Deadline: 20-Sep-22
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting applications to improve water quality and restore wetlands in San Francisco Bay and its watersheds.
Given the historic loss of over ninety percent of San Francisco’s baylands and the significant number of waterbodies in the San Francisco Bay region with water quality impairments, the SFBWQIF aims to support a broad array of project types that will protect and restore those wetlands and waters. This year, in addition to long-standing funding priorities such as wetlands restoration, improving stormwater quality, and remediating contaminated shorelines, this solicitation seeks applications that address climate change impacts and environmental justice concerns, as well as those that advance landscape-scale watershed restoration.
Priorities
- Multi-benefit shoreline projects that restore habitat, provide flood protection and/or reduce pollutants
- Watershed and urban infrastructure improvements in frontline communities
- Beneficial reuse of dredged material
- Solutions that reduce water quality impacts associated with people and communities experiencing homelessness
- Reductions in levels of trash and microplastics in Bay waters
- Restoration of subtidal habitat through sediment remediation and/or debris removal
- Installation of green stormwater infrastructure features to treat stormwater
- Projects to reduce nutrient inputs into San Francisco Bay, (e.g. wastewater treatment plant technologies, agricultural land BMPs, etc.)
Funding Information
Awards will range from approximately $1,000,000 to $3,000,000 to be budgeted over a typical project period of four years.
Outcomes
The term “outcome” means an environmental result, effect or consequence that will occur from carrying out project activities and/or completing outputs related to an environmental goal. Outcomes may be environmental, behavioral, health-related, or programmatic in nature, but must be quantitative. Proposals must include a description of project outcomes even if the outcome to be achieved is beyond the assistance agreement funding period. For projects that are implementing activities called for in a plan such as a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) or a restoration plan with an extended timeframe (e.g., 20 years), applicants should explain the degree to which the activities move towards the stated long-term goal or outcome. Outcomes expected as a result of the awards under this announcement may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Acres of wetlands/other aquatic habitat restored
- Pollutant load reductions, attainment of water quality objectives, or other numeric indicators of water quality improvement
- Percentage of land area where Low Impact Development has been or will be implemented to achieve water quality improvements and/or other habitat enhancements
Eligibility Criteria
- The following entities are eligible to apply for funding under this announcement: State, local government agencies, districts, and councils; regional water pollution control agencies and entities; State coastal zone management agencies; public and private universities and colleges; and public or private non-governmental, non-profit institutions. Nonprofit organizations must have documentation of non-profit status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or their state of incorporation. Non-profit organizations as defined in Section 501(c) (4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying or superseding legislation are ineligible.
- A broad range of entities eligible to submit applications under this announcement for projects within the nine Bay Area counties (Marin, Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo, and San Francisco.)
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=342479
