Clean Water Service Provider

The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) has been selected by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation to serve as the Clean Water Service Provider (CWSP) for the Northern Lake Champlain Basin.

As a CWSP, CCRPC will play a pivotal role in the implementation of Vermont’s Clean Water Service Delivery Act (also known as Act 76). Act 76 provides funding to CWSPs for “boots on the ground” project delivery for non-regulatory clean water projects. These projects could include small scale stormwater management practices and natural resource restoration projects (floodplain reconnections, wetlands restoration, vegetated buffer planting).

SEE BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION ON:

WHAT IS A CLEAN WATER SERVICE PROVIDER (CWSP)? »
ACT 176 »
THE NORTHERN LAKE CHAMPLAIN BASIN (BASIN 5) »
BASIN WATER QUALITY COUNCIL »
FUNDING »
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS »
CURRENT & POTENTIAL PROJECTS »
COUNCIL POLICIES »
CONTACT »

WHAT IS A CLEAN WATER SERVICE PROVIDER (CWSP)?

The Clean Water Service Delivery Act of 2019 (Act 76) establishes a water quality project delivery framework to support Vermont’s clean water goals. Act 76 establishes new regional organizations called Clean Water Service Providers (CWSPs). With policy and priority support setting from their related Basin Water Quality Councils (BWQCs), CWSPs will administer formula-based State grants for the purpose of identifying, constructing, and maintaining non-regulatory water quality projects necessary to achieve the Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog phosphorus TMDLs and other pollutant reduction targets both inside and beyond these specific basins.

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ACT 76

In 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced a pollution control plan – also referred to as a total maximum daily load (TMDL) – for Lake Champlain to address water quality concerns. The plan required Vermont to complete 28 milestones. Meeting these milestones would demonstrate Vermont’s ability to restore polluted water.

With the passage of Act 76, the Clean Water Service Delivery Act, Vermont is on track to meet every milestone by mid-2019. Act 76 will be the funding and project delivery framework to ensure essential water quality projects achieve Vermont’s clean water goals. By committing nearly $15 million in general fund revenue in the coming fiscal year to support clean water projects, and more than $20 million annually for the foreseeable future, which in turn will leverage other funding sources resulting in an estimated annual clean water investment of more than $50 million, Act 76 satisfies one of the most significant outstanding milestones: to secure sustainable, long-term funding needed to support this important work.

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THE NORTHERN LAKE CHAMPLAIN BASIN (BASIN 5)

View a map of the Northern Lake Champlain Basin (click image to enlarge):

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BASIN WATER QUALITY COUNCIL

Clean Water Service Providers (CWSPs) must convene a BWQC in each basin. The Basin 5 BWQC will establish policy and guide decisions on project prioritization and selection of clean water projects for funding. The CWSP will oversee identification, implementation, and operation of those projects to achieve pollution reduction targets for non-regulatory projects for the Northern Lake Champlain Direct Drainage Basin. BWQC members are appointed from among persons knowledgeable on clean water topics. For more information, including a meeting schedule, agendas and minutes, visit the Basin 5 Water Quality Council webpage »

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FUNDING

Ongoing Call FOR water quality project sub-grant APPLICATIONS

The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC), in its role as the Clean Water Service (CWSP) Provider for the Northern Lake Champlain Direct Drainages Basin (Basin 5) is accepting applications for funding for projects in Basin 5 that improve water quality primarily by reducing phosphorus.

There are three types of sub-grant applications available:

• the first for either Preliminary Design, Final Design and/or Implementation/Construction
• the second for Operations & Maintenance Costs for adoption of older, pre-CWSP projects
• the third for Project Identification/Assessment/Development

Applications for Design, Final Design and/or Implementation/Construction »

Applications for Operations and Maintenance Adoption »

As these types of applications require more time for staff analysis of the relative cost-efficiency for phosphorus reduction, these must be submitted on the following schedule:

At this time, applications for Operations & Maintenance Adoption, Preliminary Design, Final Design and/or Implementation/Construction funding with a projected cost-efficiency of greater than $60,000 per kilogram-of-phosphorus (P) reduction over a 15-year lifespan (i.e. Engineering + Construction Costs / kilograms-P-reduced) will generally not be funded. Such projects will be addressed on a case-by-case basis and applicants must present a formal pre-proposal to the Basin 5 Water Quality Council and to the CCRPC as CWSP who both must agree that a formal proposal could be submitted and considered.

