The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency announced $5 million in new 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. See Notice of Funding Opportunity.
“The green infrastructure projects funded through the GIGO program will protect Illinois rivers,
streams, and lakes by reducing stormwater runoff,” said IEPA Interim Director James 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 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 this program, green infrastructure is defined as any stormwater management 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. Additional information at IEPA – applicants must apply for GIGO through the GATA Grantee Portal.
