Opportunities for Funding

The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) 319(h) Nonpoint Source Grant Program provides funding to qualifying counties, conservation districts, higher education institutions, regional agencies, and nonprofit organizations to improve conditions of Nevada’s watersheds and protect against nonpoint source (NPS) water pollution.

The grants support water quality improvement projects, education and outreach efforts, and the development and implementation of watershed based plans that focus on reductions in NPS pollution. Proposals are reviewed by a Technical Advisory Committee and ranked on project merit. Projects located in watersheds with approved watershed based plans, and that are anticipated to measurably reduce pollutants released to streams, rivers, and lakes are given priority. Nonpoint Source Grant Program funds originate from a US Environmental Protection Agency grant pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act (CWA).

Project proponents are encouraged to work with NPS Program staff prior to submittal of a proposal to ensure that it is eligible, complete and competitive. Ongoing and past CWA section 319(h) projects can be found within the Nonpoint Source Management Program Annual Report. ​

All proposals must follow the guidelines for application outlined in the Request for Proposals (RFP), which is available for download at Clean Water Act 319(h) Grants. State, local and tribal governments, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions are eligible to apply. A non-federal match (cash and/or in-kind) of at least 50% of the total project cost is required.

Nonpoint source pollution is the primary cause of water quality impairments throughout Nevada and the nation. Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution, unlike pollution from industrial and sewage treatment plants, comes from many diffuse sources (See NAC 445A.309). NPS pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, and ground water.

The overall aim of the federal Nonpoint Source Program administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is to restore and protect waters across the nation. The focus of the federal NPS Program is the removal of waters from the state’s 303(d) impaired waterbodies list. This is primary accomplished through the issuance of Clean Water Act 319(h) funds to designated states and tribal agencies to implement their approved nonpoint source management plans. Within Nevada, most of this grant funding is passed on to proponents seeking to implement actions to improve water quality.

USEPA guidance prioritizes 319(h) funding be utilized on implementation efforts within watersheds with approved watershed-based plans (WBPs). To gain approval, WBPs should, at a minimum, include the following nine elements:
1. Pollutant sources or causes
2. Management measures to be implemented to address pollutant sources/causes
3. Load reduction estimates for management measures to be implemented
4. Estimate of technical and financial assistance needed
5. Stakeholder information and engagement component
6. Implementation schedule
7. Measurable implementation milestones
8. Indicators to measure progress
9. Monitoring component to evaluate progress.

On April 10, 2024, the Office of Hawaii Affairs (OHA) will launch the OHA Kanaaho Grant for Lahaina and Kula to provide direct financial assistance to impacted Native Hawaiian homeowners and renters in the wildfire impact zones of Lahaina and Kula. The grant funds will support the empowerment of impacted Native Hawaiians to determine their own greatest needs, to meet those needs in the face of disaster, and improve the economic stability of Native Hawaiians.

ELIGIBILITY
The OHA Kanaaho Grants will provide critical support to Native Hawaiian homeowners and renters in the wildfire impact zones of Lahaina and Kula.

It is the first disbursement of the $5 million in disaster aid funding that the OHA Board of Trustees approved to support wildfire survivors.
A $9,000 grant will be awarded to eligible homeowners who experienced hardship; while a $4,000 grant will be awarded to eligible renters who experienced hardship.

The California Tahoe Conservancy (Conservancy) leads California's efforts to restore and enhance the extraordinary natural and recreational resources of the Lake Tahoe Basin. The principal goal of the Conservancy's Science and Lake Improvement Account program (SB 630, 2013) is to support near-shore environmental improvement program activities and projects, particularly projects that manage aquatic invasive species or improve public access to sovereign land in Lake Tahoe.More specifically, such projects manage aquatic invasive species, or improve public access to sovereign land in Lake Tahoe, including planning and site improvement or reconstruction projects on public land, and land acquisitions from willing sellers. SB 630 (2013) allocates the Conservancy approximately $350,000 annually. Please contact staff at robert.larsen@resources.ca.gov and 916.402.7508 for more information.

The Active Transportation Plan include, but are not limited to, increasing the proportion of trips accomplished by walking and biking, increasing the safety and mobility of non-motorized users, advancing efforts of regional agencies to achieve greenhouse gas reduction goals, enhancing public health, and providing a broad spectrum of projects to benefit many types of users including disadvantaged communities.

These projects must be consistent with the State’s climate adaptation strategy (Safeguarding California Plan), contribute to the carbon sequestration goals of AB 32, and support WCB’s Strategic Plan. In addition, projects will be consistent with other statewide plans and priorities, including the California Water Action Plan and California State Wildlife Action Plan 2015 Update.

