Green Infrastructure Grant (IL)

Green Infrastructure Grant (IL)

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Amount: US $75,000 - US $2,500,000
Last Updated: October 04, 2025

Summary

The Green Infrastructure Grant (IL) offers funding for projects aimed at reducing stormwater runoff and mitigating flooding in Illinois. Administered by the Illinois EPA, this grant supports best management practices (BMPs) that enhance natural water management systems. With grants ranging from $75,000 to $2.5 million, eligible applicants include individuals, nonprofits, and government entities. Projects focused on environmental justice areas may receive up to 85% funding, promoting sustainable practices statewide.

Overview

NOTE: GIGO funds are available to any Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) Pre-Qualified entity that has legal status to accept funds from the State of Illinois. Green Infrastructure Grant (IL) This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to advise potential applicants of the availability of grant funds through the Green Infrastructure Grant Opportunities (GIGO). The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) is seeking proposals for projects to construct 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 the purposes of GIGO, Green Infrastructure means any stormwater management technique or 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. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), localized and riverine flooding will likely become more frequent. Localized flooding happens when rainfall overwhelms the capacity of the drainage systems, while riverine flooding happens when river flows exceed the capacity of a river channel. By reducing stormwater runoff, detaining water away from impacted areas, and reconnecting streams to their floodplains, GIGO can help reduce the number and duration of both localized and riverine flood events. Project Types Eligible GIGO projects, through the construction of BMPs, will decrease stormwater runoff prior to release into rivers, streams, and lakes, and include: reconnection of a stream with its floodplain (e.g., two-stage ditch, daylighting); flow control of stormwater runoff at sites directly upstream or downstream of an impervious area that currently impacts rivers, streams, or lakes through stormwater runoff discharge; and/or flow control of water generated from impervious surfaces associated with existing urban land use (such as roads and buildings). Examples of Project Types/BMPs that may be funded through GIGO are provided below. The list is not all-inclusive, and inclusion of a BMP here does not equate to an automatic eligibility for funding under GIGO. Bioinfiltration - Vegetated practices designed to facilitate the infiltration of stormwater through infiltration media and/or vegetation uptake (e.g., bioretention areas, swales, infiltration basins, and green roofs)Retention/Infiltration - Practices which allow stormwater to infiltrate into underlying soil; (e.g., permeable pavement/pavers (roadway, alleys, and parking lots)); underground infiltration; and retention areas)Detention Pond Creation/Retrofit - Projects which create a new wet detention basin Projects which retrofit an existing dry retention basin into a wet detention basin Projects which modify an existing wet detention basin to increase its stormwater retention capacity (e.g., additional freeboard)Wetland Creation/Modification -Projects which create a wetland to intercept runoff, reduce peak flows, decrease runoff volume to rivers, streams, and lakes Projects which modify an existing wetland (within limits of State and federal law) to improve its stormwater retention capacityFloodplain Reconnection -Projects which reconnect a river, stream, or lake to its floodplain to increase water infiltration through access to larger water retention area and/or for a longer water retention period such as: A two-stage ditch includes a ‘floodplain’ within its channel design. Daylighting restores an open-air watercourse that was previously diverted below ground to an above-ground channel, allowing it to reconnect with its floodplain. A levee retrofit allows water access back to a specific area within its floodplain.Watershed-Wide Projects -Smaller BMPs (e.g., rain gardens, green walls, trees, tree boxes, infiltration planters, dry wells, pocket wetlands, etc.) and the BMPs listed above that are constructed throughout the watershed. This type of project benefits communities that do not have large tracts of land to convert into green infrastructure. Applicant must describe the ranking process used for watershed-wide projects to confirm that the BMP sites proposed address the most critical areas with structural and non-structural practices that, if properly managed, will provide the greatest stormwater runoff control for the longest duration.Rainwater Harvesting -Projects that capture, divert, and store rainwater for later use (e.g., rain barrels and cisterns)BMP Design and Construction - Projects including both BMP design and its construction (See Funding Source Description for funding restrictions for design costs.)Illinois EPA will prioritize and select projects, according to the ranking criteria outlined in the Evaluation and Scoring Section, that are most cost-effective and yield the largest potential for stormwater runoff control. BMPs proven effective to reconnect a waterbody to its floodplain or BMPs proven effective at reducing impacts from stormwater runoff will receive priority. Project match requirements and selection criteria are provided later in this NOFO. Funding GIGO has a set maximum total grant award of $2,500,000 with a minimum grant award of $75,000. No more than 50% of the program total, per funding cycle, shall be allocated to any one applicant or project. GIGO may provide up to 75% of the approved project costs. The remaining 25% is the responsibility of the grantee and constitutes the match. Match may include money spent or in-kind services utilized to complete the approved project tasks. Match can be provided by the grantee, sub-contractor, or project partners (e.g., State programs, private foundations, landowners). A grantee may match greater than 25%. Proposed projects that benefit an environmental justice (EJ) area may be eligible for up to 85% of GIGO assistance, with the applicant responsible for 15% of the costs as match. Design costs, up to $50,000 or 15% of the total BMP costs, whichever is less, are eligible for grant funds and/or as match.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Eligible Applicants:Individuals, Small Businesses, Others, Government Organizations, Education Organizations, Public Housing Organizations, Nonprofit Organizations, For-Profit OrganizationsThese may include local watershed groups, land conservancies or trusts, public and private profit and nonprofit organizations and institutions, units of government (county, municipal, township, or state), universities and colleges, park districts and other local land managing agencies, soil and water conservation districts, and conservation organizations.Applicants may apply for more than one project; however, successful applicants shall only receive funding for more than one GIGO application if funds are available after all other successful applicants have been awarded funding. Partial funding may be offered if sufficient funds are not available to fund an entire application.

Ineligibility

Examples of ineligible activities, tasks, and components that shall not be funded through GIGO are provided below. The list is not all-inclusive:Land acquisition, Construction of BMPs affiliated with new construction and/or new development, Removal or demolition of existing structures that are not interfering with proposed project, BMP design without BMP construction, Stormwater conveyance (exception: short distance to direct stormwater to a GIGO BMP), Activities, BMPs, or BMP components that do not control, prevent, or address stormwater runoff to a river, stream, or lake, Routine operation and maintenance or repair of existing BMPs (e.g., invasive species removal, culvert replacement, street sweeping, catch-basin cleaning), Administrative and non-construction labor, equipment and supplies (non-construction), indirect costs, contingency, travel, outreach and education, monitoring, Bonus or acceleration payments to contractors to meet contractual completion dates for construction; fees for failure to pay invoices on time, check overdrafts, etc., Permit or certification (e.g., 401) fees, Mitigation costs, and/or Projects mainly used for habitat improvement, shoreline/streambank stabilization, channel stabilization, agricultural soil erosion control, sediment removal (dredging) support facilities (roads, sewer systems), historic preservation, water supply protection, recreation, or wastewater treatment. However, if the project serves both eligible and ineligible components, GIGO funds may be provided for the eligible portion of the project, on a proportional basis.Grantees shall not use any subcontractors, outside associates, or consultants in connection with any services covered by a grant agreement unless specifically authorized by the Illinois EPA.