Grants

Section 9106 of the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code annually provides for the allocation of $35,000,000 from the Motor Vehicle License Fund for the Dirt and Gravel Road Maintenance Program.  Of that amount, $7,000,000 is allocated directly to the Bureau of Forestry for maintaining the dirt and gravel roads in their jurisdictions.  The SCC is responsible for allocating the remaining $28,000,000 to the 64 County Conservation Districts who participate in the Dirt and Gravel Road Maintenance Program, including up to $8,000,000 for the maintenance of low-volume roads.

The Environmental Stewardship and Watershed Protection Act, known as the Growing Greener Watershed Restoration and Protection Program (Growing Greener), was passed into law in December 1999. The statutory authority for the grants is found in Section 6105(b) of the Environmental Stewardship and Watershed Protection Act (27 Pa.C.S. §§ 6101—6113). The primary purpose of the program is to restore impaired waters and protect waterways from nonpoint source pollution within the Commonwealth

The Appalachian Region Independent Power Producers Association (ARIPPA) is partnering with the Eastern and Western Pennsylvania Coalitions for Abandoned Mine Reclamation to offer competitive awards to watershed and conservancy organizations facilitating abandoned mine drainage (AMD) and/or abandoned mine land (AML) remediation projects in Pennsylvania.

Awards are granted under the guidance and administration of EPCAMR and WPCAMR. The amount distributed by ARIPPA in 2023 will be $6,000. However, the total grant award could potentially increase depending on contributions from other donors.

Funding may be used for, but not limited to, the following:

-- Operations, maintenance, and rehabilitation of AMD treatment systems

-- Stream monitoring equipment purchases

-- Analyses and watershed plans

-- Vegetation management and erosion control

-- Educational purposes to promote AMD/AML reclamation

-- Supplies for trash cleanups

-- Drone purchase and training to use as a tool to promote AMD/AML reclamation

The ARIPPA AMD/AML Reclamation Grants are designed to help environmental organizations and conservation districts continue their efforts toward improving our environment.

The overall goal of the Watershed Restoration and Protection Program (WRPP) is to restore, and maintain restored stream reaches impaired by the uncontrolled discharge of nonpoint source polluted runoff, and ultimately to remove these streams from the Department of Environmental Protection’s Impaired Waters list. Projects which involve the construction, improvement, expansion, repair, maintenance or rehabilitation of new or existing watershed protection Best Management Practices (BMPs).