The Green Infrastructure Grant Opportunities (GIGO) Program funds projects to construct green infrastructure best management practices (BMPs) that prevent, eliminate, or reduce stormwater runoff into Illinois’ rivers, streams, and lakes.
Donor Name: Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
State: Illinois
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant | Reimbursement
Deadline: 11/20/2024
Size of the Grant: More than $1 million
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
Projects that implement treatment trains (multiple BMPs in a series) and/or multiple BMPs within the same watershed may be more effective and efficient than a single large green infrastructure BMP.
Examples of Project Types
Examples of Project Types/BMPs that may be funded through GIGO are provided below. The list is not all-inclusive, and inclusion of a BMP here does not equate to an automatic eligibility for funding under GIGO.
- Bioinfiltration
- Vegetated practices designed to facilitate the infiltration of stormwater through infiltration media and/or vegetation uptake (e.g., bioretention areas, swales, infiltration basins, and green roofs)
- Retention/Infiltration
- Practices which allow stormwater to infiltrate into underlying soil; (e.g., permeable pavement/pavers (roadway, alleys, and parking lots)); underground infiltration; and retention areas)
- Detention Pond Creation/Retrofit
- Projects which create a new wet detention basin
- Projects which retrofit an existing dry retention basin into a wet detention basin
- Projects which modify an existing wet detention basin to increase its stormwater retention capacity (e.g., additional freeboard)
- Wetland Creation/Modification
- Projects which create a wetland to intercept runoff, reduce peak flows, decrease runoff volume to rivers, streams, and lakes
- Projects which modify an existing wetland (within limits of State and federal law) to improve its stormwater retention capacity
- Floodplain Reconnection
- Projects which reconnect a river, stream, or lake to its floodplain to increase water infiltration through access to larger water retention area and/or for a longer water retention period such as:
- A two-stage ditch includes a ‘floodplain’ within its channel design.
- Daylighting restores an originally open-air watercourse previously diverted below-ground to an above-ground channel to allow the watercourse to reconnect with its floodplain.
- A levee retrofit allows water access back to a specific area within its floodplain.
- Projects which reconnect a river, stream, or lake to its floodplain to increase water infiltration through access to larger water retention area and/or for a longer water retention period such as:
- Watershed-Wide Projects
- Smaller BMPs (e.g., rain gardens, green walls, trees, tree boxes, infiltration planters, dry wells, pocket wetlands, etc.) and the BMPs listed above that are constructed throughout the watershed. This type of project benefits communities that do not have large tracts of land to convert into green infrastructure.
- NOTE – Applicant must describe the ranking process used for watershed-wide projects to confirm that the BMP sites proposed address the most critical areas with structural and non-structural practices that, if properly managed, will provide the greatest stormwater runoff control for the longest duration.
- Rainwater Harvesting
- Projects that capture, divert, and store rainwater for later use (e.g., rain barrels and cisterns)
- Downspout Disconnections
- Projects which redirect flow from a roof, currently connected to a sewer system, into a rain barrel or to another area, usually a lawn or rain garden, where it can soak into the ground
- Bmp Design and Construction
- Projects including both BMP design and its construction (See Funding Source Description for funding restrictions for design costs.)
Funding Information
- GIGO utilizes funds distributed by the State of Illinois generated under the Build Illinois Bond Fund. Illinois EPA expects to award a total of $5,000,000 and anticipates distributing this amount across two (2) to ten (10) awards. GIGO has a set maximum total grant award of $2,500,000 with a minimum grant award of $75,000. No more than 50% of the program total, per funding cycle, shall be allocated to any one applicant or project.
- GIGO is a reimbursement program.
Grant Period
The anticipated start date for approved projects is August 30, 2025. Project length is two years (24 months), unless otherwise approved by Illinois EPA.
Eligible GIGO Projects
Eligible GIGO projects, through the construction of BMPs, will decrease stormwater runoff prior to release into rivers, streams, and lakes, and include:
- reconnection of a stream with its floodplain (e.g., two-stage ditch, daylighting);
- flow control of stormwater runoff at sites directly upstream or downstream of an impervious area that currently impacts rivers, streams, or lakes through stormwater runoff discharge; and/or
- flow control of water generated from impervious surfaces associated with existing urban land use (such as roads and buildings).
Eligibility Criteria
Individuals, Small Businesses, Others, Government Organizations, Education Organizations, Public Housing Organizations, Nonprofit Organizations, For-Profit Organizations.
For more information, visit EPA.
