BSWC Nonpoint Source Project Support

The MWCC Watershed Fund, in partnership with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), has funding to assist local watershed conservation organizations currently hosting BSWC members with completing nonpoint source pollution-reduction projects. Proposed projects must impact water bodies listed as impaired on Montana’s 2020 List of Impaired Waters (303d list) and included in a DEQ-accepted Watershed Restoration Plan (WRP). (Scroll down to “Watershed Restoration Plans” to find your basin’s WRP on this page.) Projects occurring on or along tributaries of impaired water bodies are also eligible if the proposed project addresses a pollutant listed as an impairment for the downstream water body.

The organization’s current BSWC member must submit the proposal for funding, play a lead role in implementing the project, and complete interim and final project reports (with their host site supervisor’s help, of course!). Proposals are due by 5 pm on Thursday, March 28, 2024, and funding decisions will be made the week of April 8. Funding agreements are typically finalized by late May, allowing members to begin project work in June. Details on how to apply and the full funding timeline are below.

Up to $8,000 may be awarded to each recipient. A total of $32,000 is available for 2024. There is a 60:40 non-federal match funding requirement that can be met through state, local, and private dollars or through state, local, and private in-kind contributions. To come up with your match requirement, use this formula: (319 funds requested/0.6) – 319 funds requested = minimum match requirement. Project dollars are awarded on a reimbursement basis, with reimbursement occurring after receipt of interim and final reports in August and November 2024. Projects must be completed by November 1, 2024.