Funding

This page provides information on funding sources and funding opportunities for stormwater projects, as well as a list of currently funded and previously funded projects.

Funding Workshop

A Stormwater Funding Strategies workshop was held on February 3, 2016. Speakers were invited to talk about their source of funding and successful grant or loan recipients presented on the process they went through to receive the funding. All the presentations are listed below.

• Agenda File:Agenda 2.03.16 .docx
• Welcome by Anne Gelbmann, MPCA Stormwater Section File:Overview.pptx
• Clean Water Fund by Marcey Westrick, Board of Water and Soil Resources File:BWSR Stormwater CWF.pptx
  • Accelerated Implementation Grant by Andrea Prichard, Ramsey Conservation District File:AIG Ramsey Conservation District.pdf
  • Projects and Practices by Kyle Axtell, Rice Creek Watershed District File:Rice Creek Watershed District.pptx
  • Community Partners by Paige Ahlborg, Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed District File:RWMWD Community Partners Grants.pptx
• Clean Water Partnership and 319 Update by Pete Fastner, MPCA Watershed Division File:Nonpoint source grants.pptx
• AG BMP Loan by Dwight Wilcox, MN Department of Agriculture File:Dept. of Ag.pptx
• State Revolving Fund, Point Source Implementation Grant by Becky Sabie, Public Facilities Authority and Bill Dunn, MPCA File:Stormwater Treatment Funding Matrix .pptx
  • Renae Clark, Minnehaha Creek Watershed District
• Summary of Stormwater Funding Opportunities File:Sources of Funding for Stormwater Projects 2016.docx

Funding sources

• Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment: Funds are available for stormwater projects through the Board of Water and Soil Resources. Check the web site for information on availability of funding and also examples of stormwater projects that have been funded with Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment funding.

• State of Minnesota Watershed Project Funding: Funding opportunities for watershed projects around the state are available through federal and state funds. These funds are awarded through either competitive watershed grants (such as Federal Section 319 and State Clean Water Partnership) or non-competitive (for Clean Water Fund dollars) processes. For information about other water-related funding opportunities at the MPCA, please visit Financial Assistance Grants and Loans. Note: The Clean Water Partnership Loan program is open and there is no end date for application. A total of eleven million dollars is available.

• Clean Water Revolving Fund, also known as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund or simply SRF. The SRF is established under the Federal Clean Water Act and state law to make loans to for both point source (wastewater and stormwater) and nonpoint source water pollution control projects. The Public Facilities Authority (PFA) prepares an annual Intended Use Plan (IUP) based on a Project Priority List developed by the MPCA. The IUP describes the projects and activities eligible for funding during the state fiscal year. This fund includes an allocation for green projects. For more information, see the Wastewater and Stormwater Financial Assistance page.

• Watershed Districts: Cost share programs are available through many watershed districts. Contact your local watershed district to find out if you are eligible for project funding. Contact the Minnesota Association of Watershed Districts for more information.

• Soil and Water Conservation Districts: Cost share programs for stormwater projects may be available through your local soil and water conservation district. Contact the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

