The Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) is pleased to announce a Request for Proposals for services to support planning and implementation of best management practices to reduce pollution within the Lake Champlain watershed. Up to $490,000 is available to support these grants. Implementation projects to install best management practices will range from $50,000-$125,000, while project planning grants such as municipal green infrastructure or combined sewer reduction strategies will be funded up to $50,000.
Dr. Eric Howe, LCBP Program Director, stated, “We recognize that larger local grants are needed to expedite progress on reducing pollution to Lake Champlain. The cost of larger projects often exceeds the money available for local towns, watershed groups and other community partners. Supporting these larger projects will help move the needle toward the end result we all are looking for.”
Howe also noted that while LCBP has historically awarded grants up to $25,000, Tropical Storm Irene and other recent large weather events have undermined streambank stability across Lake Champlain’s watershed, resulting in increased sedimentation downstream. In addition, municipalities trying to implement “boots on the ground” projects to reduce stormwater, for instance, often exhaust available funds. Innovative projects to achieve pollution reduction are encouraged.
“We anticipate that these LCBP grants will allow four or more larger projects to be initiated in 2017, accelerating progress on reducing phosphorus to Lake Champlain,” said Howe. “The Lake Champlain Steering Committee, the governing board of the LCBP, is pleased to designate nearly half a million dollars to this effort to help achieve the goals of the Lake Champlain long-term management plan Opportunities for Action: An Evolving Plan for the Future of the Lake Champlain Basin.”
U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, who was instrumental on the Appropriations Committee in securing these funds, said, “The many hundreds of small grants issued over the years by the Lake Champlain Basin Program overall have had a sizable positive impact. I am pleased to now see the opportunity for larger projects to also be funded, and I will continue to do work every year to support these grant programs.”
The Request for Proposals is supported with funds awarded to the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission by the US Environmental Protection Agency and Great Lakes Fishery Commission in support of the Lake Champlain Basin Program. To obtain a copy of the Request for Proposals, visit www.lcbp.org/grants or contact the Lake Champlain Basin Program office at (802) 372-3213 or (800) 468-5227. Proposals are due in the LCBP office by electronic submission on January 5th, 2017 at 4:30 p.m.