Notice of Funding Opportunity for NRCS’s Wetland Mitigation Banking Program for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2022 | USDA NRCS NHQ WMBP 21 NOFO0001116

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS NHQ WMBP 21 NOFO0001116

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced a competitive grant opportunity under its Wetland Mitigation Banking Program (WMBP) for Federal fiscal year 2022, published as NOFO USDA-NRCS-NHQ-WMBP-21-NOFO0001116 and listed under Assistance Listings (CFDA) 10.933. Through this notice, NRCS made up to $5 million available to support the development and establishment of wetland mitigation banks and related wetland mitigation banking opportunities. The central purpose is narrowly defined: these banks are intended to serve agricultural producers who have wetlands that fall under the Wetland Conservation Compliance provisions of the 1985 Food Security Act, as amended (often associated with "Swampbuster" compliance requirements tied to USDA program eligibility). In practical terms, the program is aimed at expanding credible, well-run mitigation banking options that agricultural producers can use when they must address wetland impacts in order to remain compliant.

The program is structured for applicants that can actually build and run a mitigation bank end-to-end, meaning NRCS is looking for organizations with the technical, financial, legal, and operational capacity to develop bank sites, complete required planning and permitting steps, oversee construction and restoration work, manage long-term stewardship, and administer the sale and tracking of mitigation credits. While the beneficiaries are agricultural producers needing mitigation options for compliance, the eligible applicants are the entities capable of operating banks. The eligibility list is broad and includes Federally recognized Native American tribal governments; state, local, county, city, township, and special district governments; for-profit entities (including small businesses); and nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding the "other than institutions of higher education" carve-out for certain nonprofit categories as stated in the notice). Institutions of higher education are also eligible, including private institutions as well as public and state-controlled institutions of higher education. This mix signals that NRCS is open to both public-sector and private-sector bank sponsors, as long as they can demonstrate the expertise and capacity needed to successfully operate a wetland mitigation bank.

Geographically, NRCS allowed applications for projects located anywhere in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories covered by the notice, including the Caribbean Area (Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and the Pacific Islands Area (Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). At the same time, the notice makes clear that NRCS intended to prioritize proposals that would result in banks located where demand is likely to be greatest, defined by significant numbers of individual wetlands, wetland acreage, and conservation compliance requests. NRCS specifically called out high-priority locations based on its data, including the Prairie Pothole Region and the Nebraska Rainwater Basin Region, along with several states where compliance-related wetland issues are prominent: Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, South Dakota, Georgia, and Ohio. This emphasis is essentially a demand-and-impact filter, steering resources to places where additional mitigation banking capacity could most directly address frequent compliance needs.

In terms of funding size and expected awards, NRCS stated an estimated federal funding floor of $400,000 and an estimated ceiling of $1,000,000 per agreement (meaning the minimum and maximum federal share per award). The notice also indicated an expectation of roughly 10 awards, which aligns with the overall total funding availability of up to $5 million. NRCS clarified that the floor and ceiling amounts refer to the total agreement amount rather than being tied to a specific budget period, which matters for applicants planning multi-stage bank development timelines and the associated sequencing of costs.

The application process ran through Grants.gov, with a submission deadline of 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 16, 2021. The notice highlighted a common administrative reality for federal grant submissions: Grants.gov technical support must be handled directly through Grants.gov Applicant Support (phone and email were provided), and NRCS program staff are not able to troubleshoot applicant accounts or system access problems. NRCS also set a question deadline of July 22, 2021 for inquiries about the NOFO itself, with responses to be posted on Grants.gov about two weeks before applications were due, creating a defined window for clarifications that could affect proposal design. To help potential applicants understand expectations, NRCS scheduled an informational webinar for July 20, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern and provided both dial-in and online access details.

NRCS communicated a tentative timeline for selection and award execution: the agency anticipated making selections by October 1, 2021 and expected to execute awards by January 1, 2022. That schedule is important because mitigation banking projects often require coordination with multiple stakeholders and regulatory steps, so applicants typically need to plan for a lag between proposal submission, selection, and the point at which funding is formally in place and work can begin under the agreement terms.

Finally, NRCS framed the funding as federal financial assistance and encouraged prospective applicants, especially those less familiar with federal grants management, to complete the free "Grants 101" training offered through CFO.gov. The notice described the training as covering core topics that commonly determine whether an award runs smoothly or encounters compliance issues, including laws and regulations, assistance mechanisms, Uniform Guidance administrative requirements, cost principles, and risk management and single audit concepts. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a capacity-building investment in mitigation banking infrastructure targeted to agricultural compliance needs: it is not a general wetlands restoration grant, but a competitive program designed to stand up or expand bank sponsors that can reliably deliver mitigation credits and long-term wetland outcomes in areas with documented demand.

• The Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Funding Opportunity for NRCS’s Wetland Mitigation Banking Program for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2022" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.933.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 16, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 16, 2021 Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 1159 pm Eastern Time on August 16, 2021. For technical issues with Grants.gov, contact Grants.gov Applicant Support at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov. Awarding agency staff cannot support applicants regarding Grants.gov accounts.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for USDA NRCS NHQ WMBP 21 NOFO0001116

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