BISCAYNE BAY WATERKEEPER INC

Financials

From the e-filed returns the IRS publishes as XML (latest three processing years; amended returns replace the original). PDF copies at the IRS.

Officers, directors and key employees

As listed on the 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025, highest compensation first.

Address and contacts

Address (IRS master file)

2121 PONCE DE LEON BLVD STE 230, CORAL GABLES, FL 33134-5221

In care of

% RACHEL SILVERSTEIN

Mailing address (990-N for 2014)

12568 N Kendall Drive, Miami FL 33186

Principal officer (990 for 2025)

RACHEL SILVERSTEIN, 2121 PONCE DE LEON BLVD 230, CORAL GABLES, FL 33134

Principal officer (990-N for 2014)

Rachel Silverstein, 12568 N Kendall Drive, Miami FL 33186

Signed the 990

RACHEL SILVERSTEIN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFI

Phone

(305) 905-0856

Website

www.bbwk.org

Return prepared by

GUTIERREZ MADARIAGA CPA PA

Mission

IN 2025, BISCAYNE BAY WATERKEEPER (D/B/A MIAMI WATERKEEPER) BUILT ON OUR REPUTATION BY NAVIGATING CHALLENGES, SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES, AND CONTINUING OUR UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO SAFEGUARDING OUR PRECIOUS WATERWAYS AND FINDING LOCAL RESILIENCY SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL CHALLENGES. WE UPDATED OUR MISSION AND VISION TO BETTER REFLECT THE WORK WE DO AND THOSE WE SERVE. THE MISSION OF MIAMI WATERKEEPER IS NOW TO PROTECT SOUTH FLORIDA'S WATERS BY ADVOCATING FOR RESILIENT SOLUTIONS GROUNDED IN SCIENCE, ROOTED IN NATURE, AND DRIVEN BY COMMUNITY. WE HAVE A VISION FOR A RESILIENT SOUTH FLORIDA THAT IS A GLOBAL LEADER IN CLEAN WATER SOLUTIONS, WHERE THRIVING COMMUNITIES AND NATURE COEXIST. SINCE 2010, MIAMI WATERKEEPER HAS DEFENDED THE RIGHT TO USE AND ENJOY CLEAN WATER. WE ARE RECOGNIZED IN THE COMMUNITY AS A TRUSTED SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND A LEADING VOICE AND ADVOCATE FOR BISCAYNE BAY AND ITS SURROUNDING WATERSHED. OUR WORK IS EFFECTIVE BECAUSE WE EMPLOY A MULTI- FACETED APPROACH THAT INCLUDES SCIEN

