Bayou Chico may be on the verge of a comeback.

Today, Gov. Rick Scott and The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced the funding of $34.3 million for nine Florida projects that address high priority conservation needs. In the pot of money was $11 million to improve the health of Bayou Chico on Pensacola's west side.

The award will fund projects such as:

— Bill Gregory Park Regional Stormwater Treatment Facility project will capture and treat runoff from approximately 37 acres currently discharging untreated runoff directly into the eastern headwaters of Bayou Chico. The facility improvements will include a two-tier treatment train system with pretreatment units upstream to remove debris and floatables prior to entering a wet detention pond. The pond will be approximately 2.5 acres in size and will take an innovative approach to stormwater management by having multiple ecological benefits. In addition to its water quality improvement, the pond will serve as a wetland habitat for a variety of plants, birds and other aquatic animal species. This project has an estimated cost of $2.2 million.

— R Street at Maggie’s Ditch Stormwater Treatment Enhancement Project will capture and provide an element of treatment for stormwater runoff from approximately 225 acres of primarily commercial area now discharging untreated runoff directly into Maggie’s Ditch, a man made wetland that discharges to head waters of the bayou. The project will include a proprietary underground treatment unit to remove an estimated 50 percent of total suspended solids and debris/floatables prior to entering Maggie’s Ditch. It is estimated the system will remove approximately 20 tons of solids annually and will serve to protect the already completed Maggie’s Ditch Wetland Enhancement Phase I and II projects as identified in the restoration plan. This project has an estimated cost of $865,000.

— Beach Haven Northeast Stormwater Improvement Project Phase I. The majority of the existing development in the Beach Haven area is served by limited stormwater management systems. The county has initiated design for the Beach Haven Northeast Stormwater Improvement Project and the design plans are 60 percent complete at this time. Escambia County has committed to a cost share of almost $2.2 million and is seeking NFWF funding of approximately $5 million for this project. Escambia County’s cost share includes funds from the County Community Redevelopment Agency, the County Neighborhood Enterprise Fund, Community Development Grant funds and a Florida Department of Environmental Protection grant to contribute toward new stormwater treatment in the Beach Haven area.

— The Jones Creek and Jackson Creek stream and wetland floodplain habitat restoration project would restore 2,500 linear feet of Jones Creek and 3,000 linear feet of Jackson Creek and includes stream enhancements, floodplain expansion, riparian wetland restoration and invasive exotic species eradication. The project will result in more than 4 acres of wetland floodplain expansion and habitat restoration along Jones Creek and more than 2 acres of wetland floodplain expansion and habitat restoration Jackson Creek. This project has an estimated cost of $3 million.

The projects, developed in consultation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and federal resource agencies, are designed to remedy harm or reduce the risk of future harm to natural resources that were affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

“This $34.3 million in funding is great news for families in the Panhandle,” Scott said in a news release. “Florida’s natural treasures must be protected so that future generations will be able to experience all that our great state has to offer.”

The other announced projects in the Panhandle are:

— Escribano Point habitat restoration: $1,486,000. Land acquisitions under this proposal will result in approximately 590 acres of preserved, high-value coastal wildlife habitat. The shoreline provides stopover and foraging habitat for migrating shorebird species, including the piping plover, Cuban snowy plover, least tern and black skimmer.

— Continued study of the Gulf of Mexico fisheries: $3 million. The second phase of a five-year study by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to study the health of fishing stock, especially improving red snapper counts.

— Shorebird habitat conservation: $1,489,800. FWCC will receive this money to improve management, monitoring, education and outreach to guard the beach shorebird habitat along the Florida Gulf Coast.

— Improving data on sea turtle and reef fish habitats: $4,477,900. The University of South Florida will use this money to gather data about how species use an 2,800-square-kilometer area of the West Florida Continental Shelf.

— Oyster reef habitat restoration in St. Andrew Bay: $1,973,500. FWCC will use the funds to restore one-and-a-quarter-miles of oyster reef habitat in West Bay.

— Restoring coastal dune lakes: $3,045,400. The funds go to Florida Department of Environmental Protection to remove invasive species and use fire management to restore freshwater flows in priority dune lakes in the Panhandle.

— Destin Harbor, Joe’s Bayou and Indian Bayou Water Quality Improvements: $$3,593,600.

— Boggy Bayou watershed improvements: $4,223,000 for the city of Niceville.

The money is the second obligation from NFWF’s Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund, created 18 months ago as part of the settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and BP and Transocean to resolve certain criminal charges against both companies in relation to the spill.