Funding and Grants for Puget Sound

About EPA funding for Puget Sound

EPA receives money from Congress to help protect and restore Puget Sound. These funds are used to help implement Washington's Puget Sound Action Agenda using cooperative agreements with designated state agencies, local and tribal governments, universities and non-governmental organizations.

Below you will find information about current and past opportunities for federal funding through EPA.

Visit EPA Geographic Funding at Work on Puget Sound Recovery for an overview of EPA’s work to protect and restore water quality and ecological integrity in Puget Sound.

Open Funding Opportunities

Ensuring Environmental Justice, Human Wellbeing, and Ecosystem Recovery in Puget Sound (2024)

The goal of this request for applications is to advance environmental justice (EJ) by directing resources and ultimately environmental and community benefits toward overburdened and underserved communities, or communities with EJ concerns. We also anticipate that this request for applications will support improved, longer-term integration of EJ principles into Puget Sound restoration and recovery.

EPA anticipates awarding up to $7 million over two years of incremental funding under this announcement.

The successful applicant will manage a program of sub-awards and other support for addressing EJ and the restoration and recovery of Puget Sound ecosystems, communities, and people.

For more information, visit Funding Availability for Puget Sound Action Agenda – Ensuring Environmental Justice, Human Wellbeing, and Ecosystem Recovery in Puget Sound. Applications are due September 10, 2024.

Ongoing and Past Funding

Climate Resilient Riparian Systems Lead (2023)

The Puget Sound Climate Resilient Riparian Systems Lead establishes an innovative and collaborative riparian conservation program that provides financial incentives for landowners to permanently protect and restore riparian areas important for providing ecosystem services, including those supporting salmon recovery, while successfully implementing approaches to promote climate resiliency.

EPA anticipates awarding up to $30 million over four years of incremental funding, to be leveraged using non-federal matching funds with the hope of building a robust and sustainable program.

For more information, visit Funding Availability for Puget Sound Action Agenda - Climate Resilient Riparian Systems Lead.

Tribal Implementation Lead 2.0 (2022)

The Tribal Implementation Award 2.0 supports implementation of tribal priorities in the Puget Sound Action Agenda, and coordinates and integrates this program with Puget Sound management conference partners who also support Action Agenda implementation.

For more information, visit Funding Availability for Puget Sound Action Agenda Tribal Implementation Lead 2.0.

Strategic Initiative Leads (2020)

Strategic Initiative Leads implement the Action Agenda, serve as Implementation Strategy Leads, and participate in a number of Puget Sound Management Conference work groups and processes in the areas of habitat, shellfish, and stormwater.

For more information, visit Funding Availability for Puget Sound Strategic Initiative Leads.

Implementation Strategies – Science Awards (2017–2021)

Led by the Puget Sound Partnership, in coordination with the University of Washington Puget Sound Institute (PSI) and Oregon State University, to provide science support to Strategic Initiative Leads to update, complete, or initiate implementation strategies using the approaches developed through prior awards to the Puget Sound Partnership and PSI.

Takes the ecosystem perspective by:

Integrating across Vital Signs and implementation strategies under development.
Preparing the scientific basis required for future implementation strategies to ensure a balanced and comprehensive program.

Supports the foundational science basis for Puget Sound recovery and long-term protection programs. This work complements the focus on implementation strategies by:

Identifying, prioritizing, and promoting critical information needs identified by implementation strategies.
Ensuring critical evaluation and technical peer review of intermediate and final implementation strategy plans.

Over $7.2 million awarded in the first four years of the agreement (FY17 – FY20).

Tribal Implementation Lead Award (2016-2021)

Led by the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission to facilitate implementation of projects of high tribal priority that are consistent with the action agenda.

Over $21 million awarded.

Tribal Capacity Awards

Awarded to 19 tribes and three tribal consortia to support tribal participation in regional coordination boards and management conferences as well as to implement recovery activities consistent with the Action Agenda.

Over $38 million awarded from 2010 through 2019.