Grants

Upcoming grant & award deadlines from PA Environment Digest: http://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=45853&SubjectID=

Grant Program Funder Area of Interest Eligible Regionsort ascending Eligible Applicants Award Amount Date Due
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund

The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), administered jointly with the PA Department of Environmental Protection, provides a resource for financing various public drinking water systems (including systems owned by for-profit entities and not-for-profit entities) for expenditures for projects which will facilitate compliance with national and state drinking water regulations or otherwise advance the health-protection objectives of the Safe Drinking Water Act. The Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving funds are funded by federal capitalization grants and State matching funds. 

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Funder:
Pennvest, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Area of Interest:
Pathogens and Point Source
Eligible Region:
Pennsylvania
Eligible Applicants:
Water Utilities (see link for more details)
Rolling
State Wildlife Grant Program

Funds for the State Wildlife Grants program (SWG) are provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to keep species from becoming federally listed as threatened or endangered. Annually appropriated by the U.S. Congress, Pennsylvania's funds are apportioned between the Fish and Boat Commission and Game Commission to address each agencies' trust species and habitats. The priority topic for the project will help support Pennsylvania's amphibian and reptile Species of Greatest Conservation Need found in the 2015-2025 Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan

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Funder:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
Area of Interest:
Eligible Region:
Pennsylvania
Eligible Applicants:
Any organization, agency, person, etc. in PA
Award Amount:
Up to 65% of total project costs
Rolling
EPA Clean Water State Revolving Fund

The PENNVEST Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program provides funding to projects throughout Pennsylvania for the construction and maintenance of wastewater treatment facilities, stormwater management projects, nonpoint source pollution controls, and watershed and estuary management. (Rolling: 4 cutoff dates per year)

This program offers low interest loans with flexible terms to assist a variety of borrowers that include local governments, municipalities, and privately owned entities and to establish partnerships to leverage other funding sources. 

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Funder:
PennVEST
Area of Interest:
Pathogens and Point Source, Stormwater
Eligible Region:
Pennsylvania
Eligible Applicants:
See link for more details
Award Amount:
Low interest loans
Rolling
Conservation Easement Assistance Program

The Conservation Easement Assistance Program provides small grants to conservation organizations to help cover the costs of:

  • Completing conservation as well as trail and fishing access easements
  • Amending and restating older easement documents
  • Establishing or updating baseline documentation
  • Installing signs on eased properties.

The program helps to increase the quantity and quality of easements.  

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Funder:
WeConservePA
Area of Interest:
Agriculture, Recreation
Eligible Region:
Pennsylvania
Eligible Applicants:
Private nonprofit entities and/or municipal authorities
Award Amount:
Up to $7,500
Year-round applications accepted
AML/AMD Grant Program

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.

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Funder:
BAMR
Area of Interest:
Abandoned Mine Drainage
Eligible Region:
Pennsylvania
Eligible Applicants:
county or municipality, county conservation district, council of government, municipal authority, incorporated nonprofit organizations
Award Amount:
$7 - $10 Million
August 25, 2023
2023 Urgent Issue on Water Trail Mini-Grant

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.

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Funder:
Pennsylvania Environmental Council/PA DCNR
Area of Interest:
Engagement & Stewardship
Eligible Region:
PA Water Trails
Eligible Applicants:
Eligible applicants include registered non-profit organizations and public entities (such as a county, municipality, or municipal agency).
Award Amount:
up to $2,000
rolling up to 12/31/2024
PA Water Trail Mini-Grants

Applications will be accepted for projects that implement the PA Water Trail Program’s eight guiding principles:

  • Partnership
  • Stewardship
  • Volunteerism
  • Education
  • Conservation Community Vitality
  • Diversity
  • Wellness and Well-being

Proposed projects must demonstrate that they will advance program goals such as creating recreational opportunities for all Pennsylvanians on water trails; developing trails that support sustainable use of natural resources; increasing and improving inclusive access to Pennsylvania Water Trails for all; and connecting water trails to land trails or to other culturally significant community assets.

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Funder:
Pennsylvania Environmental Council/PA DCNR
Area of Interest:
Engagement & Stewardship
Eligible Region:
PA designated water trails (https://pecpa.org/water/pa-water-trails/)
Eligible Applicants:
Registered non-profit organizations and public entities (county, municipality, or municipal agency)
Award Amount:
up to $7,000
November 1, 2024 by 6 PM
Coldwater Heritage Partnership (CHP)

The purpose of the Coldwater Heritage Partnership (CHP) is to provide leadership, coordination, technical assistance, and funding support for the evaluation, conservation, and protection of Pennsylvania’s coldwater streams.

Goals of the program include:

  • Foster a greater public understanding of watershed characteristics and how they affect coldwater ecosystems;
  • Identify special areas of concern, such as areas with exceptional water quality with high potential for impacts;
  • Produce conservation plans that will lead to additional planning or implementation of projects that protect and enhance our coldwater ecosystems; and
  • Provide technical assistance and financial opportunities to organizations dedicated to protecting coldwater ecosystems.
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Funder:
Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds
Area of Interest:
Abandoned Mine Drainage, Agriculture, Engagement & Stewardship, Pathogens and Point Source, Stormwater
Eligible Region:
PA coldwater streams and their watersheds
Eligible Applicants:
watershed associations, conservancies, conservation districts, municipalities, and local chapters of Trout Unlimited
Award Amount:
Up to $7,500 (planning) or $15,000 (implementation)
03/10/2023
Wild Resources Conservation Grant

Overseen by PA DCNR, the Wild Resource Conservation Grant program safeguards Pennsylvania’s non-game animals, native plants and their habitat. Grants are awarded in three areas: species surveys, conservation and management.

The eligibility of applicants is dependent on the funding source. WRCP funding sources include both Wild Resource Conservation Fund (WRCF) and Environmental Stewardship Fund (ESF), with most the funds available through this solicitation from ESF. Therefore, applicants are strongly advised to seek a sponsoring organization that is eligible for ESF funding.

The following applicant eligibility applies:

  • Counties, municipalities, educational institutions, and tax-exempt 501(3) (c) organizations registered with the Bureau of Charitable Organizations are eligible to receive grants from ESF for projects intended to protect and conserve biological diversity.
  • Conservation Districts and municipal authorities are also eligible for some types of projects funded by ESF.
  • Individuals, state government agencies and for-profit businesses, in addition to the categories above, are eligible for WRCF funds but not ESF funds.
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Funder:
PA DCNR
Area of Interest:
Engagement & Stewardship, Watershed Land Protection
Eligible Region:
PA
Eligible Applicants:
varies by funding source
Award Amount:
$30,000 (average)
July 8, 2022
UAC Grant Initiative

Only conservation districts as defined by state statute are eligible to apply for these grants. If NACD is able to continue this program, the next round of funding will open in Fall of 2023.

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Funder:
NACD
Area of Interest:
Agriculture, Engagement & Stewardship, Pathogens and Point Source, Stormwater
Eligible Region:
PA
Eligible Applicants:
Conservation Districts
Check back Fall 2023

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