The Indian River Lagoon (IRL) was nominated as an Estuary of National Significance and joined the National Estuary Program (NEP) in 1990 under the sponsorship of the St. Johns and South Florida Water Management Districts and was formally established in 1991. The IRLNEP is part of a national network of twenty-eight estuary programs established under the Federal Clean Water Act and administered nationally by the United States EPA. The Program’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) was published in 1997 and updated in 2008.

Today, the IRLNEP is sponsored by the IRL Council, which was established in February 2015 as a special district of Florida. The IRL Council includes representatives of five counties bordering the lagoon (Volusia, Brevard, the Indian River County Lagoon Coalition, St. Lucie and Martin counties), the St. Johns River and South Florida Water Management Districts, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The U.S. EPA provides guidance to the Council.

For more info visit:  One Lagoon