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Grant Eligible Activities

Jason Berndt
BerndtJ1@Michigan.gov
517-203-9631

Grant eligible activities shall support the development or implementation of a local Source Water Protection (SWP) program and be consistent with the State of Michigan SWP program and is performed within the Source Water Protection Area (SWPA) or one-mile radius for low tritium public water supply wells.

Examples below are not all inclusive. If you have questions about whether an activity is grant eligible, please contact one of the Source Water Protection staff.

For convenience, a PDF version of the grant eligible and non-grant eligible activities table below is available for download.

Roles and Duties

Examples of grant eligible roles and duties include:

  • Formation of a local SWP team, a collection of not less than three persons whose purpose is to facilitate the development, implementation, and maintenance of a SWP. The team must include the Public Water Supply (PWS) Superintendent and a representative from the municipality served by the PWS. The team meets quarterly during the contract period as a minimum and reports quarterly to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).
  • Development and implementation of management strategies on a local level.
Delineation Activities

Examples of grant eligible delineation activities include:

  • Compiling existing hydrogeologic information.
  • Installing observation wells for an aquifer test on an existing public water supply well.
  • Surveying.
  • Collecting static water levels.
  • Performing groundwater modeling, including particle tracking.

If deemed necessary by EGLE due to the lack of accessibility to existing wells, the area geology indicates a PWS may be low tritium public water supply, or a known groundwater contamination is present within the SWPA, the following activities may be grant eligible:

  • The installation of monitoring wells for the collection of static water level information.
  • The collection and analysis of tritium samples.
  • The installation of sentinel wells to monitor water quality within the SWPA.
Contaminant Source Inventory Activities

Examples of grant eligible contaminant source inventory activities include:

  • Record searches to identify potential sources of contamination and land uses that have a potential to impact the groundwater.
  • Conducting general surveys to identify potential sources of contamination and land uses that have a potential to impact the groundwater.
  • Conducting on-site inspection of facilities that have a potential to impact the groundwater.
  • Record searches to identify historical land uses that have a potential to impact the groundwater.
  • Map existing and potential sources of contamination within the SWPA.
  • Updating the contaminant source inventory.
  • Developing and implementing a program to locate and identify abandoned wells.
Management Strategy Activities

Examples of grant eligible management strategy activities include:

  • Developing and implementing management strategies within the SWPA.
  • The development and implementation of best management practices that reduce the risk of groundwater contamination.
  • The development and implementation of SWP resolutions or ordinances.
  • On-site inspections for the purpose of improving facility management of potential sources of contamination.
  • The development and management of a program to control abandoned wells, excluding the actual sealing of abandoned wells.
  • Incorporation of a SWP program into a municipality's master plan or other regional land use planning program.
  • Waste reduction strategies targeted for source water protection areas.
  • The development and implementation of partnership agreements between municipalities for the purpose of source water protection.
Contingency Plan and Emergency Response Protocol Activities

Examples of grant eligible contingency plan and emergency response protocol activities include:

  • The development and implementation of a contingency plan and emergency response protocol for a SWPA or within a one-mile radius of the well field for a low tritium public water supply are grant eligible activities.
New Source Activities

Examples of grant eligible new source activities include:

  • Completing of a delineation for a new well or well field, exclusive of the cost incurred to conduct an aquifer test that is a requirement of the PWS program for the construction of new wells.
  • The development and implementation of a SWP program for a new well or well field.
  • Incorporation of a new well or well field into an existing SWP program.
Public Participation Activities

Examples of grant eligible public participation activities include:

  • Development and implementation of a school curriculum related to SWP.
  • Development and implementation of a strategy to educate the general public on issues related to SWP.
  • Development, production, and circulation of educational materials.
  • Development, preparation, and production of media announcements, such as news releases, newspaper articles, and radio announcements.
  • Signing activities which identify an approved SWPA or which promote the concept of SWP, such as storm drain stenciling, construction and placement of road signs.
  • Advertisement for a hazardous waste collection (the actual collection of hazardous waste is not grant eligible).

Roles and Duties

Examples of non-grant eligible roles and duties include:

  • Food for meetings.
  • Mileage/travel expenses.
  • Employees' wages, unless the employee's specific duties, as outlined in their job description, include the Source Water Protection (SWP) and have been pre-approved by EGLE.
Delineation Activities and New Sources

Examples of non-grant eligible delineation activities and new sources include:

  • Aquifer tests for new wells, as required by the Safe Drinking Water Act or aquifer test policy.
Management Strategies

Examples of non-grant eligible management strategies include:

  • Purchasing land or real estate.
  • Sealing abandoned wells.
  • Activities required by other federal or state statutes.
  • Water quality monitoring, except Tritium testing.
Public Participation Activities

Examples of non-grant eligible public participation activities include:

  • Household hazardous waste collection and other community-wide general groundwater protection activities.
  • Equipment purchases, except for the Groundwater Flow model and other teaching models for SWP.
Contingency Plan and Emergency Response Protocol Activities

Examples of non-grant eligible contingency plan and emergency response protocol activities include:

  • Emergency water connections, even if they are part of the contingency plan, because it is a capital improvement on the water system.
  • Training.