Section 319(h) – NPS Pollution Control Financial Assistance Program (FY 2026)
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Illinois EPA offers this Clean Water Act Section 319(h) grant to a very wide range of applicants — individuals, small businesses, nonprofits, for-profit companies, schools/universities, and governm…
- Deadline
- Sep 16, 2026
- Posted
- Jul 22, 2026
- Award amount
- $50,000–$1,500,000
- Focus areas
- Environmental Quality
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In plain English
Illinois EPA offers this Clean Water Act Section 319(h) grant to a very wide range of applicants — individuals, small businesses, nonprofits, for-profit companies, schools/universities, and government organizations with legal standing to receive Illinois state funds — for projects that reduce nonpoint source pollution (like agricultural and stormwater runoff) in Illinois waterways. Awards range from $50,000 to $1,500,000, but applicants must provide matching funds, front project costs for later reimbursement, and be pre-qualified in Illinois' GATA portal (active SAM.gov registration, good standing, no debarment). Priority goes to projects implementing an already-approved watershed-based plan or TMDL plan; routine maintenance, permit-required activities, and pure habitat/flood-control projects are not eligible. Applications are due September 16, 2026.
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Who can apply
Individuals, Small Businesses, Others, Government Organizations, Education Organizations, Nonprofit Organizations, For-Profit Organizations — Section 319(h) Grant Program funds are available to any entity that has legal status to accept funds from the State of Illinois. This can include: local watershed groups; land conservancies or trusts; public and private profit and nonprofit organizations and institutions; units of county, municipal, township, and state governments; universities and colleges; park districts and other local land managing agencies; soil and water conservation districts; conservation organizations; and others. Section 319(h) Grant Program applicants must have the financial ability to initiate the project, pay expenses, and then request reimbursement from the Illinois EPA, while continuing to finance their normal operating expenses. Applicants must have the authority and ability to implement the proposed project or propose to subcontract portions of the project to the appropriate entities for implementation. Match is required. See the Funding Information Section for more information. Examples of ineligible projects, activities, tasks, and components that shall not be funded through Section 319(h) are provided below. The list is not all-inclusive: o Any activity or project that does not control, prevent, or address NPS pollution o Any activity or project required by State or federal law or State or federal permit, including activities required or anticipated to be required by National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulations, including Phase 1 and Phase 2 stormwater permit requirements o Routine maintenance or repair of existing on-site systems, such as culvert replacement, street sweeping, catch-basin cleaning o Bonus or acceleration payments to contractors to meet contractual completion dates for construction; fees for failure to pay invoices on time, check overdrafts, etc. o Mitigation costs o Projects used mainly for habitat improvement, flood control, sediment removal (dredging), support facilities (roads, sewer systems), historic preservation, water supply protection, recreation, or wastewater treatment. However, if the Project serves both eligible and ineligible components, Section 319(h) funds may be provided for the eligible portion of the Project, on a proportional basis o Ineligible activities based on current U.S. EPA guidelines for Section 319(h) grants Grantees shall not use any subcontractors, outside associates, or consultants in connection with any services covered by a grant agreement unless specifically authorized by the Illinois EPA. Grantees shall use procurement procedures that reflect applicable local and State of Illinois laws and regulations relating to any sub agreements for the performance of grant projects funded under the Section 319(h) Grant Program. The requirements of the U.S. EPA Guidance for Management of Section 319(h) Grant Program Funds apply to all recipients of grants made with funds appropriated by Congress under Section 319(h) of the Clean Water Act. Applicants must be pre-qualified in the GATA portal in order to receive an award from this NOFO. Pre-qualification items include: 1. Registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) (www.SAM.gov) 2. Have a valid and active Unique Entity Identification (UEI) Number 3. In good standing with the Illinois Secretary of State (if applicable) 4. Not currently debarred by the State of Illinois and/or federal government 5. Not on the Federal Excluded Parties List 6. Not on the Illinois Stop Payment List 7. Not on the sanctioned party list of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services 8. Not on the SAM.gov exclusion list. Applicants must also complete the latest available Internal Control Questionnaire within the GATA portal prior to an award being made. Illinois EPA staff will complete a programmatic risk assessment during the merit-based review of the applications. The awarding State agency considers both the ICQ responses regarding the organization-level programmatic questions and the content of the application submission. Submission of the Internal Control Questionnaire is not a pre-qualification requirement; however, not completing timely could result in delay of the award.
