Federal Environment Grants

This funding supports institutions in developing training programs for predoctoral and postdoctoral researchers in biomedical and clinical fields, with a focus on enhancing diversity and preparing trainees for successful research careers.

The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), aims to strategically deploy electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure across the United States. With a total allocation of $5 billion over fiscal years 2022 through 2026, the program focuses on building a reliable, equitable, and interconnected network of EV chargers, particularly along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFCs) and the Interstate Highway System. States are required to submit an annual EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan outlining their intended use of NEVI funds, which must be approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The program emphasizes reducing greenhouse gas emissions, supporting equitable EV adoption, and creating sustainable jobs. Plans must address technical standards, data sharing, workforce training, and public engagement, with a strong focus on benefiting disadvantaged communities.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) State and Local Assistance (SLA) Program provides grants to the States, and through them to local units of government and federallyrecognized Indian tribes, for projects that will provide outdoor recreation opportunities to the public. This is accomplished through the acquisition of lands and waters for parks and other outdoor recreation areas, as well as through the development of new, or the renovation of existing, outdoor recreation facilities. The Program is operated by the National Park Service (NPS) in partnership with designated State Lead Agencies in each of the 50 States as well as American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Congress allocates money from the LWCF for this program, which is then apportioned to the States based on a legislative formula. To be eligible for LWCF grants, States must maintain an approved Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP), which is used to assess the supply and demand for outdoor recreation resources and set priorities for the use of LWCF funds. Since 1964, more than $5.2 billion has been made available to all 50 states, territories, and the District of Columbia and more than 44,000 grants have been awarded. The Department of Defense (DOD) Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program protects the Nation’s military readiness, enhances relationships with communities, preserves the environment, and improves military installation and community resilience to climate change. Under 10 U.S.C. 2684a, the REPI program funds cost-sharing partnerships for the military with state and local governments and private conservation organizations. These partnerships obtain easements or other interests in land from willing sellers or promote natural resource management and military installation resilience to preserve critical areas, resources, and natural infrastructure near military installations. Since program inception, REPI partnership projects have protected nearly 1.18 million acres of land in 120 locations in 35 states and territories. Overseen by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and implemented by the military services, REPI projects help to preserve vital missions at key military installations. In coordination with Congress and the DoD, the Secretary of the Interior has established a special competitive funding initiative using previously apportioned funds that are not currently allocated to any particular state or territory. The Readiness and Recreation Initiative will seek to fund projects that will acquire and enhance lands for public outdoor recreation that are also within the geographic scope of an agreement between a state, local government, or conservation-focused non-governmental entity and a military department pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2684a. Projects must meet the dual purposes of 1) providing outdoor recreation opportunities, and 2) promoting or supporting compatible land uses and avoiding incompatible development 4 in areas in the vicinity of, or ecologically related to, a military installation or military airspace, and/or to maintain or enhance the climate resilience of one or more military installations (hereinafter, “REPI Partnership Opportunity Area”). The projects will serve the general public and military families. Therefore, consistent with the purposes and requirements of the LWCF Act and LWCF Manual, the NPS is seeking land acquisition only or acquisition with compatible recreation development (aka, “combination”) project proposals matching the following factors: • meeting a priority outdoor recreation need or goal as identified in the State’s SCORP as well asthat of the community(ies), and that will provide compatible land use within the REPI Partnership Opportunity Area. • creating or expanding public outdoor recreational opportunities for the general public, including for residents and military families associated with the military installation within the REPI Partnership Opportunity Area. • located within an active REPI Partnership Opportunity Area. • promoting compatible land uses for military installations within REPI Partnership Opportunity Areas, particularly land uses related to compatible recreation development, advancing conservation or climate resilience (only if also offering compatible public access). • advancing the goals of a REPI partnership.

The principle objective of the Traditional Conservation Grant Program is to support the development and implementation of States programs to conserve and recover threatened and endangered species under the Services jurisdiction. Financial assistance, provided in the form of grants, can be used to support projects that have direct benefits for federally listed species, candidate and at-risk species, and recently delisted species. States may apply for funding to conduct conservation work on federally-listed resident species that are included in the States cooperative agreement. States may also apply for funding to monitor candidate, at-risk, and recently delisted species. Projects proposed for funding may involve management, research, monitoring, and outreach activities or any combination thereof. Applications should include clear and specific information about how the proposed work would contribute to species recovery or prevent the need to list a species under the Endangered Species Act. Successful applications will be those that clearly demonstrate a direct benefit to the species or its habitat.