Recently Funded projects

• The Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) awarded a grant to the University of Minnesota to Maximize the Benefits of Water Reuse
• On June 23, 2016, the Metropolitan Council announced the grant recipients for stormwater projects. The funded projects include a harvest and use irrigation system at the Chanhassen High School, a rainwater collection system at the Eden Prairie fire station, a rainwater irrigation system in the City of Hugo, a rainwater reuse system at the Minneapolis Westminster Church in Minneapolis, green infrastructure elements at the Midway Soccer Redevelopment site and rain gardens in the Harrison neighborhood of North Minneapolis.
• The Rice Creek Watershed District was awarded a Clean Water Grant to develop and implement a stormwater reuse irrigation assessment tool. The tool will identify and prioritize possible project locations to determine which offer the greatest reductions in groundwater pumping for the lowest cost. For more information, go to the Rice Creek Watershed District web site.
• On December 16, 2015, the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) approved 64 projects for clean water. Examples of stormwater projects include: Big Trout Lake in Crow Wing County, Keller Lake in Burnsville, Lake St. Croix Retrofit in the Middle St. Croix Watershed Management Organization, Thompson Lake in the Lower Mississippi River Watershed Management Organization, Becker Park Infiltration project in Shingle Creek, Birch Lake Stormwater Retrofits in Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation District, Northwood Lake in Bassett Creek, Silver Lake treatment project in Valley Branch Watershed District, detention basins in the Itasca Soil and Water Conservation District, a water re-use system in King Park in the Vermillion River Watershed, and an anti-icing production upgrade to the City of Bloomington. For more details on these projects, go the the Board of Water and Soil Resources web site.
• In July, 2015, the Metropolitan Council approved two grants for innovative stormwater reuse. Recipients are the City of Waconia and the Minnesota Zoo. More more information, go to the Metropolitan Council's web site
• The City of Medina was awarded a Clean Water Partnership grant to install a filtration basin in the Ardmore neighborhood. For more information, contact Steve Scherer at 763-475-8842 or steve.scherer@ci.medina.mn.us
• The City of St. Cloud was awarded a Clean Water Partnership grant to reduce impervious surfaces, disconnect impervious surface, and install bioretention facilities and other volume reduction best management practices. For more information, contact Patrick Shea at 320-255-7225 or patrick.shea@ci.stcloud.mn.us
• The Bassett Creek Watershed Management Organization was awarded a Clean Water Partnership grant to capture and treat runoff from over 110 acres of an untreated urban area. Practices will include a structural treatment device for pre-treatment of runoff, underground stormwater re-use chamber, pump house, distribution system to irrigate 6.4 acres of ballfields. For more information, contact Laura Jester at 952-270-1990 or laura.jester@keystonewaters.com
• The Duluth Seaway Port Authority was awarded a Clean Water Partnership grant to investigate stormwater quality within impervious areas and propose options for effective best management practices with the investigated impervious areas. For more information, contact Deborah DeLuca at 218-727-8525 or ddeluca@duluthport.com
• The Port Authority of Winona was awarded a Clean Water Partnership grant for a rain garden in downtown Winona. More more information, contact Myron White at 507-457-8250 or mwhite@ci.winona.mn.us.
• On January 28, 2015, the Board of Water and Soil Resources announced the grant recipients for the Clean Water Fund. More than 14 million was awarded to local governments to improve water quality in Minnesota. For a complete list of projects that were awarded, go to Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources Clean Water Fund
• October, 2014: Clean Water Partnership grant and loan was awarded to the City of Winnebago for a green infrastructure project that will address water storage and illegal and illicit connections in a 25 block reconstruction project. Contact Chris Ziegler at cziegler@cityofwinnebago.com for additional information.
• October, 2014: Clean Water Partnership grant was awarded to Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District for infiltration areas and a sedimentation pond enhancement. Contact Diane Lynch at dlynch@plslwd.org for more information.
• October, 2014: Clean Water Partnership grant was awarded to the Aitkin County Soil and Water Conservation District for rain gardens, vegetated filter strips, rain barrels and permeable pavers. Contact Janet Smude at smude.aitkinswcd@gmail.com for more information.
• October, 2014: Clean Water Partnership grant and loan was awarded to Buffalo Creek Watershed District for construction of stormwater best management practices, bank stabilization and shallow lake outlet restoration. Contact Chris Otterness at cotterness@houstoneng.com for more information.
• October, 2014: Clean Water Partnership grant was awarded to Faribault County Soil and Water Conservation District for rain water gardens, rain water harvesting, permeable pavement, bioretention, controlled drainage and water storage. Contact Michele Stindtman at michele.stindtman@co.faribault.mn.us for more information.
• October, 2014: Clean Water Partnership grant was awarded to the City of Annandale for infiltration trenches, infiltration and wet sedimentation and subsurface treatment units. Contact Jared Voge at jaredvo@bolton-menk.com for more information.
• October, 2014: Clean Water Partnership grant was awarded to Carver County Water Management Organization for stormwater treatment capacity to the Lake Waconia, Fountain Park area. Contact Charlie Sawdey at csawdey@co.carver.mn.us for more information.
• In April, 2014, the US EPA awarded a technical assistance grant to the City of St. Paul to help produce a green infrastructure feasibility study for a waterfront park in the vacated industrial area undergoing redevelopment. For additional information: http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/greeninfrastructure/gi_support.cfm#Technical Assistance or contact Wes Saunders-Pearce with the City of St. Paul: 651-266-9112
• On February 20, 2014, the US EPA announced a $250,000 grant to the City of Duluth to help reduce the flow of stormwater into Lake Superior Basin.
• On January 22, 2014 the Board of Water and Soil Resources Board approved the FY 2014 clean water fund recipients. To see a list of stormwater projects, click on this link. File:Clean Water Legacy Stormwater Projects 2014.docx To see a complete list of projects that were funded, go to the list of funded projects. Links to some of the stormwater projects are shown below.
  • Rice Creek Watershed projects - Clear Lake Stormwater Project; Golden Lake Iron-Enhanced Sand Filter Project; Middle Rice Creek Restoration.

Currently funded projects

• Rain Water Reuse and Valuation Investigation - 2014 - 2016

Sponsor: University of Minnesota Department of Earth Sciences

Contact: Scott Alexander, 612-626-4164 or alexa017@umn.edu

Funding source: Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund $300,000

Purpose Design, install, and monitor a rainwater reuse system for use in evaporative chiller systems and identify other potential applications for rainwater reuse systems.

• Forest Lake Stormwater Filtration Retrofit — 2013

Sponsor: Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed District

Contact: Watershed Administrator, 651-209-9753, or Comfort Lake Forest Lake Watershed District

Funding source: Clean Water Partnership Grant $143,025

Purpose: This project will implement a stormwater retrofit of an existing stormwater pond and shoreline stabilization project in the Hilo Lane development, circa 1970s, located on the south shore of Forest Lake. Stormwater treatment for this 14 acre tributary drainage area comprised of residential land uses will include bio-filtration, iron enhanced sand filtration, channel stabilization and shoreline stabilization. The estimated nutrient reduction from the project is almost 12 pounds per year of total phosphorous.

