Watershed Restoration Grant Program

The Anne Arundel County Watershed Restoration Grant Program, administered by the Chesapeake Bay Trust, encourages on-the-ground watershed restoration activities that reduce the amount of stormwater flowing into local waterways, treat and filter pollutants from impervious surfaces, and engage residents in the restoration and protection of the local rivers and streams.

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About the Program:

The Anne Arundel County Watershed Restoration Grant Program is a partnership between the Chesapeake Bay Trust, the Anne Arundel County Bureau of Watershed Protection and Restoration, and the City of Annapolis. The Trust is acting as the administrator for this award program which is funded entirely through the Anne Arundel County Watershed Protection and Restoration Fund and the Watershed Restoration Fund from the City of Annapolis.

The Anne Arundel County Watershed Restoration Grant Program will fund projects to reduce pollutants through the implementation of watershed restoration practices. This award program aims to improve water quality in the County’s local streams and waterways, as called for in the County’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit and County and City of Annapolis’ Stormwater Management Inventory and Watershed Improvement Plan, which require reductions in storm flow volume and pollutants entering the County’s waterways.

Projects must accomplish on-the-ground restoration that treats rainwater runoff from impervious surfaces at a cost-effective price or demonstrates the accomplishment of another metric that will help the County and City meet local water quality and runoff reduction improvement goals. Applications under this award program that demonstrate sound design and cost efficiency in meeting this goal will be most competitive. To demonstrate this, applicants will be required to provide sound technical designs and project budgets as outlined in this application package.

What this Funds:

In this grant program, we have traditionally included two categories of project types:

  • Category 1 projects are small-scale restoration projects that have a disturbance footprint less than 5,000 square feet or disturb less than 100 cubic yards of earth. 
  • Category 2 projects are large-scale restoration projects that have a disturbance footprint greater than 5,000 square feet or disturb more than 100 cubic yards of earth.   

Funding:

The funding partners anticipate a total of $1,000,000 available for awards in Anne Arundel County and $300,000 available for awards in the City of Annapolis. Funding requests will generally not exceed $300,000. For requests larger than $300,000, contact the Trust’s Senior Program Officer, Sarah T. Koser at (410) 974-2941 ext. 106 or skoser@cbtrust.org for prior approval. 

Matching Funds: Matching/leveraged resources are not required but are viewed favorably. Indicate whether each matching entry is applied for, pledged, or in hand. Any resources that have been put into the project already during the design and permitting phases, including awards previously received, can be counted as matching funds. 

Eligible Applicants: 

Applications must include at least one partner that represents a stakeholder group based in Anne Arundel County (including the City of Annapolis). Eligible applicants must be a certified 501(c) non-profit organizations, such as: 

  • Local watershed groups
  • Community associations and homeowners’ associations 
  • Service, Youth, and Civic groups 
  • Faith-based organizations 

Non-profit organizations are eligible to propose projects on non-profit property, private property, City of Annapolis-owned property, or public school properties, with the assurance that the landowner is in support of the project (assurance to be included in the application). 

Eligible Project Locations:

The project must be located in Anne Arundel County (including the City of Annapolis for Category 1 or Category 2 projects.) Click here for guidelines for selecting an appropriate project site.

How to Apply:

RFPs are solicited annually by the Chesapeake Bay Trust, typically opening in the Fall and closing in the Spring. For more information and this year's Request For Proposals (RFP), visit the application page on the Chesapeake Bay Trust website.

Additional Resources:

Contact Us:

For questions relating to the Anne Arundel County Watershed Restoration Grant Program, please contact BWPR Grants Manager Katie Mullen or our partners at the Chesapeake Bay Trust.