Ann Arbor, Mich. – The Great Lakes Commission is pleased to announce the request for proposals for the 2020 Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program grant program.

Funding for the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). The GLRI is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-led initiative designed to accelerate efforts to protect and restore the largest system of fresh surface water in the world — the Great Lakes.

For program year 2020, two grant options are being offered: watershed-scale projects and site-specific projects. Grants provided under this year’s program will focus on efforts to reduce phosphorus contributions to waters within the Great Lakes Basin and other efforts to achieve measures of progress under GLRI Action Plan III, including restoration of streambanks and shoreline within the Basin. The maximum request for each application will be capped at $200,000. Applicants must be nonfederal units of government, tribes, or incorporated nonprofit organizations. A 25 percent match will be required of each project.

The due date for applications is 5:00 p.m. EDT on April 6, 2020. Applications will be reviewed and assessed by the program’s task force, which consists of a representative from each Great Lakes state and representatives from NRCS and U.S. EPA. Final decisions on funded projects are anticipated in early summer 2020. Selected projects would begin on October 1, 2020 (with potential for an earlier start) and may be up to three years in duration.

Please visit www.nutrientreduction.org for more information.

The Great Lakes Commission, led by chair Sharon M. Jackson, Deputy General Counsel for Governor Eric J. Holcomb of Indiana, is an interstate compact agency established under the Great Lakes Basin Compact of 1955. The Commission is authorized by state and U.S. federal law and dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Basin and its residents. The Commission consists of governors’ appointees, state legislators, industry and nonprofit leaders and agency officials from eight states and two provinces. Associate membership for Ontario and Québec was established through the signing of a “Declaration of Partnership.” The Commission maintains a formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies and other regional interests. The Commission office is in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Learn more at www.glc.org.