The Watershed Assistance Grant Program is a partnership between the Chesapeake Bay Trust (Trust) and the Maryland Departments of Natural Resources (DNR) and Environment (MDE) to support for watershed restoration project designs and permitting and for watershed planning and programmatic development.
Donor Name: Chesapeake Bay Trust
State: Maryland, West Virginia
County: All Counties
City/Town: Selected
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 12/06/2023
Size of the Grant:
- Track 1 – Project Design: Up to $100,000 and $150,000
- Track 2 – WPPD: Up to $75,000
Grant Duration: 16 months
Details:
This grant program welcomes requests from local governments and nonprofit organizations for assistance with the earliest phases of watershed restoration projects. Funding is available for watershed restoration project designs and for watershed planning and programmatic development.
The goal of the projects funded through this opportunity will be improved water quality in:
- The entire State of Maryland
- The West Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
- By funding the earliest phases of watershed restoration projects and planning, the funding partners provide local governments and non-profit organizations the ability to position themselves to quickly advance implementation work. The funding partners envision the products of grants funded under this opportunity will enable grantees to:
- Leverage resulting designs, plans, or projects to craft future proposals for implementation funding to the Maryland Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund, grant programs at the Chesapeake Bay Trust, or other sources of support and
- Develop deliverables that will support local planning efforts such as Financial Assurance Plans (FAPs), Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Implementation Plans, county-wide Green Infrastructure Plans, watershed action plans, and state Watershed Implementation plans (WIPs).
- By funding the earliest phases of watershed restoration projects and planning, the funding partners provide local governments and non-profit organizations the ability to position themselves to quickly advance implementation work. The funding partners envision the products of grants funded under this opportunity will enable grantees to:
Funding Information
Maryland and West Virgina welcome requests for the design of stormwater best management practices, restoration designs, watershed assessments, and watershed planning projects in the below tracks:
Track 1 – Project Design
- Generally, up to $100,000 for the design of best management practices (BMPs), including the following:
- Bioretention cells and large-scale rain gardens;
- Stormwater management practices, that include low impact development (LID) techniques, green infrastructure (GI), water quality BMPs, and environmental site design (ESD);
- Submerged gravel wetlands; and
- Agricultural BMPs.
- Generally, up to $150,000 for the design of restoration practices, including the following:
-
- Stream restoration;
- Wetland and marsh creation/restoration; and
- Living shorelines.
Track 2 – Watershed Planning and Program Development
- Generally, up to $75,000 for planning and program development
Project Period
Projects must be completed within 12 to 16 months upon receipt of the award.
Eligible Project Locations
All communities in Maryland and throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed in West Virginia are eligible.
Eligibility Criteria
The Trust, MDNR, MDE, and WVDEP welcome requests from the following organizations:
- Municipal, County, and Regional Agencies
- Nonprofit Organizations
- Faith-based Organizations
- Community and Homeowners Associations (HOAs)
- Soil/Water Conservation Districts & Resource Conservation and Development Councils
- Forestry Boards
- Public and Independent Higher Educational Institutions
For more information, visit Chesapeake Bay Trust.
