The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program partnership, is soliciting proposals to restore water quality and habitats of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers and streams in Pennsylvania.
NFWF is soliciting proposals under the Pennsylvania Most Effective Basins (PA-MEB) grants program for projects that accelerate implementation of cost-effective agricultural best management practices (“practices”) in selected basins of the Chesapeake Bay watershed of Pennsylvania. The intent of the PA-MEB program is to assist the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in achieving its 2025 water quality goals for the agricultural sector under the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and Pennsylvania’s Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP).
NFWF estimates awarding a total of $3-6 million in grants through the PA-MEB program in 2021 contingent on the availability of funding. Major funding comes from the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program Office.
PA-MEB full proposals are due by midnight, Friday, July 30th and must be submitted through NFWF’s online application at www.nfwf.org/easygrants. More information detailing the program’s geographic focus, funding priorities, eligible practices, and other key considerations can be found in the PA-MEB Request for Proposals on the NFWF webpage.
An informational webinar has been scheduled on Wednesday, June 30th at 10am to provide an overview of the funding opportunity. Applicants are strongly encouraged to participate, and can register for the webinar at the following link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4921788295566451471
In addition, NFWF will provide training on the online FieldDoc tool for calculating nutrient load reductions from proposed PA-MEB projects on Wednesday, July 7th at 11am. All applicants are strongly encouraged to participate, as there have been recent FieldDoc updates for this program. Registration for the FieldDoc webinar is at this link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4495207470931052303
For more information or questions about this RFP, please contact Jake Reilly (jake.reilly@nfwf.org), Stephanie Heidbreder (stephanie.heidbreder@nfwf.org) or Nicole Thompson (nicole.thompson@nfwf.org) via e-mail or by phone at (202) 857-0166.
