Grants

Act 13 of 2012 establishes the Marcellus Legacy Fund and allocates funds to the Commonwealth Financing Authority for funding orphan or abandoned well plugging projects using the Orphan or Abandoned Well Plugging Program (OAWP). Pennsylvania has hundreds of thousands of oil and gas wells drilled since 1859. This program provides a mechanism to plug abandoned and orphaned wells that have the potential to cause health, safety or environmental concerns. Projects which involve the cleaning out and plugging of abandoned and orphan oil and gas wells; stray gas mitigation systems; and well venting projects.

Applications will be accepted between February 1st and May 31st of each year. All applications and required supplemental information must be received by May 31st.

Projects authorized by a flood protection authority, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) or the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) or identified by a local government for flood mitigation are eligible for the program.

Applications will be accepted between February 1st and May 31st of each year. All applications and required supplemental information must be received by May 31st.

This pilot project is an approach to providing funding for urgent, unforeseen situations on designated water trails that impede or impair access, create unsafe conditions/ safety concerns for paddlers or others who want to access the water trail, affect safe ingress/egress from the water trail, etc.

Such situations could include, but are not limited to,

• Storm-induced scouring, flooding, debris impoundments that severely impact navigation.
• Fallen trees or other large obstructions caused by a storm or other event that will prohibit or severely impact an imminent sojourn, paddle fest, race, etc. 
• A situation where there is a major in-water litter/trash issue immediately prior to a planned community event, paddle, race, etc.
• A situation in which an access improvement/ enhancement project was funded and is almost complete, but an unforeseen event or situation threatens to prevent the project from being completed without a small infusion of extra funding.
• The destruction of a safety or wayfinding sign at an access point, if the sign was critical to orienting paddlers or providing critical information about a river hazard, portage, dam, 

In short, the situation must be caused by an “unanticipated” event, or one that could not be reasonably planned for. A known ongoing situation that was simply not addressed in time would not qualify. This funding should be viewed as a “last resort.” 

If the applicant is not the Water Trail Manager, applicant must contact the Water Trail Manager before applying to this funding. Additional, all applicants must contact one of the Water Trail Program Partners at PEC, DCNR or PFBC prior to applying.

WeConservePA is offering grants of up to $5,000 to conservation-oriented non-profit organizations or local/county governments to support their local trail and greenway outreach and education efforts. WeConservePA, Regional Trail Workshop Grants are awarded to support high-quality educational programming and safety training directly related to trails and greenways. Regional Trail Workshop Grants are reimbursement grants that cover up to 80 percent of the costs directly associated with each workshop (not to exceed $5,000) and require a 20 percent match from the organization.