What is the Tampa Bay Estuary Program?
Tampa Bay was designated an "estuary of national significance" by Congress in 1990, paving the way for development of a long-term blueprint for bay restoration through the Tampa Bay National Estuary Program. Tampa Bay is one of 28 estuaries in the National Estuary Program; others in Florida are Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor and Indian River Lagoon.
The Tampa Bay National Estuary Program (TBNEP) was established in 1991 as a partnership of Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas counties; the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater; the Southwest Florida Water Management District; the Florida Department of Environmental Protection; and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In 1998, these and six other partners signed a formal Interlocal Agreement, and ancillary agreements, pledging to achieve the goals of the newly completed Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) for Tampa Bay, called Charting The Course. The Plan culminated nearly six years of scientific research into the bay's most pressing problems, and reflected broad?based input from citizens, groups and communities with a common interest in a healthy bay as the cornerstone of a prosperous economy.
