New Funding Source for 2025!
Innovative Solutions for Improving Water Quality and Strengthening Local Economies in the Gulf of America Watershed
This funding opportunity seeks applications that improve water quality through nutrient reduction demonstration projects that are enhanced by innovative technology. All applicants should explain how their nutrient reduction project and innovative technology use could lead to future cost savings and economic benefits.
Applications must propose a nutrient reduction and/or estuarine or marine HAB mitigation demonstration project in one or more of the following three areas within the Gulf of America watershed within the contiguous United States.
- Habitat: Enhance and/or restore habitat(s) to reduce nutrient pollution within the Gulf of America watershed.
- Water Quality: Capture, store, reuse, and/or infiltrate water to reduce nutrient loads and improve water quality; demonstrate sustainable solutions to align with broader watershed protection or restoration strategies.
- Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs): Prevent and reduce the impact of marine and estuarine HABs, including SIEs, on Gulf of America coastal areas (e.g., bays, estuaries, beaches, islands/keys, oyster reefs, nearshore waters). Projects should focus on innovative solutions.
Applications should also propose the development or expansion of innovative technologies in at least one of the following areas:
- Demonstrate how artificial intelligence (AI) and/or machine learning (ML) can be utilized to enhance water quality, habitat, and/or HAB (includes SIE and potential SIE) monitoring and management efforts throughout the Gulf of America watershed.
- Develop new or expand the capability of existing innovative technology to improve water quality, habitat, and/or HAB (includes SIE and potential SIE) monitoring, or management.
Applicants should describe how the effectiveness of project nutrient reduction activities will be demonstrated through monitoring activities and compared with baseline data to show improvements. Baseline data may be existing or collected as a project activity.
Applicants should describe how proposed activities and/or innovations will be evaluated alongside existing or commonly used practices to determine cost effectiveness. The evaluation should articulate how activities and/or innovations will lead to cost savings and economic benefits in the future.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to propose the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (“UAV,” i.e. drone) footage to document project activities and successes within the targeted watershed.
It is anticipated that up to 12 awards will be made under this announcement. Awards are expected to be from $500,000 to $1,000,000, depending on Agency funding levels, the quality of applications received, agency priorities, and other applicable considerations. Awards funded under this opportunity are expected to have a 3- to 5-year project period. The following table shows who can apply.
| Eligible Entities | Not Eligible |
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Eligible entities are consistent with definitions at 2 CFR 200.1.