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About the Green Development Proposal Process

What is the available funding?
Who is eligible to apply?
What project costs are eligible for funding?
What are priorities for funding?
What is the project selection process?
What is the proposal format?
What is the recommended document for budget of proposed project?

What is the available funding?
Green development proposals will be selected for funding through a competitive process. The grant award ceiling for an individual project will be $30,000. The minimum awarded will be $10,000. This grant program is a reimbursement program. The selected grant recipients will be reimbursed for up to 80 percent of approved project costs upon submission of documentation/ receipts for expenses incurred and payment of expenses.

Non-state matching funds of at least 20% of the total cost of the green development project are required for all applications. Matched funds can be in the form of in-kind services from the applicant or outside parties. The project sponsors reserve the right to fund all or none of the proposals received and to fund partial projects.

Who is eligible to apply?
Each county government or incorporated municipality of the State of Tennessee is eligible to apply for grant reimbursement funding. TOP

What project costs are eligible for funding?
For purposes of this competitive grant offering, the following is a partial list of the eligible activities: 

• Rain gardens
• Porous pavements
• Green roofs
• Infiltration planters
• Vegetation swales
• Trees and tree boxes
• Rainwater harvesting (e.g., rain barrels) for non-potable uses such as toilet flushing and landscape irrigation
• Outreach or education efforts designed to promote local green development TOP

Ineligible costs include but may not be limited to:

• Work done or equipment ordered, purchased or installed before the grant recipient receives written approval of a fully executed grant contract and notice to proceed
• Acquisition of property

What are priorities for funding?
The following priorities will be considered in selecting projects for funding. Proposals will earn points for each priority criterion in the following categories met by the proposal: TOP

• Expected benefits to water quality

Green development practices improve water quality by helping to control storm water runoff. The grant application should describe how storm water runoff impacts would be decreased by the proposed project. Strong consideration will be given to projects in impaired watersheds.

• Level of commitment to, and long-term maintenance of, the project

Projects should be undertaken by experienced and committed staff that can ensure that multiple levels of the organization support the project, and are committed to its long-term maintenance. The grant application should describe how the organization is committed to achieving the goals of green development through implementation of the proposed project.

• Commitment to communicate green development benefits to the public

Project success should be communicated to the public. Grant applications should   describe how the benefits of the proposed green development project will be imparted to the public.

• Transferability and scalability of projects

Projects that demonstrate transferability and scalability to other levels of government and/or the private sector will receive priority.

What is the project selection process?
Each proposal must include a detailed budget with estimated project costs (budget form included in this package). A project selection review team, composed of representatives from TDEC, TDOT, TVA and the Tennessee Stormwater Association, will review and rank eligible proposals. In selecting projects for reimbursement funding, the project review team will consider the priorities outlined in Section IV.  Geographic diversity will be one of the considerations in selecting the awardees. Some priority may be given to cities and counties regulated under Phase II of the EPA National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) storm water program. TOP

Grant awardees will be announced in early December. After proposal packages have been approved, a contract will be executed with the grantee describing the activities, reimbursement process and state requirements. All grantees must follow state and local public procurement procedures. All projects must be completed by January 31, 2010.

What is the proposal format?
All grant proposals must include three items to be considered for funding:

1. Project Narrative – The project narrative must describe, in detail, the proposed plan to be funded. It should include a description of the personnel responsible for supporting and completing the project. The narrative should address each of the scoring criteria In IV and state how the proposed project will meet the goals of said criteria. The project narrative should not exceed 5 pages in length.

2. Project Budget – The project budget should list all activities to be funded as line items in the budget table. Budget information should be supported at the level of detail described below:

a. Equipment: Identify all tangible, non-expendable personal property to be purchased that has an estimated cost of $500 or more per unit and a useful life of more than one year. (Personal property items with a unit cost of less than $500 are considered supplies.)

b. Supplies: “Supplies” means tangible property other than “equipment.” Identify categories of supplies to be procured (e.g., maintenance supplies or outreach materials such as flyers).

c. Contractual: Identify each proposed contract for services/analyses or consultants and specify its purpose and estimated cost. Contracts greater than $25,000 must have a separate itemized budget and budget justification, not to exceed one additional page each, included as part of the application.

d. Other: List each item in sufficient detail for TDEC to determine the reasonableness of its cost relative to the activity to be undertaken. Note that sub-awards, such as those with other universities for members of the project team, are included in this category. Sub-awards greater than $25,000 must have a separate itemized budget and budget justification, not to exceed one additional page each, included as part of the application.

Applicants are encouraged to use this budget template.

3. Letters of Support/Letters of Intent

Letters of Support are required for any infrastructure or capital project. The letter should come from the chief elected or appointed official (e.g., mayor), giving assurance that the applicant will provide the requested match and that the community is committed to completing and maintaining the project.

Letters of Intent to provide resources for the proposed project or to document intended interactions are limited to one brief paragraph committing the availability of a resource (e.g., use of a person's time or equipment if outside of the staff identified in the project narrative) or intended interaction (e.g., sharing of property or as-needed consultation) that is described in the Project Narrative. Letters of intent are to be included in the submitted proposal package.  Note: Letters submitted separately will not be accepted.

What is the recommended document for budget of proposed project?
The project budget should list all activities to be funded as line items in a budget table.  Click here to view the budget table. Budget information should be supported at the level of detail described below: TOP

a. Equipment: Identify all tangible, non-expendable personal property to be purchased that has an estimated cost of $500 or more per unit and a useful life of more than one year. (Personal property items with a unit cost of less than $500 are considered supplies.)

b. Supplies: “Supplies” means tangible property other than “equipment.” Identify categories of supplies to be procured (e.g., maintenance supplies or outreach materials such as flyers).

c. Contractual: Identify each proposed contract for services/analyses or consultants and specify its purpose and estimated cost. Contracts greater than $25,000 must have a separate itemized budget and budget justification, not to exceed one additional page each, included as part of the application.

d. Other: List each item in sufficient detail for TDEC to determine the reasonableness of its cost relative to the activity to be undertaken. Note that sub-awards, such as those with other universities for members of the project team, are included in this category. Sub-awards greater than $25,000 must have a separate itemized budget and budget justification, not to exceed one additional page each, included as part of the application. TOP