Inside This Issue:
Important Upcoming Dates
Spotlight on Clean Water Fund Grants
Water Quality and Storage Grants
FY24/25 General Fund Grants
Tip of the Quarter
Returning Funds
Important Upcoming Dates
April 10: Water Quality and Storage Program grant RFP closes
April 17: Grant execution deadline for FY25 CWF Projects and Practices; Projects and Practices - Drinking Water Subprogram Grants and Accelerated Implementation Grants
April 23: BWSR Board Meeting
April 30: FY25 Watershed-Based Implementation Funding requests due by 4:30 p.m.
May 5: FY26 Clean Water Legacy Partners RFP opens
May 28: BWSR Board Meeting
June 25: BWSR Board Meeting
June 30: Some grants expire at the end of state fiscal year (please check your Grant Agreements)
Oct. 21 - 23: BWSR Academy
Spotlight on Clean Water Fund Grants
Before you begin work on your FY25 Competitive CWF grant, or continue work on a previous year’s CWF grant, read your grant agreement and the reminders in this Grants Quarterly. Reference the Grants Administration Manual for BWSR’s administrative and programmatic requirements and consult with your Board Conservationist if you have any questions.
FY25 Competitive CWF Grant Period
The grant period starts when the grant agreement is executed, meaning the workplan has been approved and all required signatures have been obtained. Work that occurs before this date is not eligible for reimbursement with grant funds and cannot be used as match. FY25 Competitive CWF grants must be completed by December 31, 2027.
Payment Distribution
CWF grant payments will be distributed in three installments to the grantee. The first payment of 50% of the grant amount will be paid after execution of the grant agreement. The second payment of 40% of the grant amount will be paid once the grantee has provided BWSR with notification and BWSR has reviewed and approved the reported expenditures of the initial payment. The final 10% will be paid after all final reporting requirements have been completed and BWSR has approved expenditures and reporting.
Match Verification
BWSR requires documentation for any match dollars. If you will be claiming federal funds as match, this may require working with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) office and obtaining a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) waiver from the landowner. Please contact your Board Conservationist or Clean Water Specialists if you have questions.
Clean Water Fund Signage & the Legacy Logo
CWF grant agreements from BWSR state that the Grantee will “comply with requirements for project signage.” Legislative language requires that recipients of CWF grantees display the logo “where practicable." This includes printed materials, as well as signage on construction sites or public access points. Read more about the guidelines or download the appropriate logo(s) for print.
Water Quality and Storage Grants RFP Now Open Through April 10, 2025
This competitive grant program provides financial assistance to model, design, and construct projects and practices that will control water volume and rates to protect infrastructure, improve water quality and related public benefits, and mitigate climate change impacts. Eligible applicants are local units of government and tribal governments. Funding for this application period is $3,000,000, with up to $500,000 available for modeling and conceptual design applications. Please read the RFP and supplemental documents to understand changes to this program from previous years. Learn how to apply
FY24/25 General Fund Grants
Due to appropriation language from the 2024-2025 biennium, many of BWSR’s General Fund grants were given a shorter expiration date than past bienniums:
- FY 24/25 Natural Resources Block Grant (NRBG) – Local Water Management
- FY 24/25 NRBG - Shoreland
- FY 24/25 NRBG - Wetland Conservation Act
- FY 24/25 TSA NPEA
- FY 24/25 Conservation Delivery
- FY 24/25 Conservation Contracts
These grant agreements expire December 31, 2025. Additional extension amendments may be available on a case-by-case basis but please note there is limited ability to extend these grants past May 1, 2026. Please contact your Board Conservationist with questions.
Tip of the Quarter
Q: Why is the number of workable hours for a full-time equivalent employee (FTE) set at 2,088?
A: The Legislative Coordinating Commission calculates FTEs based on a denominator of 2,088 workable hours in a year. See Minnesota Statutes 2015, section 3.303, subdivision 10.
Returning Funds
If you need to return grant funds at closeout, please follow the additional steps below. After completing all reporting — including final expenditures in eLINK:
- Answer these questions “Is this a final report?” and “Are you returning funds?”
- Complete the following fields Confirm the Amount to be returned, Enter check # (if known), Narrative
- Check the attestation box
- Save
- Generate Returned Funds Form
If you forget to generate this form on the progress report page, you can still generate it from the progress report page or the generate reports on either the eLINK grant activities tab or the progress reporting tab - Submit
- Make the returned funds check payable to BWSR (return the check and returned funds form to the address listed on the form). Returning the form with the check helps us attribute the funds to the right grant