ST PETERSBURG, Fla. — Two congressional members who represent the Tampa Bay area are requesting more than $17 million to be put into the federal budget for St. Pete-based environmental and infrastructure projects. 

The city of St. Pete picked seven projects that Mayor Ken Welch’s administration felt needed federal funding and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor and U.S. Rep Anna Paulina Luna are pushing five forward to submit to the House Appropriations Committee for consideration for the 2025 federal budget.

This year’s request tops the FY 2024 budget request by $7.6 million.

Rep. Castor is putting her support behind 3 major environmental and infrastructure projects in St. Pete. She’s requesting $5 million go toward elevating the section of MLK Street, south of Salt Creek, to 32nd Ave S that frequently floods. Another $1.5 million is requested to implement the Seagrass Mitigation Bank and give attention to the bottom of Tampa Bay, near the St. Pete Pier. The financial disclosure letter shows funding would be used specifically to fill a hole near North Shore Park and help restore lost seagrass for better water filtration.

The third project is $1.3 million to be used for water quality improvements at Crescent Lake. To date, the water quality does not meet federal standards.

“They also need to make it more resilient to these intense flooding events,” Castor said. “They don’t have another funding source right now from the state or in the budget so it is a high priority for the neighbors. I’m hopeful we’ll be able to deliver some dollars to Crescent Lake Park.”

Funding requests pushed forward by Rep. Luna include the construction of a new master lift station to help with flooding near Lake Maggiore and nearly $1 million for new police vehicles.

These projects will now be reviewed by the House Appropriations Committee to see if they’re included in the FY25 Federal Budget.