Purpose and Priorities

• The GAD is a Great Water Body program of EPA founded to facilitate collaborative actions to protect, maintain, and restore the health and productivity of the Gulf of America in ways consistent with the economic well-being of the region. GAD’s top priorities are to improve water quality; to enhance, restore and/or protect habitats; and to improve the region’s ability to withstand storm events.
• The purposes of this funding opportunity are to generate applications that align with the Administration’s “Powering the Great American Comeback” initiative; to support GAD’s priority for water quality and habitat improvement; and, to align with GAD’s statutory authority for demonstration projects that prevent, reduce, or eliminate nutrient pollution and/or harmful algal blooms (“HABs”). These funding purposes are concurrent with GAD’s objective to remain good stewards of tax-payer dollars while ensuring that every penny spent is going towards advancing this mission.
• This funding opportunity seeks applications that improve water quality through nutrient reduction demonstration projects that are enhanced by innovative technology. All applicants should identify how their nutrient reduction project and use of innovative technology could lead to cost savings and economic benefits in the future.
• Applications must propose a nutrient reduction and/or estuarine or marine HAB mitigation demonstration project in one or more of the following three focus areas within the Gulf of America watershed within the contiguous United States. Activities proposed in the Gulf of America must be limited to the United States contiguous zone:
  • Habitat: Enhance and/or restore habitat(s) to reduce nutrient pollution within the Gulf of America watershed.
  • Water Quality: Capture, store, reuse, and/or infiltrate water to reduce nutrient loads and improve water quality; demonstrate sustainable solutions to align with broader watershed protection or restoration strategies.
  • Harmful Algal Blooms (“HABs”): Prevent and reduce the impact of marine and estuarine HABs, including SIEs, on Gulf of America coastal areas (e.g., bays, estuaries, beaches, islands/keys, oyster reefs, nearshore waters). Projects should focus on innovative solutions.

Funding Information

• Estimated Total Program Funding: $ 6,000,000
• Award Ceiling: $1,000,000

Duration

• Awards funded under this opportunity are expected to have a 3-to-5-year project period.

Eligibility Criteria

• Only these types of organizations may apply:
  • Indian Tribe.
  • State & Local Governments.
  • Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs).
  • Nonprofit organizations.
• International organizations are not eligible to apply.
• Qualified non-federal entities eligible to apply include non-federal governmental entities, nonprofit organizations, and institutions. This includes state agencies; any agency or instrumentality of local government; interstate agencies; federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations; colleges and universities; non-profit organizations; and other public or non-profit private agencies, institutions, and organizations.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.

https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/358752