Lake Erie Watershed Protection Alliance
Erie County Water Quality Implementation Project
Request for Proposals 2024
The Lake Erie Watershed Protection Alliance (LEWPA) is made up of Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, and Erie counties. LEWPA is soliciting proposals from municipalities, non-profit environmental organizations, or other entities/agencies to utilize funding through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Environmental Protection Fund to support priority water quality improvement or protection projects and water-related climate resiliency projects in the Niagara River/Lake Erie Watershed. This solicitation is primarily for projects within Erie County, but projects that have benefits in more than one of the three counties may be partially funded by more than one county. Approximately $70,000 is available for each of the counties in LEWPA.
This funding is designed to be utilized by projects that are unable to obtain funding through other sources or that need some initial seed money in order to become a competitive project for other funding sources. This money is considered New York State funds for match purposes.
Projects will be ranked based on their ability to leverage additional funding sources including local, state, federal, or private donations, as well as the development of partnerships between organizations. If funding is being provided as seed money, the project’s likelihood of being funded by other competitive funding sources, such as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative or NYS Water Quality Improvement Program, will be considered. In addition, projects must be able to demonstrate measurable water quality benefits and will be required to meet NYS Department of Environmental Conservation funding requirements and approval. Typical project funding will be around $15,000. Smaller projects are encouraged to apply. Admin costs should be below 20% of the total project cost. Project applicants (or representatives from applicant organizations) who attend at least two Erie County Water Quality Committee meetings per year will be given preference for funding.
Click HERE to view the full RFP document.
Project proposals are due by Friday, January 3, 2025.