Program accomplishments

• MIAMI WATERKEEPER PROTECTS THE WATER YOU LOVE. WE WORK TO ENSURE A RESILIENT SOUTH FLORIDA THAT IS A GLOBAL LEADER IN CLEAN WATER SOLUTIONS, WHERE THRIVING COMMUNITIES AND NATURE COEXIST. WE PROTECT SOUTH FLORIDAS WATERS BY ADVOCATING FOR RESILIENT SOLUTIONS GROUNDED IN SCIENCE, ROOTED IN NATURE, AND DRIVEN BY THE COMMUNITY BY EMPLOYING A MULTIDISCIPLINARY STRATEGY: SCIENCE AND RESEARCH; POLICY AND LEGAL ADVOCACY; EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. WE FIND LOCAL SOLUTIONS TO THE GLOBAL PROBLEMS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND WATER POLLUTION. YOU MIGHT FIND US IN A COURTROOM ONE DAY, AND IN A KAYAK THE NEXT; SCUBA DIVING ALONG THE REEF IN THE MORNING, AND BENDING THE EAR OF COMMISSIONERS IN THE AFTERNOON. WERE IN CLASSROOMS AND WETLANDS, LABORATORIES AND COMMUNITY EVENTS. WEVE SECURED SIGNIFICANT PROTECTIONS FOR OUR WATERWAYS BY FOCUSING ON THREE AREAS: CLEAN WATER, THRIVING HABITATS, AND A RESILIENT COMMUNITY. BY FIGHTING FOR CLEAN WATER AND OUR COMMUNITY, WE ARE MAKING MIAMI A MODEL OF RESILIENCE FOR THE WORLDWATER WIN BY WATER WIN. CLEAN WATER FROM THE EVERGLADES TO THE OCEAN, FROM THE GROUNDWATER TO REEFS, WE TACKLE POLLUTION ISSUES THROUGHOUT THE BISCAYNE BAY WATERSHED TO PROTECT SOUTH FLORIDAS WATERS. EVERY WEEK, MIAMI WATERKEEPERS TEAM OF DEDICATED WATER QUALITY TECHNICIANS TESTS MORE THAN 34 POPULAR WATERFRONT SITES THROUGHOUT MIAMI-DADE AND BROWARD COUNTIES FOR BACTERIA LEVELS. WE REPORT ALL OF OUR FINDINGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA, ON OUR WEBSITE, AND IN THE EASY-TO-USE SWIM GUIDE APP HELPING THE PUBLIC KNOW WHETHER BEACHES AND WATERWAYS ARE SAFE TO ENJOY. OVER 159,000 PEOPLE HAVE VIEWED OUR RESULTS VIA SWIM GUIDE THIS YEAR. 1. WATER QUALITY SAMPLES COLLECTED: 1,387 SAMPLES 2. PUBLIC VIEWS ON SWIM GUIDE: 159,482 VIEWS 3. POLLUTION REPORTS RECEIVED AND RESPONDED TO: 96 4. SWIM ADVISORIES SHARED WITH THE PUBLIC: 4 THRIVING HABITATS WE PROTECT THE NATIVE ECOSYSTEMS OF SOUTH FLORIDACORAL REEFS, MANGROVES, SEAGRASSES, AND WETLANDSTHAT DEPEND ON CLEAN WATER AND HELP PROTECT OUR COASTS FROM THE IMPACTS OF STORM SURGE AND SEA LEVEL RISE. FLORIDAS RIVERS, LAKES, AND COASTAL WATERS SHOULD BE SAFE FOR DRINKING, SWIMMING, FISHING, AND SHELLFISH HARVESTINGBUT OUTDATED RULES PUT PEOPLE AT RISK. FLORIDAS WATER QUALITY STANDARDS THAT LIMIT EXPOSURE TO TOXIC, CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICALS HAVENT BEEN UPDATED SINCE 1992DESPITE A REQUIREMENT TO REVIEW THEM EVERY THREE YEARS. THE STATES HUMAN HEALTH CRITERIA, MEANT TO PROTECT PEOPLE FROM DOZENS OF HARMFUL CHEMICALS, INCLUDING NEUROTOXINS AND ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS, ARE OVERDUE FOR REVISION. BOTH THE STATE AND THE EPA HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE CURRENT LIMITS ARE NOT FULLY PROTECTIVE, YET UPDATES HAVE STALLED FOR DECADES. AFTER DECADES OF DELAY, WEVE STEPPED IN. ALONG WITH WATERKEEPERS FLORIDA AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE ALLIANCE, WE PETITIONED THE EPA TO ENFORCE STRONGER PROTECTIONS. THE AGENCY BEGAN DRAFTING NEW STANDARDS FOR 77 TOXIC POLLUTANTS, BUT IN JANUARY 2025, THE EPA HALTED ALL NEW RULES AND WITHDREW THE DRAFT STANDARDS. UPDATING THESE STANDARDS IS ESSENTIAL TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH, LOCAL FISHERIES, AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT RELY ON FLORIDAS WATERS. PORT EVERGLADES, ONE OF FLORIDAS BUSIEST PORTS, IS ALSO HOME TO SOME OF THE LAST STAGHORN CORALS AND QUEEN CONCH LEFT IN FLORIDA. A PLAN TO DEEPEN AND WIDEN THE CHANNELEERILY REMINISCENT OF THE PROJECT PLANNED AT PORTMIAMI- THREATENS TO RESULT IN THE LARGEST IMPACT TO CORAL REEFS PERMITTED IN U.S. HISTORY, ACCORDING TO NOAA. A RECENT REPORT WARNS THAT MORE THAN 10 MILLION CORALS COULD BE AT RISK. MIAMI WATERKEEPER AND OUR PARTNERS EARTHJUSTICE, CENTER FOR BIODIVERSITY, THE DIVE EQUIPMENT AND MARKETING ASSOCIATION, AND FLORIDA WILDLIFE FEDERATION HAVE BEEN CHALLENGING THIS PROJECT IN COURT SINCE 2016. WEVE SUCCEEDED IN REQUIRING NEW ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS AND STRONGER PROTECTIONS FOR THE CORALS, FISH, AND WILDLIFE IN THE AREA. BUT THE IMPORTANCE OF PROTECTING THIS REEFAFTER STAGHORN CORALS WERE DECLARED FUNCTIONALLY EXTINCT IN FLORIDA THIS YEARMEANS THAT THE STAKES ARE HIGHER THAN EVER. AS POLITICAL PRESSURE IS MOUNTING TO PUSH THIS PROJECT FORWARD, MIAMI WATERKEEPER LAUNCHED A WIDESPREAD, MULTI-PRONGED ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN. WEVE SENT TECHNICAL COMMENT LETTERS TO THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS DEMANDING THAT THE PROJECT COMPLY WITH ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT REQUIREMENTS, AND WEVE LAUNCHED