stakeholder and as such, Orange County is expected to perform projects or implement programs for pollutant reductions. Additionally, Lake Weston is located within the Wekiva River Planning Unit and has been listed as an impaired water body by the FDEP for chlorophyll-a and total phosphorus. As an alternative to developing a total maximum daily load for the lake, Orange County Environmental Protection Division pursued a 4e Pollution Reduction Plan (PRP) which required identifying the primary sources of nutrient loading to the lake and implementing best management practices to remediate the pollution impairment and improve water quality. The 4e PRP for Lake Weston was approved by the FDEP on February 15, 2021. The Mosher Drive Nutrient Separating Baffle Box with Upflow Filter (NSBB-UFF) project was identified in the 4e PRP as a future project planned to improve water quality in Lake Weston.
To assist in meeting the pollutant reduction removal goal for nitrogen and phosphorus, FDEP is providing funding assistance for the construction of structural projects that will specifically target the reduction of pollutants in impaired watersheds.
The Mosher Drive NSBB-UFF Project aims to enhance stormwater management and improve water quality in the Wekiwa and Rock Springs BMAP area. The project includes retrofitting an existing stormwater sewer system with a nutrient separating baffle box and upflow filter to provide nutrient removal of stormwater prior to discharging to Lake Weston. The project has a no permit required permit determination letter (permit determination number 178159-1) from the Saint Johns River Water Management District to construct the improvements. The grant funding will go towards the construction of the project. This project represents a comprehensive approach to addressing nonpoint source pollution and promoting sustainable stormwater management practices.
The Grant Agreement is included as Attachment 1.
This Agreement was reviewed by the County Attorney’s Office and approved as to form. The Environmental Protection Division presented this grant opportunity to the Grant Review Committee, who were supportive.
BUDGET: N/A