West Coast Estuaries Initiative for Coastal Watersheds
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2009 Request For Proposals and Proposed Selection Schedule
| February 19, 2009 | Proposals must be received in hardcopy by U.S. EPA Region 10 by 4:30 PM Pacific Standard Time or stamped electronically through Grants.gov by 5:00 PM Pacific Standard Time. |
| Spring 2009 | Finalists notified and requested to negotiate and submit a formal application package. |
| Fall 2009 | Awards made. |
Request for Proposals Solicited
On December 08, 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 (EPA) issued a competitive grant announcement, soliciting assistance agreement proposals under Region 10’s West Coast Estuaries Initiative (WEI). WEI supports the protection and restoration of high value, coastal aquatic resources and the enhancement of local programs in areas threatened by growth pressures through holistic watershed management approaches. Successful proposals are expected to achieve measurable outcomes through on-the-ground watershed protection or recovery of water quality and aquatic resources.
Eligible Applicants
Tribal and local governments and special purpose districts are uniquely positioned to address and minimize the impacts of population growth and land development through their land use management authorities. EPA is looking for opportunities to assist these entities in integrating land use programs and policies with watershed management to protect and restore watersheds.
State agencies, institutions of higher learning and non-governmental entities will not be eligible to directly receive grant awards. However, we strongly encourage their participation as local collaborators.
Protecting Coastal Waters
Coastal watersheds eligible under the request for proposals (RFP) include watersheds west of the Cascade Mountain divide, from the southern border of Oregon to the northern border of Washington, including those entering the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam. Because population growth in Alaska is focused in the Upper Cook Inlet, the RFP will be directed at the Lower Susitna, Matanuska and Anchorage Borough watersheds.
These watersheds support vast natural resources important to our economy and way of life. Projects funded will support EPA goals for Region 10’s coastal watersheds, including:
- Clean and safe water through the protection of water quality.
- Healthy communities and ecosystems through the restoration and protection of ecosystems.
Development Impacts Coastal Watersheds
Growth and development impact coastal watersheds and the salmon, shellfish and other species – including humans - that depend on clean water and sustainable habitat. Over the next decade, local and tribal governments will be challenged to protect watersheds while accommodating population increases and planning for the impacts of climate change.
Extensive research shows that where development is located, how much development occurs and what practices are used greatly influences the chemical, physical and biological integrity of marine and fresh waters. Decisions regarding development patterns and parcel level practices can increase impervious cover, roads, and stream crossings, and can lead to harmful land-clearing practices. The cumulative result is excessive stormwater that scours fish habitat and delivers pollutants, pathogens, and excess nutrients to surface waters during wet weather and significantly reduces water in streams during dry summer months.
Integrating Protection by Promoting Sensitive Land Use Practices
Local and tribal governments are faced with multiple planning processes and mandates. To integrate the processes and mandates into effective watershed protection and implementation, local and tribal managers need the best available scientific information to determine how ecological conditions can guide future land use decisions. They also need tools and incentives to carry out development in a way that is sensitive to a watershed and its resources. The integration of watershed scale information and land use management tools allows local and tribal governments to accommodate growth while protecting and restoring water quality, habitat, and hydrologic processes.
Eligible Entries
Under the announcement, preference will be given to integrated, multifaceted proposals that lead to measurable outcomes, or proposals that fill critical program needs leading to significant environmental results. Therefore, a wide range of activities will be eligible including, but not limited to, proposals that:
- Enhance and implement watershed protection and restoration plans, land use plans, stormwater controls, or land development standards to maintain native vegetation and natural hydrology by protecting and restoring wetland, riparian, upland and near shore habitats, and ecological processes, while accommodating growth and addressing climate change.
- Refine and implement watershed and land use plans based on watershed models predicting hydrologic impacts of alternative, future land cover conditions, development scenarios, climate change, and resulting aquatic resource conditions.
- Develop and carry out laws, ordinances, and incentive programs to implement watershed programs such as systematic implementation of low impact development, land acquisition, and transfer of development rights.
- Increase data and information, such as ecosystem services valuations and impacts of climate change, to local decision-makers who write and implement laws, ordinances, and permits.
- Monitor and measure watershed indicators to report on restoration or protection activities.
- Implement watershed-based, interagency monitoring and public involvement and education efforts to establish and run stream-team type approaches that monitor and assess conditions and trends of water quality and aquatic resources.
Successful proposals will demonstrate how activities address the impacts of growth while achieving watershed protection and restoration goals.
Activities required under Clean Water Act regulatory programs such as TMDL or NPDES permit development or implementation requirements are not eligible for funding.
Successful Proposals from 2008
Squaxin Island Tribe Application (PDF) (32 pages, 615 Kb, about PDF)
Quartermaster Harbor Nitrogen Management Study Application (PDF) (17 pages, 385 Kb, about PDF)
Maps of Eligible Watersheds