The NCRP is pleased to announce that it submitted a regional NCRP Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Grant proposal on January 14 and plans to submit a NCRP Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief for Underrepresented and Tribal Communities Set-Aside Grant on April 15.
Technical assistance and proposal development support will be made available based on relevant need and timing constraints related to the NCRP Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Grant Applications. Due to the short timeframe for application development for the due dates listed by DWR to date, projects that are beyond the conceptual design level and can be developed and packaged per the DWR requirements by the deadline will be prioritized for assistance. Projects that meet other technical requirements, but need further technical support or fall outside the multibenefit drought program guidelines will be considered for Proposition 1 IRWM Round 2 funding in 2022.
NCRP Drought Relief Regional Proposal SubmissionsIn October 2021, the NCRP announced a call for information from entities interested in applying for drought funding via the NCRP Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Grant regional proposals including Tribal and disadvantaged community projects that needed technical assistance and proposal support. The NCRP submitted a regional NCRP Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Grant proposal on January 14 and a NCRP Drought Relief for Underrepresented and Tribal Communities Set-Aside Grant on April 15, 2022.
NCRP Drought Relief Project Review and Selection Process Guidelines, 2022
| Organization, Project Name | Location | Budget |
| Resighini Rancheria, Conservation Measures to Address Drought | Tribe – Northern Region | $342,000 |
| The Watershed Research and Training Center, Browns and Tule Creeks Drought Resiliency Storage and Forbearance Project | Trinity | $283,264 |
| Weaverville Community Services District, Drought Resiliency & Water Reliability Project | Trinity | $500,000 |
| Montague Water Conservation District, Main Canal Lining for Instream Benefit | Siskiyou | $970,000 |
| Salmonid Restoration Federation, Redwood Creek, South Fork Eel River Storage and Forbearance Program | Humboldt | $500,000 |
| Scott River Watershed Council, Scott River Tailings Restoration, Long Pond Implementation, Phase 1 | Siskiyou | $698,236 |
| Brooktrails Township Community Services District, Brooktrails Township Clarifier Project | Mendocino | $110,000 |
| Humboldt 6% Administration | $189,256 | |
| TOTAL | $3,592,756 |
| Organization, Project Name | Location | Budget |
| Scott River Watershed Council, Etna Creek Real Time StreamFlow Monitoring Project | Siskiyou | $137,000 |
| Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria, BRBRR Well Replacement Project | Tribal – Central Region | $168,000 |
| Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria, BRBRR Reclaimed Water Fire and Drought Project | Tribal – Central Region | $1,278,558 |
| Round Valley County Water District, Groundwater Vulnerability Monitoring and Assessment Project | Mendocino | $548,485 |
| Fieldbrook Glendale Community Services District, FGCSD Water Tank Retrofit Project | Humboldt | $303,400 |
| Mattole Restoration Council, Southern Humboldt Emergency Fire Suppression Water Supply | Humboldt | $345,793 |
| Briceland Community Services District, Water Supply Enhancement | Humboldt | $548,000 |
| Resort Improvement District No.1, Shelter Cove Well Site Improvements | Humboldt | $95,000 |
| Sonoma County Department of Transportation and Public Works, Jenner Smart Meters | Sonoma | $74,000 |
| Weott Community Services District, System Improvements | Humboldt | $1,218,745 |
| Humboldt County Admin – 6% | $283,019 | |
| TOTAL | $5,000,000 |
The DWR Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Grant Program established a $5 million set-aside for each IRWM Funding Area in California, such as the North Coast, to encourage regional proposals to support Tribal, disadvantaged and underrepresented community projects. The Regional Tribal and Underrepresented Communities Set-Aside proposal is due April 15, 2022 and is focusing on projects that are currently receiving technical assistance. The projects will be evaluated and selected based on the NCRP Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Project Review and Selection Process Guidelines, 2022. Following is the expected timeline:
On February 22, the TPRC met to review and evaluate the project application materials to select a draft suite of projects for Executive Committee review. For more information, see the TPRC Project Review Summary: NCRP Drought Relief Regional Grant Proposal, Submission 2; Tribal & Underrepresented Community Set-Aside Projects.
