Browse Ambrook’s collection of funding programs by Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC)

Apply through the DNREC Environmental Finance Community Water Quality Improvement Grant page (see the Request for Proposals).

Michael Fleming

The Community Water Quality Improvement Grant (CWQIG) helps implement projects or programs within Delaware's developed landscape to improve water quality.



Eligible applicants are Delaware non-profit organizations, local conservation districts, community organizations, and/or homeowner's associations. Agricultural operations and private for-profit firms are not eligible for these funds.

A lump sum of money for a specific purpose that does not need to be paid back.

Grant

Air Quality

Carbon Capture

Certification

High Tunnel

Landscape

Regenerative

Soil Health

Wildlife & Pollinator Habitat

Certified Organic

Certified Grassfed

Cover Crops

Reduced Tillage

Water Management

Matching grants generally range from $25,000 to $75,000 for eligible water-quality improvement projects.

Interested applicants should contact DNREC via the program's online form with name, contact information, and property location.

Holly Walker

The Delaware Buffer Incentive Program provides financial incentives for landowners in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed to install vegetated buffers along waterways. These linear strips of wooded or vegetated area filter nutrients, sediment, and pollutants while reducing erosion and providing wildlife habitat, supporting Delaware's Watershed Implementation Plan goals.



Properties must be within Delaware's Chesapeake Bay Watershed and connect to or border streams or ditches. Urban landowners: minimum quarter-acre buffer, 5-year commitment. Agricultural/rural landowners: minimum half-acre buffer, 5-year commitment; leaseholders must certify active leases and maintain good standing with the Nutrient Management Program or Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation Program. Tax ditch buffers require written approval before installation.

A payment that requires some percentage of matching contributions by the recipient.

Cost Share

Conservation

One-time per-acre incentive payments: Forest Buffer (>35 feet) $1,000; Narrow Forest Buffer (10–35 feet) $500; Grass Buffer (>35 feet) $1,000; Narrow Grass Buffer (10–35 feet) $500; Urban Conservation Buffer (>10 feet) $500. The program covers installation and maintenance throughout the 5-year contract period.

Contact DNREC or your local conservation district office. Staff will visit the property, recommend suitable practices, develop a design plan for committee approval, oversee installation, and verify completion.

Sam Cotten

DeCAP is a cost-share program that provides financial incentives, technical and educational assistance to property owners installing Best Management Practices in Delaware's Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The initiative addresses nonpoint source pollution — stormwater runoff carrying sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus into waterways — by encouraging installation of practices that filter runoff and restore vegetated areas.



Property owners whose land falls within Delaware's Chesapeake Bay Basin may qualify; applicants can use the Delaware watersheds map tool to verify their property location and watershed.

Forest Management

Disaster Relief

Emergency

The program covers eight eligible Best Management Practices: rain gardens; stormwater facility enhancements (vegetated channels, infiltration basins, bioretention basins); rainwater harvesting; constructed wetlands; conservation landscaping; urban nutrient management (livable lawns); tree plantings; and urban forest buffers. Property owners must maintain the installed practice for at least five years with annual inspections.

Interested landowners should contact their local FSA office for enrollment information and program details.

Ben Coverdale

Nonpoint Source Program

Delaware partners with the USDA Commodity Credit Corporation to enroll up to 10,000 acres of agricultural land in this voluntary conservation initiative. Federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) funding is supplemented with state resources to support participating landowners through 10- to 15-year contracts. The program aims to improve water quality, reduce soil erosion, reduce the amount of sediment, phosphorus, and other pollutants in waterways, improve wildlife habitat, and restore wetlands.



Participating agricultural producers must own land within the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, or Inland Bays watershed (at least 80% of eligible acreage); the land must adjoin drainage ditches, streams, or water bodies (exception: shallow water area practices); the land was in cropland or marginal pastureland for four of six years (2012–2017); and the owner has held the property for at least 12 months.

Federal CRP funding is supplemented with state resources under 10- to 15-year contracts. Approved conservation activities include hardwood tree planting, permanent wildlife habitat, riparian buffers, filter strips, and wetland restoration. Participating agencies include USDA-FSA, DNREC, NRCS, Delaware Conservation Districts, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Contact James Joachimowski, Impoundment/Habitat Biologist, at 302-725-3638. Landowners may also request no-spray buffer zones around sensitive areas by contacting the Division beforehand.

James Joachimowski

Delaware's Division of Fish and Wildlife offers financial assistance to private landowners for controlling invasive Phragmites through helicopter-based herbicide application.



Eligible landowners must have between 5 and 200 acres of Phragmites on their property to treat, on private lands only. Tax ditches are ineligible because the program relies on aerial application methods.

