Passions and plans move people, but the programs, pilots, research, and big thinking needed to create a resilient Puget Sound need funding.

The Habitat, Shellfish, and Stormwater Strategic Initiative Leads’ (SILs’) are excited to announce the new Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2022 funding process for Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Puget Sound Geographic Funds, commonly known as National Estuary Program (NEP) Funds. The big change being our grant programs will be using competitive, Request for Proposal (RFP)-based processes to invest in Puget Sound recovery.

Guiding sources informing the upcoming RFP solicitations include the EPA Funding Guidance, 2022-2026 Action Agenda for Puget Sound, and the Implementation Strategies. The RFP process is directly informed by over six years of discussions and public comment associated with Implementation Strategy development and responses to public comment regarding the Puget Sound Partnership’s Action Agenda.

Key decisions throughout the funding process will be informed by Strategic Initiative Advisory Teams (SIATs) coordinated by each SIL. SIATs are comprised of policy, social science, economic and technical experts who represent a diversity of perspectives and expertise in Puget Sound recovery. The new SIATs for Habitat, Shellfish, and Stormwater launched in spring 2022.

Looking to the months ahead, the SIATs are working to identify investment priorities, which will be published in an Investment Plan and shared this summer. RFPs will be developed based on the Investment Plan priorities identified.

Learn more about this new process here: SILs Funding Process Summary.

Did you know?

NEP Funds are aimed at investing in traditionally difficult-to-fund actions that catalyze Puget Sound recovery. For FFY 2016-2020, the three SILs invested approximately $70.8 million of NEP funds to advance several recovery goals that were highlighted in the Action Agenda. These investments build capacity, fill science and monitoring gaps, invest in long-term behavior change, support innovated pilot projects, and create linkages across institutions and organizations within the recovery system.

Check out funded projects here: Funded Projects - Strategic Initiatives of the Puget Sound National Estuary Program (wa.gov)