Grants

The Department of Environmental Protection will be accepting applications for EPA Section 319 Watershed Restoration and Planning Grants. The purpose of these grants is to provide funding to implement nonpoint source management plans and activities identified in Pennsylvania’s Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) watersheds. Implementation activities must address specific sources of nonpoint source pollution identified by the 2019 – 2024 Pennsylvania Nonpoint Source Management Plan.

Objectives:

• Reduce AMD-related iron, aluminum, and acidity pollutant loads.
• Reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollutant loads.
  
  • Implement stream restoration, bank stabilization, and/or stormwater management projects.
  • Plant, maintain, and protect riparian forest buffers.
  • Implement agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs).

This year's grant also provides for funding to develop Watershed Implementation Plans in Hydrologic Unit Code 12 (HUC12) watersheds within Environmental Justice areas.

The Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration grant program seeks to develop community capacity to sustain local natural resources for future generations by providing modest financial assistance to diverse local partnerships focused on improving water quality, watersheds and the species and habitats they support.

Projects include a variety of ecological improvements along with targeted community outreach, education and stewardship. Ecological improvements may include one or more of the following: wetland, riparian, forest and coastal habitat restoration; wildlife conservation, community tree canopy enhancement, habitat, water quality and wildlife monitoring and green infrastructure best management practices for managing run-off. 

Projects should increase access to the benefits of nature, reduce the impact of environmental hazards and engage local communities, particularly underserved communities, in project planning, outreach and implementation. This program expects that applicants will represent a mixture of urban and rural communities. NFWF may use a mix of public and private funding sources to support any grant made through this program and we expect that more than half of projects awarded will support underserved communities.

GARP funding is available to companies or project aggregators who are able to develop a stormwater management plan on properties that total at least 10 acres in project size located in Philadelphia’s combined sewer service area only. The aggregator will be the direct recipient of funds but must provide agreements or contracts with all participating property owners as part of the grant application. All property owners must execute an Operations and Maintenance Agreement with PWD, and the project aggregator must execute an Economic Opportunity Plan as part of the subgrant agreement. Competitive applications will reduce costs to PWD as much as possible. Once the project is constructed, participating property owners (or customers) will be eligible for credits against their stormwater charges.
 

HFRP provides landowners with 10-year restoration agreements and 30-year or permanent easements for specific conservation actions. For acreage owned by an American Indian tribe, there is an additional enrollment option of a 30-year contract. Some landowners may avoid regulatory restrictions under the Endangered Species Act by restoring or improving habitat on their land for a specified period of time.

HFRP applicants must provide proof of ownership, or an operator (tenant) must provide written concurrence from the landowner of tenancy for the period of the HFRP restoration agreement in order to be eligible. Land enrolled in HFRP easements must be privately owned or owned by Indian tribes and restore, enhance or measurably increase the recovery of threatened or endangered species, improve biological diversity or increase carbon storage.

Land enrolled in HFRP easements - must be privately owned or owned by Indian tribes and restore, enhance or measurably increase the recovery of threatened or endangered species, improve biological diversity or increase carbon storage.