• Assessing and Improving Pollution Prevention by Swales

Sponsor: MN Department of Transportation

Contact: Barbara Loida, MNDOT 651-366-3760

Funding source: Local Road Research Board $ 314,000

Purpose: This research will document the pollution prevention available through infiltration into the soil of swales and develop practical soil modifications which will make it possible to utilize existing right-of-way to meet permit requirements. The research will also develop methods to remove dissolved phosphorus and heavy metals in swales. Maintenance requirements will also be documented, demonstrating another advantage in using swales for pollution prevention and for runoff volume control.

• Permeable Pavement Systems-2012 to 2015

Sponsor:

Contact: Nelson Cruz, 651-366-3744

Funding source: Local Road Research Board $ 177,414

Purpose: The objective of this research is to summarize best practices for the hydraulic and structural design and maintenance of permeable asphalt, concrete, and interlocking concrete pavement systems in the State of Minnesota through reviewing the literature, contacting practitioners throughout the USA and other select countries who have experience with permeable asphalt and concrete, and identifying some of the unresolved issues dealing with full implementation of permeable pavements in the State of Minnesota.

• Sand and Long Lakes Protection Project-2013

Sponsor: Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed District

Contact: Jim Shaver, 651-433-2150

Funding source: Clean Water Partnership Grant $ 132,000

Purpose: Implementation activities proposed as a part of the project include water quality monitoring, biotic surveys, sediment core sampling, mechanical treatment of curly-leaf pondweed, an iron enhanced sand filter, with a high capacity multi-stage weir and 40,000 pounds of iron filings and stakeholder involvement in the design process and educational presentations.

Previously funded projects

For a complete list of stormwater projects funded with Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment funds, go to Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources-Clean Water, Land and Legacy Stories

• Maplewood Mall - 2009-2012

Sponsor: Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed District

Contact: Cliff Aichinger, 651-792-7957; cliff@rwmwd.org

Funding sources: Section 319 grant-$500,000; Clean Water Fund Grants- $500,000 and $625,000; TMDL grant- $100,000; PFA SRF Loan- $1,200,000; Green Project Reserve Grant-$350,000

Purpose: The Kohlman Lake TMDL calls for the reduction of nutrients from watersheds and in-lake loading. One major source was the Maplewood Mall. The District identified that retrofitting the Mall parking areas to infiltrate or filter at least one inch of runoff would result in a large reduction in phosphorus to Kohlman Creek and the lake. BMPs include 55 rainwater gardens that filter 9 million galls of runoff, 6,733 square feet of permeable pavers that infiltrate 260,000 gallons of runoff, one cistern that holds 5,700 gallons of roof runoff and 375 trees that capture 11.2 million gallons of runoff. This is estimated to reduce phosphorus loading by 60% and reduce sediment loads by 90%.

For more information contact: Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District

• Assessing Enhanced Swales for Pollution Prevention - 2011

Sponsor: University of Minnesota

Contact: Dr. John Gulliver, 612-625-4080, gulli003@umn.edu

Funding source: EPA 319 grant $400,000

Purpose: This research will demonstrate the effectiveness of a new stormwater treatment system developed specifically for capturing dissolved phosphorus and heavy metals from roadway runoff.

• Fulda Phosphorus Reduction Initiative - 2011

Sponsor: Heron Lake Watershed District

Contact: Jan Voit, 507-793-2462, jan.voit@mysmbs.com

Funding source: EPA 319 grant $12,600

Purpose: Through this effort, project sponsors will conduct a rain garden demonstration project to work with the community to address pollution concerns. This will be done by providing educational opportunities with the community to address pollution concerns. This will be done by providing education opportunities for students and the community to learn about native vegetation, water quality improvement, pollution reduction, and environmentally-friendly landscaping. This project will provide opportunities for students to learn about the importance of water quality improvemetn and how they can play a part in pollution reduction efforts.

• Sand Creek Stormwater Retrofit Project-2011

Sponsor: Coon Creek Watershed District

Contact: Jim Shaver, 651-433-2150, jshaver@cmscwd.org

Funding Source: Clean Water Partnership $83,650

Purpose: Installation of two of the four most cost-effective projects to reduce phosphorus, total suspended solids and stormwater runoff volumes in Sand Creek. The two BMPs installed were a new stormwater pond and a network of nine strategically placed curb cut rain garden retrofits. Estimated eighty percent reduction of TSS and fifty percent reduction of total phosphorus and six percent reduction of volume.

• Assessing Iron Enhanced Filtration Trenches-2011

Sponsor: City of Prior Lake

Contact: Pete Young, 952-447-9831, pyoung@cityofpriorlake.com

Funding Source: Federal 319 grant, $ 240,000

Purpose: Quantify the performance of full-scale, field installed, iron-enhanced filtration trenches which will provide critical design, construction and performance information for a practice that could be used to significantly reduce the dissolved phosphorus load entering wetlands, rivers, and lakes in Minnesota. This project will investigate the design of a new treatment system that utilizes a sand filter enhanced with iron shavings or steel wool around the perimeter and near the outlet of a wet detention basin.