Fertilizer

Inputs

Nutrient Management

The program covers helicopter spraying costs. Landowners receive bills after statewide spraying concludes, typically in October or November. Pricing fluctuates annually since the Division bids out the contracts for helicopter services and chemicals each year. The herbicide is broad-spectrum; the Division uses helicopters rather than fixed-wing aircraft to reduce drift, and landowners may request no-spray buffer zones. The program does not cover ground treatment of remaining Phragmites.

Apply through the DNREC Environmental Finance Surface Water Matching Planning Grants page.

The Surface Water Matching Planning Grants provide funding to Delaware local governments and organizations for surface-water improvement planning projects.



Any Delaware county, municipal government, conservation district, or estuary program is eligible. Non-profit organizations, educational institutions, government agencies, community organizations, and/or homeowner's associations within Delaware that do not have taxing authority are ineligible to apply directly but may partner with an eligible applicant.

Irrigation

Water Quality

Waterway Protection

Wetland Conservation

Matching planning grants support surface-water improvement planning; see the DNREC application and guidance for match and award details.

Apply through the DNREC TEDI Funding Opportunities page in response to the annual Call for Proposals.

Tree for Every Delawarean Initiative (TEDI)

The Tree for Every Delawarean Initiative (TEDI) Grants, from the DNREC Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy, is an annual competitive grant program for large-scale tree plantings in Delaware.



Based on the 2025/FY26 Call for Proposals, applicants must own and maintain the land where the project is proposed, or include how they will secure a signed agreement/acknowledgement with a landowner. Eligible applicants include organizations, governments, and community groups conducting large-scale plantings.

TEDI awards competitive grants for large-scale tree-planting projects; see the current Call for Proposals for award ranges and match requirements.

DNREC's Environmental Justice Office accepts applications once a year. The most recent window, for projects running in 2027, was Aug. 1 to 31, 2026, and is now closed. The DNREC community ombudsman in the Environmental Justice Office can help with completing an application. Contact DNREC_EJ@delaware.gov.

Antonio Bivins

Environmental Justice Office Community Ombudsman

Community Ombudsman, DNREC Environmental Justice Office

The Community Environmental Project Fund (CEPF), administered by DNREC's Environmental Justice office, awards grants funded by penalty settlements to support community environmental projects that mitigate pollution, enhance the environment, or create recreational opportunities.



- Any community or nonprofit organization is eligible to apply.
- Priority goes to organizations in Equity Focus Areas or within two miles of an environmental violation.
- Projects must mitigate pollution, enhance the environment or create recreational opportunities.

Agritourism

Proposed projects can range from $5,000 to $50,000. Grants are paid from penalties DNREC collects for violations of Delaware's environmental laws and regulations. Approved projects run for one calendar year.

An electronic copy of the proposal and supporting materials (e.g., project support letters from partners) must be submitted to the Chesapeake Bay Implementation Program. All proposals must be completed following the Grant Proposal Format detailed in this RFP. Proposals will not be accepted by facsimile machine submission. Please submit all applications to conservationbmps@delaware.gov by March 6, 2026.

Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grants (CBIG) enable states the lie in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to meet the goals outlined in the [2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement](https://www.chesapeakebay.net/what/what_guides_us/watershed_agreement), such as improving water quality.


Delaware’s Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant is detailed in a 6-year work plan. It relies on partnerships to help meet local goals. The CBIG is used to help fund water quality-based best management practices (BMP) projects&#x2004;and priorities under the following objectives:

- **Objective 1:** Support coordinated efforts and bring together stakeholders in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

- **Objective 2:** Monitor and evaluate progress towards achieving Delaware’s TMDLs and Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.

- **Objective 3:** Accelerate implementation of cost-effective practices and enhance partnerships in the agriculture sector.

- **Objective 4:** Accelerate implementation of cost-effective practices and utilize partnerships in the developed and natural sector.

- **Objective 5:** Investigate and determine toxic contaminant levels within Delaware’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay, and address as appropriate.



Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grants (CBIG) enable states the lie in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to meet the goals outlined in the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, such as improving water quality.

Delaware’s Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant is detailed in a 6-year work plan. It relies on partnerships to help meet local goals. The CBIG is used to help fund water quality-based best management practices (BMP) projects and priorities under the following objectives:
- Objective 1: Support coordinated efforts and bring together stakeholders in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
- Objective 2: Monitor and evaluate progress towards achieving Delaware’s TMDLs and Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.
- Objective 3: Accelerate implementation of cost-effective practices and enhance partnerships in the agriculture sector.
- Objective 4: Accelerate implementation of cost-effective practices and utilize partnerships in the developed and natural sector.
- Objective 5: Investigate and determine toxic contaminant levels within Delaware’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay, and address as appropriate.

