Water Quality Restoration Formula Grant
Water Quality Restoration Formula Grant supports nonprofits and municipalities with clean water project funding to measurably reduce phosphorus loading in Vermont’s Lake Memphremagog Basin.
Funder: Vermont Housing and Conservation Board
Due Dates: January 16, 2026 (February review) | March 13, 2026 (April review) | September 11, 2026 (October review) | November 13, 2026 (December review)
Funding Amounts: Requests up to and above $250,000 follow different approval paths; reimbursement only; implementation target within two years
Summary: Supports non-regulatory clean water projects in Vermont’s Lake Memphremagog Basin that measurably reduce phosphorus loading.
Key Information: Applicants must be approved project managers with an executed VHCB master agreement and complete an eligibility meeting before applying.
Description
The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) administers the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation’s Water Quality Restoration Formula Grant as the Clean Water Service Provider for Lake Memphremagog Basin 17. Operating under Vermont’s Clean Water Service Delivery Act (Act 76), the program supports non-regulatory projects that measurably reduce phosphorus loading and advance the Memphremagog Phosphorus Total Maximum Daily Load’s clean water goals.
Supported work includes stormwater treatment, floodplain and stream restoration, wetland restoration, riparian buffers, lakeshore restoration, and forestry water quality practices. Funding can support project identification and development through design, implementation, and operations and maintenance. Phosphorus reduction is central to project selection, alongside cost-effectiveness, feasibility, basin-plan alignment, and public and environmental co-benefits such as flood resilience and hazard mitigation.