ADVERTISEMENTS AND A PETITION CAMPAIGN. OUR TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING WITH THE LOCAL COMMUNITY, INCLUDING REGULAR DIVES, PLANE FLIGHTS, AND SATELLITE ANALYSES, TO KEEP TRACK OF THE ACTIVITY IN THE AREA. DEEP BENEATH MIAMI-DADE, IN THE BISCAYNE AQUIFER, LIVES THE UNIQUE MIAMI CAVE CRAYFISH, FOUND ONLY IN MIAMIS UNDERGROUND FRESHWATER CAVES. THIS ENDEMIC SPECIES IS HIGHLY VULNERABLE TO RISING SEAS, POLLUTION, AND OVER- PUMPINGTHREATS THAT ALSO IMPACT THE AQUIFER THAT SUPPLIES CLEAN WATER TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES. TO PROTECT BOTH THE CRAYFISH AND THIS CRITICAL WATER SOURCE, MIAMI WATERKEEPERIN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY HAS FILED A LAWSUIT AGAINST THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE TO SECURE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PROTECTIONS. THIS LEGAL ACTION AIMS TO RECOGNIZE THE CAVE CRAYFISH AS A THREATENED SPECIES AND, THEREFORE, SAFEGUARD ITS HABITAT, PRESERVE BIODIVERSITY, AND ENSURE RESILIENT DRINKING WATER SUPPLIES FOR MIAMI. SUCH ACTIONS DEMONSTRATE HOW PROTECTING A SINGLE SPECIES CAN HAVE FAR-REACHING BENEFITS FOR PEOPLE AND NATURE ALIKE. A RESILIENT COMMUNITY MIAMI IS AMONG THE WORLDS MOST VULNERABLE CITIES TO SEA-LEVEL RISE, SO ALL OF OUR WORK IS GUIDED BY ENSURING A MORE RESILIENT SOUTH FLORIDA THAT SUPPORTS OUR ENVIRONMENT AND COMMUNITY FOR GENERATIONS TO COME. ON THE EDGE OF BISCAYNE BAY, TWO NUCLEAR TURKEY POINT NUCLEAR PLANT POSES RISKS TO SOUTH FLORIDAS ECOSYSTEMS, COMMUNITIES, AND OUR DRINKING WATER SUPPLY. AS THE PLANT AGES AND SEA LEVELS RISE, NEW RISKS ADD PRESSURE TO THE PLANT, AND THE STAKES HAVE NEVER BEEN HIGHER. MIAMI WATERKEEPER AND PARTNERS HAVE CHALLENGED THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIONS LICENSE EXTENSION AND ANALYZED ENVIRONMENTAL DATA TO UNCOVER EMERGING RISKS FROM THE PLANTS AGING INFRASTRUCTURE AND COOLING CANALS. WE BROUGHT THESE COMPLEX ISSUES TO THE PUBLIC THROUGH AN ANIMATED VIDEO SERIES, AN OP-ED IN THE MIAMI HERALD, AND COVERAGE IN THE GUARDIAN, BLOOMBERG, AND WPLG. BY COMBINING LAW, SCIENCE, AND STORYTELLING, WE ARE TURNING RISK INTO RESILIENCE AND SAFEGUARDING BISCAYNE BAY FOR GENERATIONS TO COME. THIS VICTORY IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW HYPERLOCAL ADVOCACY CAN BE USED TO CHANGE OUTCOMES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. MIAMI WATERKEEPERS EPA AND NFWF-FUNDED GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE ACCELERATOR PROJECT IS ADVANCING NEW SOLUTIONS TO URBAN WATER CHALLENGES, AND LARCHMONT PARK IS A CLEAR EXAMPLE OF HOW COMMUNITY-DRIVEN DESIGN CAN IMPROVE WATER QUALITY AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE. THROUGH THIS INITIATIVE, MIAMI WATERKEEPER WORKED WITH LOCAL OFFICE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AND MIAMI-DADE COUNTYS DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, RECREATION, AND OPEN SPACES TO DESIGN RESILIENCY SOLUTIONS FOR 6 UNDERUTILIZED PUBLIC SPACES. AFTER DOZENS OF COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSIONS, TABLING EVENTS, TOWN HALLS, AND COMMUNITY FEEDBACK, LOCATIONS LIKE LARCHMONT PARK ARE BEING REIMAGINED WITH NATURE-BASED STRATEGIES SUCH AS RAIN GARDENS, TREE PLANTINGS, AND OTHER GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE FEATURES THAT CAPTURE AND FILTER STORMWATER, REDUCE FLOODING AND HEAT, AND CREATE HEALTHIER, MORE LIVABLE NEIGHBORHOODS. THIS WORK ACTIVELY ENGAGES RESIDENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS IN PLANNING AND FEEDBACK TO ENSURE THAT GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVES WATER FILTRATION, SUPPORTS HABITATS, AND STRENGTHENS COMMUNITY WELL-BEING. ENGAGEMENT MIAMI WATERKEEPER CELEBRATED ITS 10TH MICROPLASTIC CLEAN-UP, BRINGING TOGETHER A TOTAL OF 326 DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS TO REMOVE 879 LBS OF MARINE DEBRIS FROM LOCAL MANGROVES AND WATERWAYS. EACH PIECE COLLECTED HELPS PROTECT BISCAYNE BAYS FRAGILE ECOSYSTEMS AND WILDLIFE, TRANSFORMING HANDS-ON ACTION INTO MEASURABLE IMPACT. MICROPLASTICS AND MARINE DEBRIS HARM FISH, BIRDS, AND AQUATIC HABITATS, AND CAN MAKE THEIR WAY INTO THE FOOD CHAIN. EACH CLEAN-UP REDUCES POLLUTION, STRENGTHENS ECOSYSTEMS, AND HELPS ENSURE HEALTHIER WATERS FOR SOUTH FLORIDA RESIDENTS AND WILDLIFE ALIKE. FROM MANGROVES TO CANALS, EVERY CLEAN-UP DEMONSTRATES THE POWER OF COMMUNITY ACTION. THIS YEAR, OUR OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT HAVE REACHED THOUSANDS. 1. COMMUNITY MEMBERS ENGAGED: 6,091PARTICIPANTS 2. LBS OF MARINE DEBRIS REMOVED: 6,418.77 POUNDS 3. COMMUNITY MEMBERS TRAINED IN 1,000 EYES ON THE WATER: 397 PARTICIPANTS 4. ACRES OF HABITAT RESTORED: 21.5 ACRES
  Expenses $2,580,344 · grants $194,727