About this grant
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) is seeking proposals for nonpoint source (NPS) pollution control projects (Projects) to prevent, eliminate, or reduce water quality impairments to Illinois’ surface and groundwater resources. The Illinois EPA receives federal funds from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) through Section 319(h) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. § 1329(h)) to help implement the Section 319(h) Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Financial Assistance Program (a.k.a. Section 319(h) Grant Program) (https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/water-quality/watershed-management/nonpoint-sources/grants.html). NPS pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands and even our underground sources of drinking water. It has been determined that over 60% of the (national) documented water pollution problem can be traced to nonpoint sources. The Section 319(h) Grant Program prioritizes Projects addressing Illinois waters for which NPS pollution is a significant cause of water quality impairment. Assessment information for Illinois’ waterbodies can be found in the most recent Integrated Water Quality Report and Section 303d List (https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/water-quality/watershed-management/tmdls/303d-list.html). This NOFO will give higher priority to projects that implement components of an Illinois EPA-approved watershed-based plan (WBP) (https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/water-quality/watershed-management/watershed-based-planning.html) or an Illinois EPA-approved Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Implementation Plan (https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/water-quality/watershed-management/tmdls.html). These Projects can include best management practice (BMP) implementation, environmental monitoring, social indicator monitoring, and outreach efforts. Individual BMPs, treatment systems or outreach efforts not identified in a WBP or TMDL Implementation Plan are eligible for funding but will not be prioritized as highly as those Projects specifically identified in an Illinois EPA-approved WBP or TMDL Implementation Plan. Examples of project types and BMPs that have been, or could be, funded through the Section 319(h) Grant Program-Watershed-Based Plan Implementation and Other Activities are listed below. The list is not all-inclusive, and inclusion of a Project, activity, or BMP does not equate to an automatic eligibility for funding under the NOFO. Eligible Section 319(h) Grant Program Project types include: o Implementation of NPS components of an Illinois EPA-approved watershed-based plan (WBP) o Implementation of NPS components of an U.S. EPA-approved Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Implementation Plan o Best Management Practice (BMP) Implementation o Development of a watershed-based plan o Update of an existing watershed plan o NPS Information and/or Outreach Programs o NPS Technical Assistance (planning and/or implementation) o Monitoring (environmental, social indicator, or data management) related to a Section 319 prospective project or projects, the project proposed in this application, or a project previously funded by a Section 319 grant. All monitoring projects must have an Illinois EPA-approved Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) prior to the beginning of the monitoring. Monitoring cannot commence without an Illinois EPA approved QAPP. Information on types of BMPs can be found on the Section 319 Program website at: https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/water-quality/watershed-management/nonpoint-sources/faqs.html For additional information on watershed-based planning, please refer to Appendix C of the Nonpoint Source Program and Grants Guidelines for States and Territories (April 12, 2013) (https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-09/documents/319-guidelines-fy14.pdf) and the Guidance for Developing Watershed Action Plans in Illinois (Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, 2007) (https://epa.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/epa/topics/water-quality/watershed-management/documents/watershed-action-plan-guidance.pdf). For watershed-based plans, the applicant must describe the expected outcomes of the Project in terms of watershed-based planning NPS pollution control for surface and/or groundwater quality improvement. The long-term outcomes are the important changes that are to be set in motion or supported by the Project. These changes may be environmental or social and may be expected to appear on different time scales. Watershed-based plan areas must be a minimum 5,000 acres to qualify for funding. Applicants may apply for more than one project. Partial funding may be offered if sufficient funds are not available to fund an entire application.
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