Conservation District Environmental Grant Program

The Conservation District Environmental Grant Program is administered through Kentucky's Soil and Water Conservation Commission and Kentucky Division of Conservation. The program is intended to reduce agricultural non-point source pollution affecting surface water or groundwater and to help local conservation districts address specific environmental issues in their communities. Conservation districts are the only designated applicants. The maximum funding amount is $5,000 per grant. Program funds may support projects that educate the public about pollution problems, demonstrate effective alternatives, and encourage adoption of new management techniques or measures that improve environmental and water-quality outcomes. The current application identifies allowable project categories as Dead Animal Removal, Tree Seedlings for Local Giveaway Events, Tire or White Goods Cleanup/Removal, Septic Repair Incentives for Rural Homes, Environmental Education, Soil/Manure Testing, and Local Cost Share Programs. Other examples described in the program information include metal recycling, illegal dump cleanup, on-site sewage programs, tree planting, stream bank stabilization, and agricultural watershed monitoring. For community educational events, the project summary should describe the targeted audience, material development, time schedules, and related details. Educational activities should cover one or more identified topics such as water pollution and prevention, fallen animal composting, animal waste management, soil erosion, conservation planning, pesticide storage and disposal, or nutrient loading and management. Environmental grant funding is subject to a maximum cost share rate of 75 percent, and the application expressly requires a 25 percent match. Applicants must provide a detailed project budget showing how grant funds will be used and documenting the required match. The budget is specific to the proposed project rather than the conservation district's entire annual budget. Environmental grant funds may not be used for equipment, food, prize money, vegetable seeds, pesticides, or local cost share programs covering practices already available through the Kentucky State Cost Share Program. Awarded Environmental Grant Program funds must be expended within two years. A conservation district that continues to hold funds after two years may be ineligible for the next funding round. The application requires the conservation district name, application date, address, city and ZIP code, phone number, contact email, GPS coordinates, and the Hydrologic Unit Code for the location where the practice will occur. Applicants must indicate whether they possess water quality monitoring data demonstrating the need for the proposed practice and, if such data are available, attach a summary. Applicants must also identify pollutants that may be mitigated by the practice, select an allowable project category, provide a detailed description of the proposed activity, complete the project budget including the required 25 percent match, and obtain the conservation district board chairman's signature and date. GPS coordinates should be provided in decimal degrees to six decimal digits. For countywide projects, the district office coordinates and an appropriate broader-scale HUC may be used. Completed applications must be submitted electronically to the Kentucky Division of Conservation at conservation@ky.gov before announced annual deadlines. The email subject line should identify the submission as an Environmental Grant Program application and include the applicant's county name. All information and documentation requested by the application and instructions must be completed or the application may not be considered for funding. Applications are reviewed and ranked in relation to District in Good Standing scores, with districts scoring 75 percent or less potentially ineligible. Districts may also be disadvantaged or deemed ineligible if they have outstanding funds more than two years old, have more than two years of funding on hand, or have a history of late or missing reports. The Commission may also consider need for funds based on information in the district's Annual Financial Report and reserves the right to approve full or partial funding based on the review criteria and available funds. After funding, each grant must be reported separately, with environmental grant reports due on the last day of September, December, March, and June. Reports must be clearly labeled and account for all funds on hand. Once all grant funds have been spent, the district may submit a final report, after which additional reports are no longer required. Districts seeking to modify an approved use of funds must submit a letter, on district letterhead if available and signed by the board chair, identifying remaining funds, the original use, when funds were received, the proposed new use, and the amount to be moved to the new project. Program requests, reports, and modifications are submitted to conservation@ky.gov. The program operates around announced annual application deadlines, but the provided materials do not state a specific application deadline for the next funding round, application opening date, award notification date, or number of awards. Because the materials expressly refer to annual deadlines and a next round of funding, the program is treated as recurring, while the precise next deadline requires verification. For additional program information, the source identifies Chelsea Durbin at chelsea.durbin@ky.gov. No program phone number is provided in the supplied materials.

Complete all requested information and documentation because incomplete applications may not be considered; ensure the project fits an allowable category; document the required 25% match; avoid ineligible expenses including equipment, food, prize money, vegetable seeds, pesticides, and duplicative local cost share practices; maintain District in Good Standing performance and timely reporting; address outstanding grant balances before seeking additional funding.