Grants

Mini-Grants for innovative K-12 classroom projects at any of Berks County's public schools.

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 new AML/AMD Grant Program that began in the fall of 2022 will continue with three more application rounds in 2023. The Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation is authorized through the United States Department of Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to issue grants to eligible applicants for the purpose of AML reclamation and AMD treatment or abatement. The Bureau will be accepting applications for projects that reclaim abandoned coal mines or address mine drainage from abandoned coal mines during the following open application periods:

2023 Application Round 2 – July 3, 2023, through 11:59 p.m. August 25, 2023
2023 Application Round 3 – October 2, 2023, through 11:59 p.m. December 2, 2023

Projects eligible to receive a grant through the AML/AMD Grant Program must reclaim or enhance AML sites that pose a threat to the environment and/or public health and safety, as specified in SMCRA. Sites must be determined eligible by BAMR, entered into both DEP’s and OSMRE’s AML inventory systems, and, in most cases, associated with a coal mine that was abandoned prior to August 3, 1977.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), through anticipated cooperative agreements from the Department of the Interior (DOI), Department of Defense (DoD), and the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is pleased to announce the launch of the America the Beautiful Challenge (ATBC) 2022 Request for Proposals (RFP). The ATBC vision is to streamline grant funding opportunities for new voluntary conservation and restoration projects around the United States. This Request for Proposals is a first step toward consolidating funding from multiple federal agencies and the private sector to enable applicants to conceive and develop large-scale, locally led projects that address shared funder priorities spanning public and private lands.

In year one of the ATBC approximately $85 million will be awarded in nationwide funding to advance the America the Beautiful Initiative and its goals to connect and restore the lands, waters, and wildlife upon which we all depend. In the first year, ATBC will seek to fund projects across the following themes:

1. Conserving and restoring rivers, coasts, wetlands and watersheds 
2. Conserving and restoring forests, grasslands and other important ecosystems that serve as carbon sinks 
3. Connecting and reconnecting wildlife corridors, large landscapes, watersheds and seascapes 
4. Improving ecosystem and community resilience to flooding, drought and other climate-related threats
5. Expanding access to the outdoors, particularly in underserved communities

Collectively, these themes allow applicants to develop landscape-level ATBC proposals that address conservation and public access needs that showcase cumulative benefits to fish and wildlife, carbon sequestration and storage benefits, engage with and benefit underserved communities, support community access to nature, and help safeguard ecosystems through conservation, resilience-focused and nature-based solutions. 

Projects funded through the ATBC will advance the principles underlying the America the Beautiful Initiative, as described in the Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful Report:

1. Pursue a collaborative and inclusive approach to conservation
2. Conserve America’s lands and waters for the benefit of all people
3. Support locally led and locally designed conservation efforts
4. Honor Tribal sovereignty and support the priorities of Tribal nations
5. Pursue conservation and restoration approaches that create jobs and support healthy communities
6. Honor private property rights and support the voluntary stewardship efforts of private landowners and fishers
7. Use science as a guide
8. Build on existing tools and strategies with an emphasis on flexibility and adaptive approaches