What it must file and when

IRS records say it files Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N. Its accounting year ends in December, so each return is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after that.

IRS record

EIN

27-3627697

Tax-exempt status

501(c)(3): Charitable, religious, educational or scientific organization

Foundation status

Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))

Donations deductible (Pub 78)

Public charity, 50% deduction limit

Exempt since

2010

Accounting year ends

December

Files

Form 990 or 990-EZ

Category (NTEE)

Environment (C32)

Assets (IRS master file)

$4,768,289

Income (IRS master file)

$4,763,499

Filing history

990-N: the IRS bulk file holds only the latest e-Postcard per organization; earlier years come from archived copies of that file since 2020 and can have gaps (the IRS e-Postcard search lists every one). 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-T: every e-filed return in the IRS e-file index since 2019; XML for the latest three processing years, amounts from the IRS Statistics of Income extracts before that. PDF copies and determination letters at the IRS (search EIN 27-3627697).

Questions about BISCAYNE BAY WATERKEEPER INC

What is the EIN of BISCAYNE BAY WATERKEEPER INC?

The employer identification number (EIN) of BISCAYNE BAY WATERKEEPER INC is 27-3627697.

Is BISCAYNE BAY WATERKEEPER INC tax-exempt?

Yes. The IRS lists it as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) since 2010.

Are donations to BISCAYNE BAY WATERKEEPER INC tax-deductible?

Yes. It is listed in IRS Publication 78 (Public charity, 50% deduction limit).

Which annual return does BISCAYNE BAY WATERKEEPER INC file?

Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N.

When is the next return of BISCAYNE BAY WATERKEEPER INC due?

The return for tax year 2026 (the year ending December 31, 2026) is due May 17, 2027. Form 8868 extends it by six months; the 990-N cannot be extended.

When did BISCAYNE BAY WATERKEEPER INC last file with the IRS?

The latest return in the IRS public files is the 990 for the year ended December 2025.

Who is the principal officer of BISCAYNE BAY WATERKEEPER INC?

The 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 names RACHEL SILVERSTEIN.

Who are the officers and directors of BISCAYNE BAY WATERKEEPER INC?

The 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 lists 17 people; 5 received compensation from the organization, the highest $209,690 (RACHEL SILVERSTEIN, CHIEF EXECUT).

How much revenue does BISCAYNE BAY WATERKEEPER INC have?

On its 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 it reported revenue of $4,763,499, expenses of $3,722,168 and total assets of $4,768,289 at year end.

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