2008 Grant Funding
 

Application Process

Pre-applications were accepted from October 1 though November 30, 2007.

The Department of Ecology evaluated the pre-applications to ensure they met eligibility criteria including:

• A valid water right must exist if construction funding is requested (a water right is not required for feasibility studies).

• The water right must be “trustable” for conservation projects.

• The project must be consistent with adopted watershed plans.

• Storage projects made possible with funds from the Columbia River Account must be managed 2/3 for out-of-stream and 1/3 for instream in proportion to Columbia River funding.

Successful pre-applicants were invited to submit an application in March 2008.

Proposed conservation, small storage, aquifer storage, and operation and maintenance projects were subjected to technical analysis and scoring by the Technical Advisory Group (TAG), a committee composed of water resource experts from state, tribal, and local government, conservation districts, and the Salmon Recovery Board (TAG Charter).  Other projects were evaluated internally by Ecology.

Once evaluated and scored, Ecology submitted a list of recommended projects for discussion by the Policy Advisory Group, a committee composed of representatives from federal, state, tribal, and local government and agricultural, business, and environmental stakeholder groups.  Selected projects will then be submitted to the Governor and the Legislature for funding. Grants for the 2007 funding cycle will be awarded in July 2009.

Economic & Environmental Benefits

These investments in our water infrastructure have the potential to provide the following benefits:

• Construction projects could result in as much as 7,435 acre-feet (ac-ft) of additional water to enhance instream flows for fish and 1,449 ac-ft for out-of-stream uses like irrigation.

• The feasibility studies being funded could yield millions of acre-feet of water for both instream and out of stream uses if constructed.

• The $46.4 million in funding is expected to generate near term economic activity valued at $87 million.

• The longer term value of permanent water may have a value of as much as $2.8 billion.