Eligible applicants may be public and private entities, including local governments (county, city, or town), conservation districts, tribal authorities, regional development centers, local school systems, colleges and universities, homeowner’s associations, and local nonprofit organizations including those representing local governments, state agencies, federal agencies, watershed groups, and for-profit groups within the State of Delaware’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
Preference is given to projects involving cooperative partnerships.

Eligible proposals are selected for funding by the DNREC Chesapeake Implementation Program through a competitive grant process. Each CBIG project must have a 100% match of the federal grant funds requested. Match may be a combination of cash and in-kind services.
The DNREC Chesapeake Implementation Program administers the grant application process and provides technical and financial guidance during the grant application and project period.
Proposals for funding under the CBIG grant should follow the CBIG Request for Proposals guidelines document.


- Request for Proposals
- Watershed Management Plans

The CBIG requires a non-federal match component as part of the funding award to any grantee. The CBIG requires a 100% non-federal match in the form of non-federal funds, in-kind services and/or a combination of the two. 
For example, a BMP implementation project requesting $25,000 in CBIG federal funds must have a non-federal match of at least $25,000 in the form of cash funds, in-kind services and/or a combination of both. 

An electronic copy of the proposal and supporting materials (e.g., project support letters from partners, aerial maps, etc.) must be submitted to the NPS Program, following the Grant Proposal Format detailed in the current fiscal year's RFP. Proposals will not be accepted by facsimile. Email proposals to NPS.Grants@delaware.gov, Attn: Ben Coverdale, with the subject line "FY26 Clean Water Act Section 319 Grant Proposal" (update the FY each cycle), by 4:30 PM on the RFP's stated due date. The full RFP document and Grant Application Form are posted at https://de.gov/319grants. For questions, contact Ben Coverdale (Michael.Coverdale@delaware.gov) and/or Catie Soriano (Cathryn.Soriano@delaware.gov).

Catie Soriano

The Delaware [Nonpoint Source Program](https://dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/watershed-stewardship/nps/) administers a competitive grant program made possible through Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. The grant provides funding for projects designed to reduce nonpoint source (NPS) pollution in Delaware.

Nonpoint source pollution is any pollution that originates from a diffuse source (such as an open field or a road) and is transported to surface or ground waters through leaching or runoff.

A&#x2004;good way to reduce nonpoint source pollution is to incorporate specific best management practices (BMPs) into project workplans. Projects may target any source of NPS pollution, but most frequently involve agriculture, silviculture, construction, marinas, septic systems, and hydromodification activities.

Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 319 grants are awarded to the state based on the federal fiscal year (October through September). A request for proposals for each awarded fiscal year grant is posted, and advertised, in December of each calendar year and/or at the NPS Program’s discretion.



The Delaware Nonpoint Source Program administers a competitive grant program made possible through Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. The grant provides funding for projects designed to reduce nonpoint source (NPS) pollution in Delaware.
Nonpoint source pollution is any pollution that originates from a diffuse source (such as an open field or a road) and is transported to surface or ground waters through leaching or runoff.
A good way to reduce nonpoint source pollution is to incorporate specific best management practices (BMPs) into project workplans. Projects may target any source of NPS pollution, but most frequently involve agriculture, silviculture, construction, marinas, septic systems, and hydromodification activities.
Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 319 grants are awarded to the state based on the federal fiscal year (October through September). A request for proposals for each awarded fiscal year grant is posted, and advertised, in December of each calendar year and/or at the NPS Program’s discretion.

Projects can be sponsored by both public and private entities, including local governments (county, city, or town), conservation districts, tribal authorities, regional development centers, local school systems, colleges and universities, local nonprofit organizations, state agencies, federal agencies, watershed groups, for-profit groups, homeowner's associations, and individuals. Project grants to individuals are limited to demonstration projects.

Priority will be given to those projects whose goal is to improve the water quality of water bodies identified as having nonpoint source pollution impairments and implemented in those watersheds that have approved watershed management plans.

- FY26 CWA Section 319 Grant RFP (PDF)
- FY26 NPS 319 Grant Proposal Form (PDF)
- Watershed Management Plans

Infrastructure

Proposals are reviewed and evaluated, and those which are determined to meet specific requirements are eligible for funding.

Match. The Section 319 grant will typically fund up to 60% of the total project cost. The remaining 40% is the grant recipient's responsibility as non-federal match. For example, a proposal with a $100,000 total project cost could receive $60,000 in Section 319 grant funds, and the recipient would provide $40,000 in matching funds. Match may be a combination of cash and/or in-kind services, and preference is given to applicants with cash match. Federal dollars may not be used as match.

State match help. State-funded non-federal match may be available on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the review and ranking committee; if meeting the match is a limiting factor, contact the grant point of contact.

Payment. Reimbursements are not allowable until a grant agreement is executed and a purchase order has been established. Recipients submit detailed invoices no more than once per month.

List of Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Funding Opportunities