A pre-application is not required for projects with a cost-efficiency less than $60,000 per kilograms-P-reduced, but we encourage you to communicate with Dan Albrecht, Basin 5, CWSP Manager ( phone: 802-861-033 or dalbrecht@ccrpcvt.org ) and also Karen Bates, DEC Watershed Planner ( phone: 802-490-6144 or karen.bates@vermont.gov ) before submitting an application.

Applications for Project Identification/Assessment/Development »

The application allows municipalities/organizations to apply for funds from the Basin 5 CWSP as follows:

TRACK A: up to $40,000 for a traditional Project Development proposal approved by the Basin 5 Water Quality Council with a detailed scope of work in hand, locations/sites/sub-watersheds generally known in advance, work is consistent with identification-assessment-development types detailed by DEC in Appendix B Project Types Table and with a Watershed Projects Database # obtained in advance.

Or

TRACK B: pre-authorization of up to $10,000 by Basin 5 Water Quality Council for the Basin 5 CWSP to potentially provide funds to the applicant for ad hoc Project Identification/Assessment/Development tasks consistent with DEC policy. Applicant would then request funds directly from the CWSP for discrete, task orders such as site visits, conversations with landowners, small contracts with consultants and other tasks allowed under the Project Development framework as described by DEC subject to an overall Maximum Limiting Amount set by the Council.

REMINDER FOR ALL TYPES OF GRANT APPLICATIONS

Any project funded by the CWSP must be in keeping with the vision set forth by Act 76, the Clean Water Service Delivery Act, and policies and guidance set forth by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation to implement the Act. Projects must not be required by a permit (10 VSA, Chapter 47), or subject to the requirements of Vermont Agricultural Water Quality statutes (6 V.S.A, Chapter 215). Funding may be available for the portion of projects that exceed requirements set forth in the statutes above. Project eligibility shall be controlled by the Clean Water Initiative Program (CWIP) FY23 funding policy issued December 2022.

APPLICATION MATERIALS & INSTRUCTIONS

(Updated June 2026)

• Download the Ongoing Call for Applications »
• Download the Ongoing Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for Project Managers / Implementors » (if needed)
• Download the Application Form for Preliminary Design, Final Design and/or Implementation/Construction projects »
• Download the Application Form for Project Identification/Assessment/Development projects »
• Download the Application Form for Project Operations & Maintenance Adoption » 
• View the Master Agreement Template »

PROJECT SCORING

• View the Project Scoring Rubric for Phosphorus Reduction Benefits, Co-Benefits and Other Considerations » (updated October 2025)
• View details on how Co-Benefits are scored »

Submit the Application Form as one PDF and combine the other required documents into a 2^nd PDF and submit the application form and all required attachments as two separate PDFs to Dan Albrecht, Basin 5 CWSP Manager via email to dalbrecht@ccrpcvt.org with the email header of BASIN 5 CWSP GRANT PROPOSAL.

ONGOING CALL for PreQUALIFICATION OF PROJECT MANAGERS/IMPLEMENTORS OF WATER QUALITY PROJECTS

On an ongoing basis, the Northern Lake Champlain (Basin5) CWSP seeks to prequalify and provide funds to Municipalities and Organizations to serve as Subgrantees to provide Project Management / Implementation services for an initial three-year period from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2028. Upon approval by the Basin 5 Water Quality Council of a qualified water quality project submitted by a prequalified Subgrantee, the CCRPC as Basin 5 CWSP may subgrant funds, subject to the concurrence of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), for the performance of one or more phases of a water quality project. Note that pre-qualification is required prior to award of a grant proposal so even if you don’t have an application ready to submit at this time, it might behoove you to seek pre-qualification to get that step out of the way. Responses are reviewed on a rolling basis. | View the RFQ » | Download the Response Template »

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COUNCIL POLICIES

• Interim CWSP Policy for Outreach, Communications, & Calls for Applications »
• BWQC Conflict of Interest Policy »
• BWQC Operating Polies and Procedures »
• BWQC Procurement Policy »
• BWQC Public Participation Policy »
• BWQC Co-Benefits Scoring Matrix »

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CONTACT

For more information, contact Dan Albrecht, CCRPC Senior Planner: dalbrecht@ccrpcvt.org or (802) 861-0133.

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