Division of Boating and Waterways Clean Vessel Act Education and Outreach Grant FY 2026

Division of Boating and Waterways Clean Vessel Act Education and Outreach Grant FY 2026 is sponsored by Department of Parks and Recreation. Provide education and awareness about the proper disposal of boat sewage Provides education to promote public awareness about boat sewage, its proper disposal, as well as tracking and monitoring use of existing pumpouts and dump stations along California’s waterways.

Sewage Management Education and Outreach Grant Program Sewage Management Education and Outreach Grant Program Alert Something is happening and people are freaking out. Applications for the 2026 cycle are accepted through August 17, 2026, 10 a. m.

PDT. In 1992, Congress passed the Clean Vessel Act to help reduce pollution from vessel sewage discharges into U.S. waters. The Grant Program established by the Act will help fund the construction, renovation , operation, and maintenance of pumpout and dump stations to service recreational vessels.

The Clean Vessel Program also provides boater education programs to promote public awareness about boat sewage and its proper disposal. As part of its commitment to provide clean, safe, and enjoyable recreational boating in California, the California State Parks, Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) is serving as the State Grant coordinator.

DBW uses federal Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund grants to support programs that educate California boaters and increases public awareness about boat waste management and its proper disposal. Click here to download the 2026 grant application guidelines. For questions or to request an application and budget spreadsheet, contact Ethan Tratner at ethan.

tratner@parks. ca. gov or (916) 902-8823.

Program Project Grantee Funding Year Grant Amount Floating Restroom Operation and Maintenance Jackson Valley Irrigation District Floating Restroom Operation and Maintenance Floating Restroom Operation and Maintenance Pittsburg Municipal Marina USFS, Shasta-Trinity National Forest USFS, Shasta-Trinity National Forest USFS, Shasta-Trinity National Forest California Department of Water Resources California State Parks, Northern Butte District California State Parks, Northern Butte District California State Parks, Folsom Lake Sector CVA Education and Outreach CVA Education and Outreach The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy Long Beach Shoreline Marina City of Morro Bay Harbor Department Frequently Asked Questions This grant is open to non-profit organizations, local government entities, and private (for-profit) organizations.

Grants will not be awarded to fund advocacy work. Applicants must be able to demonstrate at least five years’ experience in developing and implementing educational and outreach programs. The written summary of the outcome of the multi-year educational and outreach programs must be verifiable.

This is a reimbursement program. Reimbursement is available for up to 75% of the eligible project costs. Grantee is responsible for finding eligible match funding (in the form of cash, donations, or volunteer hours) totaling no less than 25% of the total project value.

What are the geographic regions targeted by this Grant? The Grant Program focuses on two targeted geographic regions of California: 13-county San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary (San Mateo, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Sacramento, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Marin, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties).

6 Southern California Coastal Counties (Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and San Luis Obispo Counties). **Proposals that cover a portion of the above regions will be considered if, over time, the agency can expand program(s) to the entire region. Note: This is a coastal grant so inland work should not be performed under this grant except in the Delta region (Page 3) (Delta definition http://dbw.

parks. ca. gov/pages/28702/files/Chapter%202.

pdf pages 2-1 and 2-2) What are the Grant Program Objectives?

The Grant Program will support two main goals in each geographic region: Objective A-Education and Outreach: 1) Effectively and creatively educate and conduct outreach to the boating community within one of the two geographic regions about vessel sewage related issues, impacts, resources available to them, and proper vessel sewage disposal practices that reduce the amount of sewage from entering our waterways and encourage the use of pumpout facilities, dump stations, and mobile pumpout services.

2) Conduct outreach to boating facility operators about the availability of DBW grants to install and maintain pumpout and dump stations at their facility. Objective B-Pumpout/Dump Station Monitoring: 1) Assist DBW in determining the status, repair needs, and usage of pumpout and dump stations in the two geographic regions.

2) Monitoring must include the use, update, maintenance, and metric gathering of the Pumpout Nav App on a regular basis as well as development of new features that will improve the existing Pumpout Nav App. The selected grantees will provide training and technical assistance to boaters and partnering agencies to maintain the Nav App as a valuable boater tool.

What are the objectives of the education and outreach component of the Grant Program? Inform the boating community within each of the two geographic regions about sewage related issues, impacts, resources available to them, and proper vessel sewage disposal practices to encourage the use of pumpout facilities and mobile pumpout services.

Educate boating facility operators about the availability of DBW grant funds to install and maintain pumpout stations at their facility. The monitoring component of the Grant Program will help DBW to continue to determine the status and usage of pumpout stations in the two geographic regions. This information will assist DBW in determining the use, operational status and condition of these systems.

Keeping track of these parameters allows DBW staff to assist in expediting pumpout repair, provide data about pumpout systems, and target outreach efforts. What are the desired outcomes of these Grants? Increase public boater awareness of proper vessel sewage disposal techniques and consequences of improper disposal.

Assist DBW in determining the use, operational status, and condition of the sewage pumpout and dump station systems in the geographic regions. Assist marina owners/operators with expediting pumpout repair, provide data about pumpout and dump station systems, and targeted outreach efforts.

Assist DBW in educating marina owners/operators about the availability of grant funds to install and maintain pumpout and dump stations at their facility. Work collaboratively with grantees from the other region to coordinate statewide education efforts. How much money is available for this Grant?

A maximum of $720,000 is available statewide; each regional grant is eligible for up to a maximum of $360,000 (approximately $300,000 for education and outreach, and $60,000 for monitoring). How many grants will be awarded? Two grants will be awarded one for each of the California targeted regions mentioned above: 1.

The San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary, and 2. Six Southern California Coastal Counties. Each grant proposal must include plans for education, outreach, and monitoring.

Applications that do not address each component will be disqualified. What is the deadline for applications? Applications must be received by DBW in either in hard copy form or via email in .

pdf format prior on August 17th, 2026 BEFORE 10AM PST. Proposals will not be accepted via fax. How will the Grant projects be selected?

Applications will be evaluated and ranked according to how each application proposal demonstrates comprehensive and proven methods for meeting grant program goals identified above. Email submittals shall be sent to Vivian. Matuk@coastal.

ca. gov and Ethan. Tratner@parks.

ca. gov Where do I submit a hard copy? California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways Clean Vessel Education and Outreach Grant Program Sacramento, CA 94296-0001 Email submittals shall be sent to Vivian.

Matuk@coastal. ca. gov and ethan.

tratner@parks. ca. gov