This grant provides funding and technical assistance to organizations that help state, local, and Tribal governments improve their planning and permitting processes for large-scale renewable energy projects.

The DWS Grant Program has been established to help individuals with low to moderate incomes finance the costs of household water wells and individually owned decentralized wastewater systems that they own or will own. Grant funds must be used to establish and maintain a revolving fund to provide loans and sub-grants to eligible individuals for individually owned water well systems and/or individually owned wastewater systems. Individual households may use the loan and/or sub-grant funds to construct, refurbish, rehabilitate, or replace decentralized water systems up to the point of entry to a home. Point of entry for the well system is the junction where water enters into a home water delivery system after being pumped from a well. For septic systems, in lieu of the point of entry, the point of exit is substituted. The point of exit is the junction where wastewater exits out of the home wastewater collection system into the septic tank and drain field. Grant funds may be used to pay administrative expenses associated with providing DWS loans and/or sub-grants.

This funding opportunity is designed to support research initiatives that enhance the understanding and management of Atlantic bluefin tuna populations, particularly through collaboration with international partners involved in their conservation.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to farmer-led organizations and partnerships focused on improving water quality and environmental resilience in the Gulf of Mexico watershed through innovative agricultural practices.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting applications from eligible applicants to manage the Healthy Watersheds Consortium (HWC) Grant Program to continue efforts to accelerate and expand the strategic protection of healthy freshwater, estuarine, and marine ecosystems and their watersheds across the country. This grant program will advance the protection of healthy watersheds by supporting an array of projects to build watershed protection capacity and support actions to protect healthy watersheds.

This funding opportunity supports promising predoctoral students in health-related fields to receive personalized research training and mentorship, helping them develop into independent research scientists.

The San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program (Recovery Program) was established in 1991 to allow water development to continue within the Basin while still complying with the Endangered Species Act and protecting the endangered Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker. The Recovery Program consists of partners who are committed to the recovery of the listed fishes under the Endangered Species Act and includes water users, conservation groups, state, federal and tribal agencies. For further information on the Recovery Program, see https://coloradoriverrecovery.org/sj/. The San Juan River is partially regulated by Navajo Dam. There are several tributaries that flow into the San Juan River between the dam and Lake Powell, but substantial diversions occur from these tributaries limiting the contribution to the flow regime. Operation of Navajo Dam began in 1962 and has resulted in altered flow into the San Juan River with a tendency towards reduced spring flows in some years and supplemented flows in other seasons. Because frequency and magnitudes of flows are important triggers for various life cycle stages of endangered species, the Recovery Program developed flow recommendations to guide releases from Navajo Dam. The flow recommendations are designed to meet the conditions required to develop and maintain habitat for Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker and provide the necessary hydrologic conditions for the various life stages of endangered and other native fishes. The habitat monitoring that is part of this project will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of flow recommendations and management actions on habitat. Since 1992, aerial imagery has been collected along the San Juan River between the confluence of the Animas River (River Mile (RM) 180) and the inflow of Lake Powell (the interface between the San Juan River and Lake Powell) to as far downriver as Neskahi Canyon (RM -30). A light detection and ranging (LiDAR) flight was conducted in 2013. The imagery is used within the Recovery Program to track changes in channel morphology and habitat. Specifically, the number and area of low velocity habitat (backwaters, Notice of Funding Opportunity No. R24AS00327 2 embayments), total wetted area (wetted habitat and wetted channels of the river), and island complexes (used as a surrogate for habitat complexity) are quantified (Table 1). This extensive data set allows for tracking changes in habitat and assessing the effectiveness of management actions, implemented flows, and intra- and inter-annual variability in flows. The last analysis was conducted in 2022.

