Amid worries about the seafood industry, Gov. Rick Scott on Monday went to Franklin County to tout a $3 million budget plan that would improve infrastructure and water quality in the Apalachicola Bay area.
“Our budget provides a targeted investment of $3 million for Apalachicola water quality improvement projects, which will provide this area with cleaner water to create healthier fisheries,” Scott said in a news release.
The plan, in part, would lead to the Northwest Florida Water Management District making storm-water system improvements that would improve the quality of water entering the bay. The water-quality improvements could help the area’s critical oyster industry, which has suffered from factors such as a drought and a long-running water dispute between Florida and Georgia.
Up to $500,000 of the money would go toward an analysis of river flows needed to maintain estuarine resources, according to the news release.