Lake Tahoe Erosion Control Grant Program

The goal of the program is to fund projects that address urban stormwater runoff pollution. This program addresses urban runoff from public roads and right of ways and funds research projects high in technical merit and relevant to land management an

This grant program provides funding to local jurisdictions in the Lake Tahoe Basin to plan, implement and monitor urban erosion control projects to protect the water quality in Lake Tahoe. Research projects that benefit the project practitioners, land management agencies and permitting agencies are also considered for this funding. Projects completed with this funding contribute to attainment of water quality improvement goals assigned to local jurisdictions in the Tahoe Basin.

Eligible applicants for National Forest System awards include State Forestry or equivalent agencies, tribes, non-profits, and municipalities in the local governing bodies of political subdivisions in the Lake Tahoe basin. Eligible applicants for competitive research awards include State Agricultural Experiment Stations, universities and colleges, State and local governments, U.S. Territories, nonprofit research institutions or organizations, international organizations, individuals, and for-profit organizations. Eligible applicants for State, Private and Tribal Forestry awards include local governments.

Beneficiary eligibility for National Forest System and State, Private, and Tribal Forestry awards include governing bodies of each of the political subdivisions (including public utilities) located in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Beneficiary eligibility for competitive research awards include organizations and scientists involved in basic and applied research activities related to forest and rangeland renewable resources.

Funding is used by local jurisdictions to implement erosion control projects. The current grant funding is for the Kahle Drive Complete Street project, which will repave and construct improved drainage infrastructure on a failing County Road that is causing safety issues in freezing conditions due to flooding and ice. Utilities will also be moved underground, reducing wildfire hazards in this urban area.

Funding may be used only for water and soil quality improvement project planning and implementation and related research projects.

Grants are awarded for a period not to exceed 5 years. Invoices may be submitted no more frequently than monthly.

Submittal of an annual list of priority projects, along with written proposals for each of the identified priority projects. The USFS has chosen to adopt the State guidelines for the format of these proposals, since they meet all the needs for project narratives for federal grant considerations, with one additional requirement

Grants must address planning, construction, or monitoring of projects identified in the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency environmental improvement program (EIP). Projects submitted from this list are selected based on the annual priority list provided by the eligible local governments, and direction provided in the LTRA: 1) The total amounts appropriated for payments under this subsection shall be allocated by the Secretary of Agriculture based on the relative need for and merits of projects proposed for payment under this section. 2) To the maximum extent practicable, for each fiscal year, the Secretary of Agriculture shall ensure that each political subdivision in the Lake Tahoe basin receives amounts appropriated for payments under this subsection. The Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) will complete an administrative review of all submitted proposals to ensure that proposal specifications as outlined in the Request for Proposals are met. Proposals passing the administrative review will be forwarded to the Tahoe Science Consortium (TSC). The TSC will coordinate technical reviews of the proposals. Proposals passing technical review will be forwarded to Tahoe Basin agency personnel for relevancy reviews. The TSC will coordinate a synthesis of the results from the technical reviews and agency relevancy reviews to create a list of proposals recommended for funding. PSW will review the suite of recommended proposals to finalize funding allocations; proposals recommended for funding are not guaranteed funding due to constraints on funding allocations. Final funding allocations for recommended proposals will be determined by the number of projects recommended for funding and individual project budgets. Some projects may be identified as alternates to receive support should funds become available during the negotiation of awards. PSW reserves the right to negotiate scopes of work, budget amounts, and deliverables with Principal Investigators based upon feedback from the review process and to comply with Forest Service policies. Projects may be required to modify their proposed indirect cost rates and/or demonstrate cost share contributions. Once the recommendations and funding allocations have been finalized, PSW will forward the package of recommended projects to the Tahoe Regional Executive Committee (TREX) and to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for final approval.

National Forest System will issue an award letter to grantee, with identification of grant requirements. Research award proposals must compete for priority, showing technical competence and demonstrating the ability to meet regional needs. Research grants cooperative agreements are made only in support of forestry research and monitoring of the Lake Tahoe Basin. Unsolicited proposals can be awarded for innovative or unique approaches to the proposed project. State, Private, and Tribal Forestry assistance will be awarded through grants or cooperative agreements by regional offices. Applicants must coordinate with Forest Service Program Managers.

For competitive research grants or cooperative agreements contact Pacific Southwest Research Station's Tahoe Science Coordinator.

Extensions can be made for individual grants as long as end dates do not exceed five years post award date. For competitive research awards requests for continued support will be considered as equal in importance and in competition with pending proposals. Applications submitted for continued support should be identical to a new proposal, except that a resume of progress to date must be added.

Contact Research Station for guidance regarding competitive research grants or cooperative agreements.