This funding opportunity supports programs that engage underserved communities, enhance behavioral health services, promote environmental stewardship, and provide significant benefits to AmeriCorps members, particularly focusing on youth, veterans, and public health initiatives.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and cultural groups to implement programs in Mozambique that promote education, entrepreneurship, and cultural exchange while fostering U.S.-Mozambique shared values.

This funding opportunity is designed for organizations specializing in invasive species management to develop and implement biosecurity strategies at Wake Island Airfield and surrounding military properties in the Pacific region.

Environmental assessments on offshore renewable energy development require accurate modeling and effective monitoring. Traditional sound propagation modeling for noise effect analysis often uses historical environmental variables that may not reflect oceanographic regime shifts due to climate change. Existing acoustic monitoring only evaluates species calls and signal/noise characteristics collected at the recording sites without incorporating oceanographic variables, and is thus unable to address broader issues such as ecological dynamics and oceanographic processes related to offshore wind development.The proposed study will deploy acoustic sensors in the vicinity of the National Science Foundations (NSFs) Pioneer Array ocean observation platform to collect active and passive acoustic datasets and to conduct sound propagation measurements. Acoustic data analyses will incorporate physical oceanographic time series collected in situ to understand mesoscale and sub-mesoscale oceanographic dynamics and ecosystem level effects from offshore wind development.The outcome of the study will assist to understand the sub-mesoscale and mesoscale oceanographic processes and changes in relation to offshore wind planning and development at the mid-Atlantic shelfbreak region. The outcome will also provide validation to regional sound propagation models. Additionally, the outcome will include information on diurnal, seasonal, and annual occurrence and abundance of planktons, fishes, and marine mammals near offshore wind farm areas.

The "CCRP Initiative: NIH Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT) Translational Exploratory/Developmental Research Projects" grant aims to fund research that develops new treatments and strategies to combat serious health effects caused by exposure to highly toxic chemical threats, including potential terrorist attacks or industrial accidents.

This grant provides funding for organizations and individuals to restore wetlands and protect permafrost near Fort Wainwright, Alaska, using nature-based engineering solutions.

The "USDA Forest Service Inflation Reduction Act Forest Landowner Support: Landowner Cost Share Payment Programs for Climate Mitigation and/or Forest Resilience Practices" grant is designed to provide financial support to landowners for implementing climate mitigation and forest resilience practices, as part of a state-endorsed program under the USDA Forest Service's Landscape Scale Restoration Program.

This funding opportunity supports predoctoral students from underrepresented backgrounds in health-related research, providing them with mentorship and resources to develop into independent research scientists.

Please see the full Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO) for complete opportunity details.The purpose of this NFO is to provide the Department of Defense with an assistance mechanism for the recipient to furnish data and expert analysis on the water security implications of seasonal to decadal weather and climate events in support of DoD operational and strategic planning. In support of strategic planning efforts, the GWS program will have a particular focus on the food and energy implications of water availability and extreme weather events. Key customers for the GWS program support include OUSD(P) sponsored initiatives such as the Defense Operational Resilience International Cooperation (DORIC) program, Combatant Commands, allies and partners, and the interagency in support of DoD initiatives to build cooperation and planning. It is anticipated that the GWS program will become a scientific resource across the US Federal Government with a focus on security and stability implications of water, food, and energy challenges.Reliable access to water for operations and the ability to anticipate and respond to sudden, extreme water-related hazards affects DoD operational capability to execute current mission requirements. In the future, increased water scarcity and extreme hydrological events, exacerbated by climate change, will create greater operational challenges, increase global instability and regional tensions, and potentially inflame existing and/or trigger new intra-state conflicts. Accurate and timely information regarding water-related challenges opens opportunities to anticipate, plan for, and reduce tensions through defense diplomacy.The incorporation of climate and water security considerations into operational, tactical, and strategic planning are currently hindered by lack of resources to provide data and expertise to decision makers and stakeholders in formats that are accessible and actionable with a turnaround time rapid enough to meet planning and funding demands. The GWS program investments in data infrastructure, the hiring of subject matter experts, establishment of the Pathways to Impacts framework, and communication expertise will allow the GWS program to provide analysis products and expert support to a broad range of stakeholders within DoD and the interagency. This NFO specifies the OUSD(P) priority areas for the GWS program, as well as oversight and governance requirements.