Governor Rick Scott announced on Tuesday the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is providing an additional $4 million in grant funding to help local communities impacted by red tide.
This additional funding brings the total amount to $13 million for communities dealing with the red tide bloom and blue-green algae caused by federal water releases from Lake Okeechobee.
The DEP has already awarded $1.3 million to Pinellas County and an additional $400,000 to Sarasota County.
Sarasota has received nearly $1.5 million to battle red tide and Manatee County has received $750,000.
Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota received $100,000 in federal grant money for its red tide response.