Washington State Department of Ecology

Potential Funding Opportunities for Water Quality Improvement Projects

Multiple sources of financial assistance for water cleanup activities are available through Ecology’s grant and loan programs, local conservation districts, and other sources.

The following table lists some examples of possible funding sources that may be available to implement activities necessary to correct water quality problems.

Note: This is not intended to be a comprehensive list of potential funding sources.

Sponsoring Entity	Funding Source	Uses to be Made of Funds
Natural Resources Conservation Service	Conservation Programs www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs	These programs "....help people reduce soil erosion, enhance water supplies, improve water quality, increase wildlife habitat, and reduce damages caused by floods and other natural disasters."
	Emergency Watershed Protection www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/ewp/index.html	NRCS purchases land vulnerable to flooding to ease flooding impacts.
	Wetland Reserve Program www.wa.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/wrp/wrp.html	Landowners may receive incentives to enhance wetlands in exchange for retiring marginal agricultural land.
Office of Interagency Committee, Salmon Recovery Board	Salmon Recovery Funding Board www.rco.wa.gov/grants/eval_results.shtml Scroll down to "Salmon Recovery"	Provides grants for habitat restoration, land acquisition and habitat assessment.
Washington State Conservation Commission	www.scc.wa.gov/index.php/contact/Conservation-Districts Potential Grants List	Various environmental program grants.
Washington State Department of Ecology: Water Quality Program (WQP) Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program	Centennial Clean Water Fund, Section 319, and State Revolving Fund www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/funding/funding.html	Facilities and water pollution control-related activities; implementation, design, acquisition, construction, and improvement of water pollution control. Priorities include: implementing water cleanup plans; keeping pollution out of streams and aquifers; modernizing aging wastewater treatment facilities; reclaiming and reusing waste water.
	Coastal Zone Protection Fund Watershed Planning www.ecy.wa.gov/watershed/index.html	Some funding is available through a program that taps into penalty monies collected by the WQP. Development of watershed plans to manage water resources and protect existing water rights.
Washington State Public Works Board	Public Works Trust Fund http://pwb.wa.gov/programInfor1.aspx?ActiveView=0	Administered by the Public Works board, this funding provides financial assistance to local government and private water systems. It supports public works projects and encourages independence at the local level.
U.S. Department of Agriculture	Farm Service Agency (FSA): Conservation Reservation Program (CRP) Rural Development: Rural Housing Repair and Rehabilitation	CRP helps agricultural producers protect environmentally-sensitive land. Loans to low-income rural residents to repair, improve, or modernize a home or remove health and safety hazards (e.g. failing on-site septic systems).
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	Watershed Funding: www.epa.gov/owow/funding.html	Provides tools, databases, and information on funding sources that can be used to protect watersheds.

Last updated August 2010