Illinois EPA Announces New Funding Opportunity For Green Infrastructure Projects To Improve Water Quality

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Interim Director James Jennings today announced a grant opportunity with $5 million in funding for projects that will improve water quality in Illinois. The Green Infrastructure Grant Opportunities (GIGO) Program has been made possible by Governor Pritzker’s bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital plan. The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is posted at https://il.amplifund.com/Public/Opportunities/Details/45aeb4c5-055a-4441-aeb8-d49eae66772b.

“The green infrastructure projects funded through the GIGO program will protect Illinois rivers, streams, and lakes by reducing stormwater runoff,” said Interim Director Jennings. “The dedicated funding for this program will reduce the frequency and duration of localized and riverine flooding which improves water quality in Illinois waterways.”

The GIGO Program seeks proposals for projects containing green infrastructure best management practices (BMPs) that prevent, eliminate, or reduce stormwater runoff, reducing localized or riverine flooding in Illinois’ rivers, streams, and lakes. Projects that implement treatment trains (multiple BMPs in series) and/or multiple BMPs within the same watershed are encouraged as they may be more effective and efficient than a single large green infrastructure BMP. BMPs may be located on public or private land.

For the GIGO program, green infrastructure is defined as any stormwater management technique or practice employed with the primary goal to preserve, restore, mimic, or enhance natural hydrology. Green infrastructure includes, but is not limited to, methods of using soil and vegetation to promote soil percolation, evapotranspiration, and filtering or the harvesting and reuse of precipitation. Examples of project types/BMPs that may be funded through GIGO are provided in the NOFO. Illinois EPA anticipates project awards between $75,000 and $2.5 million.

Applications for the GIGO Program are due by noon on November 20, 2024, at 12:00 PM (CST). Additional information is available at: https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/grants-loans/water-financial-assistance/gigo.html. Applicants must apply for GIGO through the GATA Grantee Portal.

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