NJ Water Quality Restoration Grants to Mitigate Nonpoint Source Pollution

The NJ Water Quality Restoration Grants aim to mitigate nonpoint source pollution through funding for watershed restoration activities. Managed by the Department of Environmental Protection, these grants support initiatives that enhance water quality in priority areas across New Jersey. The program addresses the significant challenges posed by nonpoint source pollution, which affects a majority of the state's waterways, thereby contributing to the broader goal of sustainable environmental management.

Purpose of Funding
Water quality restoration grants are awarded by the Department of Environmental Protection (Department) to fund watershed restoration activities and initiatives around New Jersey that address nonpoint source pollution (NPS), which is water pollution that is generated by everyday activities. Generally, grants are focused on restoration of water quality impaired predominantly by NPS pollution for waters located in a priority waterbody or region where the grant will help implement an approved TMDL or Watershed Based Plan (WBP).
Provide grants for stormwater and nonpoint source pollution management activities that would directly enhance, improve, and protect water quality throughout New Jersey.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (Department) Water Quality Restoration Grant Unit is part of the Statewide Nonpoint Source (NPS) Management Program, which includes key actions that the Department and its partners use to control NPS pollution and to restore and protect water quality throughout New Jersey. NPS pollution is caused when contaminants deposited on land surfaces are carried into nearby waterways through stormwater runoff or ground water infiltration. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) identifies NPS pollution as the nation's largest water quality problem; it impairs approximately 85% of rivers and streams, and 80% of lakes and reservoirs across the nation that have been assessed and a possible source of impairment identified.