From onsite septic repair to stormwater infrastructure, $183 million is going to more than 100 clean water projects

Ecology’s Water Quality Program is offering more than $183 million in financial assistance for 106 high-priority clean water projects across the state. The funding includes $169 million for 105 new projects and $14 million to fully fund a project from last year’s list. Offers went out to the successful applicants on June 28 and the projects can start as soon as the agreements are finalized.

“Nearly 90 percent of our state’s water quality funding goes to local communities,” said Heather Bartlett, Ecology’s Water Quality Program Manager. “Clean water projects can be in communities big or small and anything from enhancing wastewater treatment systems to designing stormwater gardens to planting trees along rivers.”

Our Water Quality Combined Funding Program supports local communities by helping them upgrade sewage treatment systems, manage polluted stormwater runoff, and complete a variety of other projects to prevent and cleanup pollution. More than $100 million of our combined funding is for new projects that will help support Puget Sound recovery. These projects are a high priority, as they help improve water quality and create a healthy habitat for the endangered Southern Resident Orca, salmon, and the food web they rely on.

Clean water funding comes from a mix of state and federal funds for water quality improvements and protection. State financial managers calculate that 11 direct and indirect jobs are created in Washington for every $1 million spent on building clean water infrastructure.

Our interactive map shows where the projects are located and provides additional details. Below you'll find a few of the project highlights.

Reducing stormwater pollution

The South Fork of the Palouse River will benefit from a new 

stormwater decant facility in Pullman.

Ecology is offering $33 million in grants to 38 communities to implement projects to treat and reduce stormwater pollution. More than $20.5 million of the stormwater grant funding is for Puget Sound recovery projects, as stormwater runoff is a leading pollution threat in urban areas. The highest-priority stormwater projects include:

• The City of Pullman in Whitman County was offered a $525 thousand grant to design and build a new stormwater decant facility. The City’s current facility is undersized and not connected to the City’s sewer system. The new facility will help improve water quality in the South Fork Palouse River, as untreated stormwater has been identified as an important source of pollutants to the river.
• The City of Bremerton in Kitsap County was offered a grant of more than $800 thousand to construct a system to treat runoff from 6.31 acres of urban roads and parking lots and 8.32 acres of other surfaces to improve the water quality of Ostrich Creek. The creek is considered to be the most polluted stream in Kitsap County, with restrictions on contact due to pollution. The project was the highest rated stormwater project among this year’s applications, and it is a high priority in the Puget Sound Action Agenda.
• The City of Tacoma in Pierce County was tagged to receive a $5 million grant and more than $2.7 million in loan to retrofit stormwater treatment on nearly 27 blocks of failed residential roadway in the Larchmont Neighborhood. The project will treat stormwater and reduce stormwater flows from 43 developed acres through infiltration, using permeable pavement and sidewalks. The project will help restore more natural hydrologic conditions to Flett Creek and Chambers Creek.

This planning map shows the blocks in Tacoma's Larchmont 

Neighborhood that will receive stormwater retrofit.

Addressing nonpoint pollution

Nonpoint pollution comes from activities that are usually widespread across an area without a single pollution source. Nonpoint pollution is a serious pollution problem across the state, and one of the most difficult to solve. We are helping to address nonpoint pollution by funding 33 projects with $21.4 million in grants, forgivable loans that do not have to be repaid, and low interest rate loans.

This septic project in Chinook is one of +1,200 projects
Craft3 has financed under the Regional Loan Program to
improve public health and water quality.

• The projects offered funding include an expansion of the highly successful Regional Loan Program for repairing and replacing failing onsite septic systems at homes and small businesses. The program currently includes 15 counties, but with the new funding it is expanding to Pend Orielle, Stevens, Ferry, Skagit, Okanogan, Benton, and Franklin. It is expected that loans will be available in these new areas by September, 2019.

• The Underwood Conservation District in Klickitat County was offered a $250 thousand grant to conduct riparian planting, install cattle exclusion fencing, implement livestock best management practices, monitor water quality, and provide education and technical assistance in the White Salmon River Watershed. The primary areas of focus for the project are streamside agricultural areas in the Trout Lake Valley.
• The Cascadia Conservation District in Chelan County was offered a $245 thousand grant to implement a large-scale riparian restoration plan through a community-wide clean water outreach and education campaign and to provide technical assistance to landowners to take steps to reduce nonpoint source pollution and practice good stewardship. The project is consistent with actions recommended in locally-developed water quality improvement reports and management plans.

Supporting wastewater treatment projects

A leaking, exposed outfall pipe that goes into

Olequa Creek could be replaced with new funding.

