$9 million for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is offering $9 million in grant funding applications to go toward roughly 24 projects aimed at addressing stormwater runoff carrying pollution from the land into water bodies. These projects will also support innovative efforts to reduce nutrients from agricultural runoff in the Great Lakes basin. Applications are due Aug. 20, 2021, on Grants.gov.

EPA recently posted Request for Application (RFA) to the RFA website, where interested applicants can find a summary of the funding opportunities. The funding is made possible by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a nonregulatory program to accelerate efforts to protect and restore the largest system of fresh surface water in the world.

There are three categories open to applicants:

• Green infrastructure in shoreline communities; special consideration given to projects benefiting underserved communities
  • Green infrastructure uses vegetation and soils to mimic nature as it soaks up stormwater. These elements provide cleaner water, cleaner air, and flood protection to the local community.
• Riparian restoration to reduce runoff
  • Riparian refers to the area of land along the water with unique characteristics that help protect our streams and rivers and support wildlife. Riparian areas help filter pollutants trying to make their way into the Great Lakes.
• Legacy phosphorus in agricultural settings
  • Legacy phosphorus refers to soils that have been heavily fertilized in the past. A few examples could include using engineered or natural hydrologic structures designed to intercept and filter agricultural runoff with high legacy phosphorus levels.

Those eligible to apply include state agencies, interstate agencies, federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations, local governments, institutions of higher learning, and applicable nonprofit organizations.

Contact the EPA for questions or more information.