Subject:
Title
Adoption, Re: Save Our Indian River Lagoon Project Plan 2026 Update
End
Fiscal Impact:
The recommended plan update recognizes a $2,300,233 decrease in total revenues to be generated by the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Surtax over its 10-year life (decreased from $585.73 to $583.43 million) with $5.16 million re-allocated for new and revised projects as follows: 3 wastewater projects; 6 stormwater treatment projects; 3 restoration projects; 1 muck project; and 1 aquatic vegetation harvesting project.
Dept/Office:
Natural Resources Management
Requested Action:
Recommendation
Consider the following action items:
1) Adopt (or modify and adopt) the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Project Plan 2026 Update, as recommended unanimously by the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Citizen Oversight Committee on January 16, 2026;
2) approve continued signature authority to the Chair (or authorized representative, in accordance with the threshold limits provided for in Brevard County policies and administrative orders) to execute contracts, agreements, task orders, change orders, contract renewals, amendments, grant agreements, and other contract-related documents, subject to review and approval by the County Attorney, Risk Management and Purchasing, as appropriate, for projects and programs approved in the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Project Plan;
3) approve authority for the Director of Natural Resources Management to execute no-cost time extensions up to one year and approve the County Manager to execute no-cost time extensions up to two years;
4) grant permission to advertise and competitively procure goods and services needed to implement projects and programs approved in the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Project Plan, subject to available funding;
5) authorize staff to submit grant applications for leveraging cost share for projects and programs approved in the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Project Plan; and
6) authorize the County Manager to execute all necessary Project Plan Update and associated grant budget amendments (BCRs).
End
Summary Explanation and Background:
Each year, to account for new information and opportunities, the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Citizen Oversight Committee is tasked with recommending an Update to the Save Our Indian River Lagoon (SOIRL) Project Plan. The Committee has held monthly public meetings throughout the year to keep informed, gather ideas from the community, review potential changes, and recommend an annual plan update to the County Commission. The Committee’s annually recommended SOIRL Project Plan Update is posted on the Committee’s webpage for public access at least 15 days prior to being brought to the County Commission for consideration. The County Commission may adopt or modify the Committee’s recommended Plan Update.
An intergovernmental coordination meeting was held on July 9th, 2025, to review the process for submitting project requests to be considered for addition to the 2026 SOIRL Project Plan Update. Project requests for the 2026 Update were due September 26th. Project submissions are listed in the summary table and the detailed applications (attached) were reviewed by the Committee during a November 21st public meeting. The Committee recommended what new projects and project revisions to include in the draft 2026 SOIRL Project Plan Update.
The draft 2026 SOIRL Project Plan Update (attached) includes eleven (11) new projects and three (3) project revisions. The draft 2026 SOIRL Project Plan Update allocates funding for a total of 403 projects over the 10-year life of the Plan, plus 942 individual quick connections to sewer and 2,671 septic upgrades. The draft 2026 plan also includes performance updates and refinements on multiple project types. To help readers find all areas of the SOIRL Project Plan that contain proposed updates or modifications, the attached Draft 2026 Update uses yellow highlighted text, table, and figure captions to indicate additions and revisions.
Inflation is compounded from the year funds were approved for a project to the year the project is anticipated to be complete, up to a maximum of 5-years, based on the following inflation rates for each year: 2.6% for Plan Years 0-4, 7.8% for Year 5, 17.3% for Year 6, 6.5% for Year 7, and 3.5% for Years 8-10. (Construction inflation rates are based on local bids and national construction industry statistics for infrastructure construction costs.)
Significant changes in the draft 2026 Update include:
• Revising the revenue projection down $2,300,233 in response to state changes in sales tax holidays and exemptions;
• Adding 11 new projects and revising 3 projects (5 county, 4 city, 3 private and 2 non-profit) at $5.16M;
• Updating inflation reserves for each project in the plan that is not yet complete; and
• Reporting on the costs, benefits, successes, and lessons learned from completed projects.
During fiscal year 24/25, actual tax collections were $70.7 million, which was $478,950 more than the $70.2 million estimated in the prior plan update. Using actual revenues collected in 2016 through September 2025, 1.47% for projecting revenue growth during the remainder of the 2025 calendar year, and 0.017% revenue growth in 2026, the estimated 10-year collections decreased by $2,300,233 from $585.73 million to $583.43 million.
In the 2026 Update, $233 million (42% of the Trust Fund) is directed to projects that improve the treatment of human wastewater through upgraded treatment of reclaimed water, connection of package treatment plants to central sewer, nutrient removal from treatment plant spray-fields and rapid infiltration basins, smoke testing to identify leaky sewer infrastructure coupled with funding to incentivize repairs, conversion of septic neighborhoods to sewer service, connection of septic homes to adjacent sewer lines, and upgrade of high-risk conventional septic to advanced septic systems. The 2026 Update allocates $213 million (38%) for muck removal, including stripping nutrients from the dredge outflow water. The 2026 Update allocates $86.6 million (16%) for stormwater treatment and vegetation harvesting, $11 million (2%) for restoration and $10 million (2%) for measuring project performance, and $4 million (<1%) for public outreach, as illustrated in the cost allocation pie charts (below). The recommended changes are consistent with the County Commission’s 2019 shift in emphasis that reduced muck dredging down from 66% of the original allocation and increased human wastewater related projects up from 24% of the original allocation.
Clerk to the Board Instructions:
Send Clerk’s memo of Board action to Natural Resources.