Ecology is offering $124 million for 35 wastewater treatment projects. Of this, $110 million is for new projects and $14 million is to fully fund a project from last year’s list. Nine of the projects qualified for hardship financial assistance due to their potential impact on residential sewer bills. These hardship projects may receive a combination of grants, forgivable loans that do not have to be repaid, and low interest rate loans. High priority wastewater hardship projects include:

• Yakima County was offered nearly $1.5 million in grant and $700 thousand in loan to design and construct critical repairs and improvements at the wastewater treatment facility in the community of Buena. The repairs and improvements are necessary to ensure proper treatment of the wastewater discharged from the facility. The project was the highest rated among all projects submitted for funding this year.
• The City of Vader in Lewis County was awarded $4.8 million in grant and loan to protect Olequa Creek by constructing significant improvements to its wastewater treatment facility. The funding for the project is approximately half grant and half loan.

Adequate funding in state budgets for the Centennial Clean Water Program is vital for helping small, financially challenged communities such as these to complete important wastewater projects. The program also provides funding for many nonpoint pollution control projects across the state.

More information

We’re looking forward to seeing these projects take off! In the coming months, we plan to share updates and clean water successes.  If your community is receiving funding for clean water projects and you’d like to share your project’s progress, please let us know by emailing Emma Kluzniok at emma.kluzniok@ecy.wa.gov.

Find out more about the Water Quality Combined Funding Program on our website.

More information on this funding cycle, including a link to the funding offer list and an interactive map of our offered funding for projects can be found on our funding cycles webpage.

A map of recent clean water projects across the state can be found on our Ecology Grants and Loans map.

By Daniel Thompson and Colleen Keltz, Water Quality Program

Brownfields Funding and Training Opportunities

We are encouraging Washingtonians to apply for two opportunities offered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants – Apply by June 10, 2019

Environmental contractors investigating contamination at the
Palouse Producers brownfield site that received Integrated
Planning Grant funding from Ecology.

EPA is accepting proposals from eligible entities, including nonprofit organizations, to deliver
Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) programs that recruit, train, and place local, unemployed, and under-employed residents with the skills needed to secure full-time employment in the environmental field.

A critical part of EPA’s EWDJT program is to further environmental justice by ensuring that residents living in communities historically affected by economic disinvestment, health disparities, and environmental contamination, including low-income, minority, and tribal communities, have an opportunity to reap the benefits of revitalization and environmental cleanup.

Recreation Economy for Rural Communities planning assistance – Apply by May 31, 2019

Communities are invited to apply for planning assistance from Recreation Economy for Rural Communities. Successful applicants will work with a planning team to help their communities bring together local residents and other stakeholders to decide on strategies and an action plan to grow the local outdoor recreation economy. The planning assistance process will take place over a period of four to six months, with a focal point being a two-day, facilitated community workshop. Participants will work together to identify a vision, goals, and specific actions to realize the locally set goals.

Partner communities are encouraged to pursue activities that foster environmentally friendly community development and Main Street revitalization through the conservation and sustainable use of public or private forests or other natural resources.

Money available for residents to take part in Ecology projects

Groups and individuals in highly impacted or low-income areas encouraged to apply 

Whether we’re leading the cleanup of an industrial property or implementing a project that will reduce the use of single-use plastics, acting locally and engaging your government in public processes during ongoing projects such as these is one of the most important things you can do to effect change. For Washington residents who live or work in low-income communities, or those highly impacted by contaminated sites, the importance of participation only rises because public participation in the work we do at the Washington Department of Ecology is vital for success.

Public Participation Grants are available to help individuals and groups participate in Ecology projects across the state. Groups and individuals in highly impacted and low-income communities are encouraged to apply. The PPG awarded to
Columbia Springs supported a waste reduction project repairing household items rather than throwing them away.

Ecology is currently accepting applications for Public Participation Grants (PPG). The PPG program is a competitive grant program. Grants are available to individuals affected by a contaminated site, or to non-profit public service organizations. The purpose of the grants is to facilitate public participation in:

           •The cleanup of hazardous substance release sites, or
           •The implementation of the state’s solid and hazardous waste priorities.

Applications are available through Ecology’s Administration of Grants and Loans (EAGL) online grant management system.  You will need to set up a Secure Access Washington (SAW) account before you can access EAGL.

The application will be open until 5 p.m. April 4, 2019. Late applications will not be accepted. Ecology will evaluate and score each eligible application received. Grant funds are available for projects conducted July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2021.

Application instructions can be found in Appendix B of the program guidelines. Summaries of the guidelines are available in Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, and Chinese.

For more information, please contact Lynn Gooding at (360) 407-6062.

$183 million proposed for clean water projects across the state

More than 100 projects would help improve infrastructure and protect the environment. 

Ecology is proposing to award more than $183 million in financial assistance for 107 high-priority clean water projects across the state. Our Water Quality Combined Funding Program supports local communities, helping them upgrade sewage treatment systems, manage polluted stormwater runoff, and complete a variety of other projects to prevent and cleanup pollution. The entire draft funding list is available online.

