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2023 Small Watershed Grants Program and Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Program

The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking applications for the 2023 Small Watershed Grants Program and Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Program.

Donor Name: Environmental Protection Agency

State: Selected States

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 09/15/2023

Size of the Grant:

  • The Community Capacity Building– Small Watershed Grants (CCB SWG) Program: $13,000,000
  • The Planning, Assistance and Implementation – Small Watershed Grants (PAI SWG) Program: $45,000,000
  • The Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) Grants Program: $38,000,000

Grant Duration: 5 years

Details:

The Chesapeake Bay TMDL – the largest ever developed by EPA – identifies the necessary pollution reductions of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment across Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia and sets pollution limits necessary to meet applicable state water quality standards in Chesapeake Bay, its tidal tributaries and embayments. These pollution limits were further divided by jurisdiction and major river basin based on state-of-the-art modeling tools, extensive monitoring data, peer-reviewed science and close interaction with jurisdictional partners.

This RFA is seeking cost-effective proposals from eligible applicants to support the following activities:

  • The Community Capacity Building – Small Watershed Grants (CCB SWG) Program
    • The Community Capacity Building – Small Watershed Grants (CCB SWG) Program aims to increase the effectiveness of community and frontline organizations that protect and restore rivers and local watersheds by addressing organizational capacity needs that advance environmental and community goals within the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. Organizational capacity is defined as activities that strengthen an organization to help it better fulfill its mission.
  • The Planning, Assistance and Implementation – Small Watershed Grants (PAI SWG) Program
    • This RFA is seeking cost-effective proposals from eligible applicants to manage the Planning, Assistance and Implementation – Small Watershed Grants (PAI SWG) Program. The purpose of the PAI SWG Program is to promote community-based efforts to develop and implement conservation strategies to protect and restore the diverse natural resources of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed and that support the goals and outcomes of the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement and any future partnership agreements.
  • The Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) Grants Program
    • This RFA is seeking cost-effective proposals from eligible applicants to manage the Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) Grants Program. The objective of the INSR Program is to support efforts within the Chesapeake Bay watershed to:
      • Accelerate sub-watershed and/or regional-scale implementation of nutrient and sediment reductions with demonstrated approaches that use priority practices that are in the state WIPs;
      • Actively transfer and disseminate the lessons learned from the subaward projects to the wider Bay region stakeholder community; and
      • Work to institutionalize the continued and expanded implementation of nutrient and sediment reduction practices and approaches.

Funding Information

  • Activity 1: The Community Capacity Building– Small Watershed Grants (CCB SWG) Program
    • Year 1: $2,500,000
    • Year 2: $3,500,000
    • Year 3: $3,500,000
    • Year 4: $13,000,000
    • Total: $13,000,000
  • Activity 2: The Planning, Assistance and Implementation – Small Watershed Grants (PAI SWG) Program
    • Year 1: $10,500,000
    • Year 2: $11,500,000
    • Year 3: $11,500,000
    • Year 4: $11,500,000
    • Total: $45,000,000
  • Activity 3: The Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) Grants Program
    • Year 1: $8,000,000
    • Year 2: $10,000,000
    • Year 3: $10,000,000
    • Year 4: $10,000,000
    • Total: $38,000,000

Period of Performance

The expected project period for the cooperative agreement is five years, with funding provided on an annual basis. No commitment of funding can be made beyond the first year. The expected start date for the award resulting from this RFA is January 1, 2024.

Eligible Projects 

The Community Capacity Building – Small Watershed Grants (CCB SWG) Program

Examples of subaward activities that could be funded under the Community Capacity Building – Small Watershed Grants (CCB SWG) Program include projects that:

  • Develop the organizational capacity of local governments, citizen groups, and other organizations to develop and implement community-based stewardship and enhance local watershed management;
  • Provide discrete strategic support including organizational assessments, consultant or facilitation costs for planning, financial management or donor management software, financial planning, video conferencing software, fees or registration costs for board or staff training opportunities, website design specifically related to online giving and membership, printing and postage for membership drives or annual appeals, presentation materials, and administrative hardware costs;
  • Develop adaptive capacity (the ability for an organization to monitor, assess and respond to internal and external changes);
  • Develop leadership capacity (the ability to prioritize, make decisions, provide direction and innovate to achieve the organization’s mission);
  • Develop management capacity (the ability of an organization to ensure the effective and efficient use of organizational resources); and
  • Support collaboration, investment, and application of social science research, methodologies, and disciplines that aid in developing capacity and designing and implementing effective strategies.

The Planning, Assistance and Implementation – Small Watershed Grants (PAI SWG) Program

Examples of subaward projects that could be funded under the PAI SWG Program include projects that:

  • Support communities in developing and implementing locally-based programs and projects that advance 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement goals, specifically projects that address outcomes that are off course in implementation, as identified in Chesapeake Progress such as the wetlands and forest buffers outcomes.
  • Develop the technical capacity of local governments, citizen groups, and other organizations to promote community-based stewardship and increase local watershed health and sustainability.
  • Promote a greater understanding of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the interrelationship between the health of the Bay and the condition of local watersheds.
  • Restore, protect, or conserve areas that are sensitive or of high value to multiple Agreement outcomes, such as wetlands (tidal and non-tidal) and riparian forests.
  • Support collaboration, investment, and application of social science research, methodologies, and disciplines that aid in developing capacity and designing and implementing effective strategies.

The Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) Grants Program

Examples of subaward projects that could be funded under the INSR Program include projects that:

  • Support implementation of projects that align with priorities driven by the water quality outcomes in the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, specifically those included in jurisdictions’ Watershed Implementation Plans and two-year milestones.
  • Provide technical assistance and capacity building for the design, planning, and implementation of local standards, ordinances, regulations, restoration practices, and programs to reduce nutrient and sediment loads from stormwater and agricultural lands.
  • Support the technology transfer, dissemination, institutionalization, and expanded implementation of actions that will address the greatest agricultural challenges facing restoration of water quality in the Bay (as described in the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement and associated Management Strategies and Outcome Logic and Action Plans, Bay TMDL and its associate WIPs and milestones, and 2022-2026 EPA Strategic Plan).
  • Support collaboration, investment, and application of social science research, methodologies, and disciplines that aid in developing capacity and designing and implementing effective strategies.
  • Support applications of technologies that have been shown to yield proven or cost-effective reductions of nutrients or sediments, with opportunities for widespread implementation across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Eligibility Criteria 

  • Eligibility for Activity 1 (CCB SWG) and Activity 2 (PAI SWG)
    • Pursuant to Assistance Listing 66.466 and CWA 117(g)(2), funds are available for technical assistance and assistance grants under the SWG Program to local governments and nonprofit organizations and individuals in the Chesapeake Bay region.
  • Eligibility for Activity 3 (INSR)
    • Pursuant to Assistance Listing 66.466 and CWA 117(d), funds are available for technical and general assistance grants under the INSR program to nonprofit organizations, State, tribal (federally-recognized) and local governments, colleges, universities, and interstate agencies.
  • Federally-Recognized Tribes
    • Seven tribes in Region 3, all located in Virginia within the Bay watershed, have received federal recognition. Such tribes are specifically included in the CWA’s definition of “municipality.” See CWA Section 503(4) (“municipality” includes “a city, town, borough, county, parish, district, association, or other public body created by or pursuant to State law and having jurisdiction over disposal of sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes, or an Indian tribe or an authorized Indian tribal organization.”)

For more information, visit Grants.gov.

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