Program funding is directed toward projects that:

Protect and restore ecosystems on natural and working lands to provide climate change adaptation and resilience for wildlife.
Assist natural and working lands managers in implementing practices that provide climate adaptation and resilience.
Increase carbon sequestration in natural and working lands, and provide additional social, economic, and environmental benefits, or "co-benefits".

Purpose:
RUST grants may be used to finance up to 100 percent of the costs necessary to upgrade, remove, or replace UST project tanks to comply with the requirements of Health and Safety Code sections 25284.1, 25292.05, 25292.4, 25292.5, or 41954.

Description:
Replacing, Removing, or Upgrading Underground Storage Tanks (RUST) grants are available to assist small business underground storage tank (UST) owners and operators in financing up to 100 percent of the costs necessary to upgrade, remove, or replace project tanks to comply with the requirements of Health and Safety Code section 25284.1, 25292.05, 25292.4, 25292.5, or 41954. Please note that removal-only projects are now eligible for RUST grants.

Grants are available for between $3,000 and $70,000 to eligible UST owners/operators. An additional $140,000 in RUST grant moneys above the $70,000 maximum is available for remote public fueling stations for the purpose of removing and replacing a single-walled UST. (See Health and Safety Code § 25299.107(e) for more information.)

Eligibility Requirements

Grant applicants must be a UST owner and/or operator and meet all of the following requirements:

• The applicant is a small business that employs fewer than 20 full-time and part-time employees, is independently owned and operated, and is not dominant in its field of operation;

• The grant applicant’s principal office and its officers must be domiciled in California;

• The facility where the project tank is located was legally in business retailing gasoline after January 1, 1999.

• All of the tanks owned and operated by the grant applicant are subject to compliance with

Health and Safety Code chapter 6.7 and implementing regulations;

• The facility where the subject tank is located has sold, at retail, less than 900,000 gallons of gasoline annually for each of the two years preceding the submission of the grant application; (Gallonage is based upon taxable sales figures provided to the State Board of Equalization (BOE) on the grant applicant’s BOE 401 GS including Schedule G.)

• The grant applicant meets either of the following:

The grant applicant is in compliance with Health and Safety Code sections 41954 and 25290.1, 25290.2, 25291, or subdivisions (d) and (e) of section 25292; (The facility must provide a current UST permit, a current Permit to Operate, and proof of EVR compliance as evidence of compliance with the permit compliance requirements.) or

Revised 1/2020

The grant applicant meets the requirements for a waiver from the RUST grant permit compliance requirements. (The project is for removal-only and the grant applicant does not qualify for a RUST loan.)

This is not a reimbursement program. Work cannot begin until you have an agreement executed by the State Water Board.

The objective of the IIG program is to promote infill housing development by providing financial assistance for Capital Improvement Projects that are an integral part of, or necessary to facilitate the development of affordable and mixed income housing.

Assistance Type
Under the Program, grants are available as gap funding for infrastructure, Factory-Built Housing components, and Adaptive Reuse necessary for specific residential or mixed-use infill developments. Applications will be accepted and evaluated for threshold requirements and eligibility on a continuous basis via an over-the-counter process, on the merits of the individual applications.

Eligible Costs
Eligible costs include, but are not limited to, the creation, development, or rehabilitation of Parks or Open Space; water, sewer or other utility service improvements (including internet and electric vehicle infrastructure); streets; roads; Transit Station Structured Parking; transit linkages or facilities; facilities that support pedestrian or bicycle transit; traffic mitigation, sidewalk, or streetscape improvements; Factory-Built Housing components; Adaptive Reuse; and site preparation or demolition.

Eligible Applicants
Eligible Applicant means a nonprofit or for-profit Developer of a Qualifying Infill Project or a Tribal Entity that is the Developer of a Qualifying Infill Project.

This grant provides resources for keeping boater sewage from California waterways.

The Pumpout Facility Grant Program funds the construction of pumpout and dump stations on California's waterways.

Purpose:
To protect critical agricultural lands, to support infill & compact development, and to avoid increases in the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses. Planning grants support the development of local and regional land use policies and economic development strategies to protect these agricultural lands.

Note: pre-proposals are required, deadline for submittal is January 31, 2025.

Description:
The Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program supports the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emission goals by making strategic investments to protect agricultural lands. Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Planning Grants support the development and implementation of plans for the protection of agricultural land at risk of conversion to non-agricultural uses, maintaining the economic viability of the region’s agricultural lands, and developing the economic viability of regional food systems and infrastructure to support the production, aggregation, processing and distribution of agricultural products.