$80 Million in Green Grants for New York

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) will be awarding $80 million in new climate resiliency grants through the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022. Applications for the grants are due June 6, 2025.

The funds will be awarded through three programs.

Resilient Watersheds Grant Program

$45 million is available through NYSDEC, with the goal of strengthening infrastructure and protecting from extreme weather. Projects to be funded include natural and nature-based construction, reducing flood risk and ice jams, enhancing climate resilience, and projects that support healthy riparian habitats. Projects identified in studies that have been conducted or are planned under the Resilient NY program are eligible to apply for Resilient Watershed funding.

Successful applications will be awarded a minimum grant amount of $150,000, maximum of $10 million, and the local match required is only 10%.

Inland Flooding and Local Waterfront Revitalization Implementation Projects Program

$15 million is available through the New York State Department of State (DOS) to allow communities to improve waterfront and watershed resiliency and to reduce climate impacts such as flooding. Projects must be identified in a local, state, or regional study/plan and the funding match by the applicant can be federal funding.

Projects must meet a design criteria of 30%, meaning that 30% of the project scope, budget, and timeline has already been developed for the project.

Coastal Rehabilitation and Resilience Projects Program

$20 million is available through the DOS for this program. The goal of these grants is to help coastal communities use nature-based solutions to enhance local resilience. The projects to be funded include those that build around the stated resiliency principles of the program, which can be found on the DOS website. Communities that are entitled to apply are located within the eligible waterbodies map produced by DOS.

Who Can Apply?

The grants are open to local governments, Indian Nations, County Soil and Water Conservation Districts, state agencies, and not-for-profit corporations, subject to specific eligibility criteria that apply to the individual programs.

Please contact Walden at 516-548-2974 to discuss these grants if you think there may be opportunities for your organization to apply. Speak with one of our grant writing experts to learn more about how you can obtain funds.