Nonpoint Source Program

Fiscal Year 2024 Funding Breakdown

Funding Source: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Section 319(h) of the Federal Clean Water Act.

Total Funding Available: Approximately $1,000,000.

Funding Distribution: 

$500K to projects located within the Lower Gallatin Focus Watershed.

$500K, plus any unallocated funds from the Focus Watershed, to on-the-ground projects and mini-grant programs elsewhere in Montana. 

Focus Watershed Projects and General On-the-Ground Projects
Recommended Range for Funding Requests: $10,000-$250,000

Application Form: On-the-Ground Projects

Mini-Grant Programs
Recommended Range for Funding Requests: $30,000-$60,000

Application Form: Mini-Grant Projects

Cost Share: A 40 percent cost share (match) is required. The match must be from non-federal sources (state, local, private), and may include in-kind donations of time and resources contributed to completion of the project. Use the following formula to calculate the amount of non-federal match required for your project: ((319 dollars requested)/.60) – (319 dollars requested) = required non-federal match

Eligibility

Applicant Eligibility:

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Be a governmental entity or a nonprofit organization. A governmental entity is a local, state, or federal organization that has been established and authorized by law. Nonprofit organizations are identified as having a tax-exempt declaration of 501(c)(3) from the Internal Revenue Service.
• Be registered with the Montana Secretary of State to do business in the state of Montana.
• Have the necessary liability insurance, and be in compliance with the Workers Compensation Act.

Project Eligibility

Projects must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Address nonpoint source pollution.
• Implement actions consistent with recommendations in the current Montana Nonpoint Source Management Plan.
• Implement activities or practices identified in a DEQ-accepted Watershed Restoration Plan (exception made for mini-grants)
• Address impairments identified on Montana’s 2020 List of Impaired Waters. In some instances, projects on streams that are not listed as impaired may be acceptable. These projects must reduce pollutant loading to an impaired, downstream receiving water OR protect existing uses from becoming impaired.
• Be completable within three years. (Note: In some instances, sponsors may be encouraged to apply for funding for design and permitting, and then come back and apply for funding for actual construction in a subsequent year.)
• Projects addressing stream flow through improved water use efficiency must include reasonable assurance that unused water will remain in the stream (e.g., through a change of use to instream flow, or a signed commitment from the water right holder).
• Projects involving grazing management (e.g., riparian fencing, creation of riparian pastures) must include a grazing management plan as a task deliverable.
• Projects involving riparian or wetland buffer creation must have a minimum buffer width of 35 feet, as measured from the water’s edge. If the buffer must be less than 35 feet in some places to accommodate bridges, water gaps or other infrastructure, the buffer should be made proportionately wider in other areas.

The following activities are NOT eligible for funding:

• Development of a Watershed Restoration Plan (WRP).
• Activities required as a condition of a point source (MPDES) discharge permit.
• Watershed characterization studies.
• Pollutant source identification.
• Water quality monitoring, except for monitoring the effectiveness of a current, 319-funded project.
• Statewide education and outreach campaigns.
• Projects whose primary purpose is to protect infrastructure from natural stream channel migration.
• Use of non-native plant species in restoration projects.
• Rip-rap, except in instances where it is necessary to protect a new bridge or culvert designed to restore aquatic organism passage.
• Projects designed to address violations of state and federal law (e.g., projects that stem from a 310 violation or an Army Corps violation).
• Projects that result in a net loss of wetlands or wetland function.

Calendar

Annual Call for Applications

All project sponsors must thoroughly read the Call for Applications. All project sponsors are encouraged to contact a member of the DEQ Nonpoint Source staff prior to submitting their application (see “Contacts” tab below). If contact is made soon enough, we are often available to review draft applications, provide pre-application site visits, and offer suggestions to help improve the competitiveness of your application.

• 2024 Call for Applications
• A1 – On-the-Ground Project Scoring Sheet
• A2 – Mini-Grant Program Scoring Sheet
• B1 – On-the-Ground Project Application Form and Instructions
• B2 – Supplemental Project Application Form
• B3 – Mini-Grant Program Application Form and Instructions
• C – Example Contract Scope of Work Template
• D – Example Federal Pass-Through Requirements

Fiscal Year 2024 Applications

Funding Request Summary Table

Lower Gallatin Focus Watershed

• Gallatin Watershed Council – Branch Out Bozeman
• Gallatin Watershed Council – Spring Creek Farms
• Trout Unlimited – Dry Creek

Mini-Grant Programs

• MWCC – Big Sky Watershed Corps

Statewide

• Madison Conservation District – Lower Moore Creek
• Ruby Valley Conservation District – Alder Gulch

Guidance for Funding Recipients (e.g., status/final reports)

319 Reporting Guidance:

• Status, Annual and Final Report Guidance
• Estimating the Value of Volunteer Labor
• Load Reduction Estimation Guide

Additional Resources

• Stream and Wetland Restoration Water Right Guidance by DNRC
• DEQ Education and Outreach Mini-Grant Program (administered by Soil and Water Conservation Districts of Montana)
• Other Watershed Funding Opportunities
• Projects Map