HEP Action Agenda: NY/NJ Community Engagement Sessions Grant

HEP Action Agenda: NY/NJ Community Engagement Sessions Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Hudson River Foundation
Amount: US $2,000 - US $4,000
Last Updated: March 21, 2026

Summary

The HEP Action Agenda aims to engage communities in the NY/NJ Harbor & Estuary Program through in-person sessions this spring and summer. These sessions will gather feedback on community visions for the estuary, addressing challenges and opportunities. Small grants of $2,000-$4,000 will support NGOs in hosting these events, prioritizing collaboration and engagement with overburdened communities. This initiative seeks to develop a new Action Agenda that reflects the needs and priorities of stakeholders for the next decade.

Overview

HEP Action Agenda: NY/NJ Community Engagement Sessions One of 28 National Estuary Programs, the New York – New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program (HEP), was created by EPA and the two states to bring the benefits of the Clean Water Act – fishable and swimmable waters – to the people and wildlife of the Estuary. HEP brings stakeholders together to work collaboratively and develop and implement an Action Agenda to protect, conserve and restore the estuary and the communities that make up this extraordinary resource. HEP's Action Agenda serves as a blueprint to guide and improve future management decisions. It presents shared priorities of our Program and partners to address a wide range of estuary issues. Click here for an interactive map of HEP's geographic scope. The map also shows all of the overburdened communities within our program area as defined by EPA and the states of NY and NJ. This year, HEP will be developing a new Action Agenda that outlines the major goals and objectives of our Program and partners for the next 10 years. Through this process we seek to: Make all partners feel ownership of the new Action Agenda; ​Ensure that we are addressing the needs of the Estuary and all of its communities; Develop actions that are reflective of estuarine challenges, community needs and partner priorities. Our Ask: We are asking NGOs/Community-Based Partners to host in-person community engagement sessions, this spring and early summer, and gather members of their community to share their vision for the estuary and the challenges and opportunities that need to be addressed. These sessions can take place in the form of standalone meetings or be made a part of other ongoing programs/events. In order to help support organizations interested in hosting a community engagement session, HEP has created these guidance materials. HEP will provide small grants ranging between $2,000-$4,000 to a limited number of organizations that apply to host one of these community engagement sessions. Organizations interested in hosting should apply at least 20 days before their proposed community engagement session date. HEP will make small grant decisions on a rolling basis. Priority will be given for proposed sessions that involve multiple NGOs/Community-Based Partners and that take place or otherwise engage disadvantaged/overburdened communities as identified in our map here. HEP seeks to work with partners addressing issues in each of our 10 major waterbody regions: The Bronx River and Western Long Island Sound; East River and Harlem River; Jamaica Bay; Passaic River and Newark Bay; Hackensack River; Lower Raritan River; Lower Hudson River; Upper New York Bay; Arthur Kill and the Kill van Kull (The Kills); Lower Bay (Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, and the Lower New York Bay). Goals and Objectives WATER QUALITY Reduce the sources of pollution so that the waters of the Estuary will meet the fishable/swimmable goal of the Clean Water Act, where attainable. OBJECTIVES: Improve coordination and begin to establish consensus amongst regulatory agencies on science, standards, and design conditions in shared waters.Accelerate creation, adoption, and implementation of Long Term Control Plans and MS4 Permits. Address monitoring gaps and lack of information for key locations, parameters, and state and local track-down programs.Share water quality information in a clear and easy-to-understand way with the public, focusing on uses and potential public health risks.Assess the potential impacts of climate change on water quality. PUBLIC ACCESS AND STEWARDSHIP Improve public access to the waters of the Estuary and the quality of experience at public spaces along the waterfront. OBJECTIVES: Increase public access and new possibilities for contact recreation, particularly in areas of higher need Improve stewardship and programming at existing public access sites, particularly in areas of highest need Promote and expand awareness of public access opportunities and issues HABITAT AND ECOLOGICAL HEALTH Protect and restore the vital habitat, ecological function, and biodiversity that provide society with renewed and increased benefits. OBJECTIVES: Make progress towards restoring the Estuary’s target ecosystem characteristics.Improve the quality and likely success of habitat restoration.Support restoration monitoring and the utility of monitoring data.Advance understanding and incorporation of climate change impacts in habitat management and restoration. PORT AND MARITIME Support port and associated maritime operations so that they are both economically and ecologically viable. OBJECTIVES: Improve understanding and management implications of changing sediment contamination in the Estuary, including the timeline for achieving HARS-suitable sediments in the navigation channels Help design and implement port and maritime improvement projects that are more environmentally friendly COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Foster community understanding and involvement in decisions about the Estuary. OBJECTIVES: Increase and improve the quality of citizen science efforts Support Urban Waters Federal Partnerships in target waterways Enhance public understanding of the Harbor Estuary Meetings Dates For an entire list of all meeting dates and to sign up for the in-person events please click here.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website.