On February 25, the Executive Committee met and approved the following draft suite of projects for a portion of the $5 million NCRP Drought Relief for Tribal and Underrepresented Communities set-aside allocation.
| Organization, Project Name | Location | Funding Request | Approved Budget |
| Scott River Watershed Council, Etna Creek Real Time StreamFlow Monitoring Project | Siskiyou | $137,000 | $137,000 |
| Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria, BRBRR Well Replacement Project | Tribal – Central | $168,000 | $168,000 |
| Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria, BRBRR Reclaimed Water Fire and Drought Project | Tribal – Central | $1,278,558 | $1,278,558 |
| Round Valley County Water District, Groundwater Vulnerability Monitoring and Assessment Project | Mendocino | $1,026,800 | $500,000 |
| Fieldbrook Glendale Community Services District, FGCSD Water Tank Retrofit Project | Humboldt | $642,400 | $303,400 |
| Orick Community Services District, Orick CSD Water Distribution Expansion | Humboldt | $2,531,913 | $0 |
| Scotia Community Services District, River Pumps Backup Generator Project | Humboldt | $447,950 | $0 |
| Humboldt County Admin – 6% | $143,080 | ||
| TOTALS | $6,232,621 | $2,530,038 |
Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria, BRBRR Well Replacement Project
Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria, BRBRR Reclaimed Water Fire and Drought Project
Fieldbrook Glendale Community Services District, FGCSD Water Tank Retrofit Project
Orick Community Services District, Orick CSD Water Distribution Expansion
Round Valley County Water District, Groundwater Vulnerability Monitoring and Assessment Project
Scotia Community Services District, River Pumps Backup Generator Project
Scott River Watershed Council, Etna Creek Real Time StreamFlow Monitoring Project
On November 29, the NCRP received 25 project proposals to be considered for inclusion into the NCRP Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Grant Proposal for submittal to DWR on January 14, 2022. The total funding request was $22.9 million with a total project cost of over $25 million.
The Technical Peer Review Committee (TPRC) conducted their technical review and met on December 7 for the TPRC Project Review Meeting to discuss the project proposals and select a draft suite of Priority Projects for review and approval during the NCRP Executive Committee meeting held on Dec 10, 2021. The TPRC recommendation, a full listing of the projects, their scores/ranking, and a brief summary of all projects can be found here and the following is the TPRC Project Review Summary.
The NCRP Executive Committee unanimously approved the TPRC recommendation and suite of 13 Priority Projects listed below. The NCRP Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Regional Proposal, was submitted to DWR on January 14, 2022.
Oct 18: eblast request for information from entities interested in applying for drought funding via the NCRP Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Grant regional proposal; due date Oct 31
NCRP Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Project Review and Selection Process Guidelines, 2021
Eligibility and General Information Application is due on Nov 17 along with an indication of whether technical assistance is required
Project Information Application is due on Nov 29; for those projects that would like technical assistance, this form should be completed to the extent possible by Nov 17 and the technical assistance team will work with you to complete the application in time for the Nov 29 due date
Please send all application materials to Katherine Gledhill at kgledhill@westcoastwatershed.com
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR), is providing $190 million in grant funding through the Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Grant Program for interim or immediate relief in response to conditions arising from drought across California. The drought relief goal is to address immediate impacts on human health and safety and on fish and wildlife resources, and to provide water to persons or communities that lose or are threatened with the loss or contamination of water supplies. The Final Guidelines/ Proposal Solicitation were released on October 29 and can found at the following link: Final 2021 Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Grant Program Guidelines and Proposal Solicitation Package
During the North Coast Resource Partnership (NCRP) Quarterly meeting on October 15, 2021, the Leadership Council directed staff to work with the Technical Peer Review Committee (TPRC) Co-Chairs and the Proposition 1 Ad Hoc committee to develop and implement a streamlined approach to evaluating the projects to be included in one or more NCRP regional applications in alignment with the Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Grant Program guidelines while also adhering to key NCRP project review processes. The Proposition 1 Ad Hoc committee met on November 10 and approved the application process, timeline and the application materials listed above for a regional NCRP Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Grant proposal submittal of December 17.
Should DWR announce subsequent phases of the funding, the NCRP will develop a new timeline for additional regional proposal submissions, including a NCRP Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief for Underrepresented and Tribal Communities Set-Aside Grant.