News Releases - 2002

Funding Available for Nonpoint Source Water Pollution Grants

Springfield, Ill. -- More than $5.5 million in federal funding for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control projects is expected to be available in the current application period that ends Aug. 1, 2002.

Municipalities, counties and other entities working to control water pollution and improve Illinois water quality are encouraged to apply for funding through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The grants, made possible by the federal Clean Water Act, require local matching contributions of 40 percent of the project's total cost.

"These projects are particularly significant this year, the 30th anniversary of the passage of the federal Clean Water Act, as we shift more attention to reducing nonpoint source pollution that occurs when rainfall and snow melt carry contaminants directly into surface waters," said Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director Renee Cipriano.

Since 1972, municipal and industrial pollution has been dramatically reduced, and great progress has been made in improving the quality of the state's rivers, lakes, wetlands, and groundwater.

Nonpoint source grants are funded under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. Since 1990, the Illinois EPA had dedicated more than $34 million ($34,732,833) of Clean Water Act Section 319 funding for rural and urban nonpoint source pollution projects.

Higher priority will be assigned to project applications that comprehensively address a combination of major sources of nonpoint source pollution affecting water quality in a specific watershed. In compliance with federal 319 guidance, the IEPA will target part of the funding allocation toward management measures that were identified in Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) implementation plans now being drawn.

Additional information and copies of the Illinois EPA's "Section 319(h) Financial Assistance Package" can be obtained by contacting the IEPA's Nonpoint Source Unit at 217-782-3362. The application package is also available at the Illinois EPA's web site (www.epa.state.il.us/water/watershed/nonpoint-source.html) , as well as the "State of Illinois Section 319 Biannual Report" which provides examples of other projects funded under this program.

Applications will be accepted until the close of business on August 1, 2002. It is anticipated that projects selected for funding will be awarded contracts in April 2003.