New York’s CFA: Funding Opportunities With DEC

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has up to $100 million in funding available through the Water Quality Improvement Project Program, the Climate Smart Communities Grant Program, and the Non-Agricultural Nonpoint Source Planning and Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Mapping Grant Program.

Applications for these programs are submitted through the New York State Consolidated Funding Application (CFA), and have a deadline of 4:00 p.m. EST on July 31, 2025. Certain other CFA programs have open enrollment periods; stay tuned for Walden’s blog on those! In this post, however, we will examine the NYSDEC program opportunities and the projects and types of organizations that are eligible to apply to these programs.

Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Grant Program

NYSDEC has up to $22 million in funding for the Climate Smart Communities Grant Program. The intent of the CSC Program is to provide funding to municipalities and county governments for projects that address climate change and reduce pollutants generated by local governmental organizations, as well as to provide municipalities with resources to obtain a Climate Smart Community certification. Climate Smart Communities Grant projects can be broken up into two broad project categories: implementation projects and certification projects.

Implementation projects have three subcategories, listed below.

• Greenhouse gas mitigation – Projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from non-power generating sources.
• Climate adaptation – Projects that reduce the risks of climate change to residents, infrastructure, and other resources.
• Engineering feasibility studies – Projects that provide a meaningful risk reduction to residents, resources, and infrastructure from floods or other climate change factors.

Certification projects are projects that support a municipality’s progress towards certification as a Climate Smart Community. Please refer to the 20 listed Climate Smart Community Certification Actions that New York State has available here.

Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) Program

NYSDEC has at least $75 million in funding for projects that are eligible for the WQIP Program. The intent of the WQIP Program is to provide funding to local governments and not-for-profit organizations for projects that directly improve water quality and habitat, enhance flood resiliency, or protect a drinking water source.

Eligible project types include habitat restoration, salt storage, and wastewater treatment improvements, among many others. The individual requirements for each project type are too numerous to list in this post, but are available here.

Non-Agricultural Nonpoint Source Planning and MS4 Mapping Grant (NPG) Program

NYSDEC is providing a total of $3 million through the NPG Program. Up to $1.5 million in grant funding is available for local governments and soil and water conservation districts for both the planning of non-agricultural nonpoint source water quality improvement projects and MS4 mapping.

It should be noted that projects that propose the upgrade, repair, or replacement of a wastewater treatment plant and/or its associated collection system, or the construction of a treatment plant for an area with failing septic systems, are not eligible under this program.

Full program requirements are available here.

How Can I Apply?

New York State’s Consolidated Funding Application’s July 31 deadline is quickly approaching, and if you or your municipality are looking to submit a grant program application, Walden is ready and willing to help! Please contact us at 516-548-2974 with any questions about the grant assistance programs under NYSDEC, or for more information on the opportunities offered through other state agencies.