Federal grant programs / Environmental Protection Agency

Geographic Programs - Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (66.469)

Also known as Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$413 million
• Grant awards302
• Typical award$649,913
• Awarded in FY 2025$66.1 million
• Size rank415 of 1824
• Type of assistanceProject grants, use of property, facilities, and equipment, dissemination of technical information

Key findings

• Annual funding rose from $57.7 million in fiscal 2021 to $66.1 million in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 415th largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 75% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 10 states and territories.

What the program funds

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) was launched in 2010 as a nonregulatory program to accelerate efforts to protect and restore the largest system of fresh surface water in the world by providing additional resources to help achieve the most critical long-term goals for this important ecosystem. The EPA leads an interagency group of 16 federal agencies to implement the GLRI. Since 2010, the GLRI has funded more than 8,000 projects that have been implemented by federal agencies, states, tribes, local governments, universities, and other nonfederal entities. The EPA and the other federal agencies will continue to use GLRI funds to strategically target the biggest threats to the Great Lakes ecosystem and associated human health issues in partnership with states, Tribes and other nonfederal stakeholders. Funded activities will advance protection and restoration of the Great Lakes ecosystem in support of (i) the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative as described in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan IV, Fiscal Year 2025-Fiscal Year 2029 located at https://glri.us; and/or (ii) the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement; and will align with the five pillars detailed in EPA’s Powering the Great American Comeback and the FY2026-2030 EPA Strategic Plan when it is released. Funding Priorities - Fiscal Year 2026: The EPA will continue to use GLRI resources to strategically target the biggest threats to the Great Lakes ecosystem and associated human health issues identified in the GLRI Action Plan IV. The GLRI will continue to prioritize the clean-up of Areas of Concern, reduction of phosphorus loads to prevent harmful algal blooms, and invasive species prevention. These priorities will also be supported by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

For certain competitive funding opportunities under this assistance listing, the Agency may limit eligibility to compete to a number or subset of eligible applicants consistent with the Agency’s Assistance Agreement Competition Policy.

What the money can and cannot pay for

Assistance agreement awards under this program may involve or relate to geospatial information. Further information regarding geospatial information may be obtained by viewing the following website: Geospatial Resources at EPA.

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Deadlines

For competitive awards, deadlines will be specified in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

Award range and average, in the agency's words

Some awards are fully funded at award and others are funded incrementally over several years. Representative Award Range: $30,000/fiscal year to $5,000,000/fiscal year. Representative Award Ranges for Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) projects could be from $1.00M to $20.00M. Some of these awards may be incrementally funded with appropriations from future fiscal years.

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal Year2016: Grants and cooperative agreements will be awarded to governmental entities, nonprofit organizations, and institutions for planning, research, monitoring, outreach, and implementation in support of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Projects will be funded within the focus areas of: (i) Toxic Substances and Areas of Concern; (ii) Invasive Species; (iii) Nonpoint Source Pollution Impacts on Nearshore Health; (iv) Habitats and Species; and (v) Foundations for Future Restoration Actions. Under the Great Lakes Legacy Act, projects will also be funded through contracts for remediation of contaminated sediments in Great Lakes Areas of Concern. Project descriptions will be available from: http://greatlakesrestoration.us. Grants and cooperative agreements will be awarded to governmental entities, nonprofit organizations, and institutions for planning, research, monitoring, outreach, and implementation in support of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Projects will be funded within the focus areas of: (i) Toxic Substances and Areas of Concern; (ii) Invasive Species; (iii) Nonpoint Source Pollution Impacts on Nearshore Health; (iv) Habitats and Species; and (v) Foundations for Future Restoration Actions. Under the Great Lakes Legacy Act, projects will also be funded through contracts for remediation of contaminated sediments in Great Lakes Areas of Concern.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

State and local governments received 78% of the money, colleges and universities 8.8% and nonprofits 7.7%.

By state

9 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.