This year, more than $114 million of our combined funding is for projects that will help support Puget Sound recovery. These projects are a high priority, as they help improve water quality and create a healthy habitat for the endangered Southern Resident Orca, salmon, and the food web they rely on.

Nearly 70 percent of the funding we manage goes to local communities for environmental projects. Our clean water funding comes from a mix of state and federal funds dedicated for water quality improvements and protection. State financial managers calculate that 11 direct and indirect jobs are created in Washington for every $1 million spent on building clean water infrastructure.

The funding is contingent on passage of state and federal budgets appropriating funding for the projects. We will announce the final project list this summer, as soon as funding is secured.

Find proposed projects in your area using our interactive map. 

Here are a few project highlights

As proposed, 38 communities across the state will split $33 million in grants to implement projects to treat and reduce stormwater pollution. More than $20.5 million of the stormwater grants funding is for Puget Sound recovery projects. The highest-priority stormwater projects include:

Renton's grant-funded Sunset Terrace Regional Stormwater Facility
bioretention cell provides enhanced treatment for 2.9 acres. 

• The City of Bremerton in Kitsap County may receive a grant of more than $800 thousand to construct a system to treat runoff from 6.31 acres of urban roads and parking lots and 8.32 acres of other surfaces to improve water quality in Ostrich Creek. The creek is considered the most polluted stream in Kitsap County, with restrictions on contact due to pollution. The project was the highest rated stormwater project among this year’s applications, and is a high priority in the Puget Sound Action Agenda.
• The City of Tacoma in Pierce County is slated for a $5 million grant and more than $2.7 million in loan to replace nearly 27 blocks of failed residential roadway in the Larchmont Neighborhood. The project will treat stormwater and reduce stormwater flows from 43 developed acres through infiltration using permeable pavement and sidewalks. The project will help restore more natural hydrologic conditions to Flett and Chambers creeks.

Thirty-three projects are tagged to receive about $21.4 million in grants, forgivable loans that do not have to be repaid, and low interest rate loans to address nonpoint pollution. Nonpoint pollution has a significant impact on water quality; it comes from activities that are widespread usually across an area instead of a single identifiable source of pollution. The projects proposed for funding include an expansion of the highly successful Regional Loan Program for repairing and replacing failing on-site sewage systems at homes and small businesses. Examples of other nonpoint projects that may be funded include:

Grant-funded riparian restoration prevents stream channel erosion, 

filters pollutants, and improves salmon habitat on the Palouse River. 

• The Underwood Conservation District in Klickitat County is in line to receive a $250 thousand grant to conduct riparian planting, install cattle exclusion fencing, implement livestock best management practices, monitor water quality, and provide education and technical assistance in the White Salmon River Watershed. The primary areas of focus for the project are streamside agricultural areas in the Trout Lake Valley.
• The Cascadia Conservation District in Chelan County is on track to receive a grant of about $245 thousand to implement a large-scale riparian restoration plan through a community-wide clean water outreach and education campaign and by providing technical assistance to landowners to take steps to reduce nonpoint source pollution and practice good stewardship. The project is consistent with actions recommended in locally developed water quality improvement reports and management plans.

There are 36 wastewater treatment projects marked to receive approximately $125 million. Nine of the projects qualify for hardship financial assistance due to their potential impact on residential sewer bills. These hardship projects may receive a combination of grants, forgivable loans that do not have to be repaid, and low interest rate loans. High priority wastewater hardship projects include:

An exposed outfall pipe goes from Vader's lagoon

 to Olequa Creek. The pipe has leaks that will be fixed 

if the project is funded.

• Yakima County is proposed to receive nearly $1.5 million in grant and $700 thousand in loan to design and construct critical repairs and improvements at the wastewater treatment facility in the community of Buena. The repairs and improvements are necessary to ensure proper treatment of the wastewater discharged from the facility. The project was the highest rated of all projects submitted for funding this year.
• The City of Vader in Lewis County may receive about $4.8 million in grant and loan to protect Olequa Creek by constructing significant improvements to its wastewater treatment facility. If adequate funding is included in the state budget, the funding for the project will be approximately half grant and half loan.

Let us know what you think

Comments

We invite comments on our draft funding list. Send comments to Daniel Thompson at daniel.thompson@ecy.wa.gov by 5:00pm on February 18.

Public meeting

You can also join us for a meeting to discuss the draft funding list:
Wednesday, Feb. 6, at 1:00pm
Pierce County Library
Processing and Administrative Center
3005 112th Street E
Tacoma, WA, 98446

More Information

Learn more about clean water grants and loans on our website.

By Daniel Thompson and Colleen Keltz, Water Quality Program