State Agricultural Best Management Practices Grants

The State Agricultural Best Management Practices Grants, administered by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, support farmers and ranchers in implementing practices that enhance water quality in Idaho. These grants are funded through state appropriations to promote pollution reduction efforts and require projects to meet specific water quality standards. Eligible applicants must submit a detailed work plan, leverage partnerships, and meet budget conditions, including a 40% match requirement.

Overview
We administer federal and state funds for grants and low-interest loans to improve the quality of Idaho’s water resources. Our drinking water grants and loans assist eligible public drinking water systems with facility planning projects to ensure safe and adequate drinking water supplies. Our wastewater grants and loans help entities build or repair existing wastewater treatment facilities to achieve and maintain compliance with state and federal standards or to provide direct water quality benefits.
The Idaho Legislature provides additional appropriation dollars annually to increase pollution reduction efforts in Idaho. These State funds are to be used for the implementation of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) to help meet water quality standards in impaired water bodies in Idaho.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include farmers and ranchers.
Eligible projects must target agricultural practices that improve water quality and meet the objectives of total maximum daily load requirements.
Applicants must target projects that are ready to implement.
Applicants must submit a completed work plan and budget, provided with the application material below.
Projects must involve multiple partners and leverage other funding sources.Budget Conditions40% match required (based on the minimum total project cost)NPS awarded funds/0.6)*0.4 = 40% minimum match requirementMaximum Administrative Budget (not to exceed 10% of the grant award)According to § 319(h)(12), administrative costs in the form of salaries, overhead, or indirect costs for services provided and charged against activities and programs carried out with the grant shall not exceed 10% of the grant award.
The costs of implementing enforcement and regulatory activities, education, training, technical assistance, demonstration projects, and technology transfer are not subject to this limitation. Activities, sub-awards, and projects that fall under the six exempted categories listed above are not required to track administrative costs for this provision.Monitoring, outreach, and educationThe combined cost for monitoring and outreach, and education cannot exceed 10% of the awarded NPS funds