DEP Soliciting Coastal Zone Land Conservation Grant Proposals

The Department of Environmental Protection Coastal Zone Management Program published notice soliciting proposals for the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program. Proposals are due March 1.
The geographic areas covered by CELCP are the designated Delaware Estuary Coastal Zone Watershed, select Chesapeake Bay Watersheds and the Lake Erie Coastal Zone Watershed.
Grant applications may be made for the purchase of land acquisitions or interests; these may be in fee-simple title or as conservation easements.
A major condition of the CELCP is that the title or easement must be held by a governmental/ public entity. Further, grant awards must be matched dollar-for-dollar (may include in-kind match but not other Federal funds) and are capped at $3 million each (Federal share). Land trusts may hold subeasements for management and stewardship on CELCP-funded properties and may assist in the development of proposals, but they may not hold title to any property acquired with CELCP funds.
Each coastal state may nominate up to three candidate projects to NOAA for this National, competitive process. The Department will select the three candidate projects from this Commonwealth for submission to NOAA by employing the guidelines issued by the Federal agency. NOAA will develop a ranked list of projects eligible for funding.
Once NOAA receives final appropriations from the United States Congress, the agency will make final determinations as to which projects are selected for funding within amounts available. Federal funding awards, based upon the final CELCP funding appropriated, are expected to be made between June 1, 2012, and October 1, 2012.
For more information, contact Chris Linn at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, 215-238-2873 or send email to: clinn@dvrpc.org; Julia Donahue at the Erie County Planning Department, 814-451-6018 or send email to: jmcconnaughey@eriecountygov.org; or J. Samantha Burton at the Department's Water Planning Office, 717-772-5635 or send email to: jenburton@state.pa.us.