Maryland Department of the Environment (for pda/handhelds)

Nonpoint Source Program (319)
Management and Financial Assistance

What's New?

RFP Released - Here’s your opportunity for the FFY2011 319(h) Grant 

For 2010, several Maryland State agencies have worked together to release a single, consolidated Bay funding RFP to gather proposals for funding that comes from three different sources, including:
    -    SFY12 Chesapeake & Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund (named in the RFP title)
    -    319(h) Grant (included in the above)
    -    Chesapeake Bay Trust (included in the above)

If you are interested in competing for 319(h) Grant FFY2011 funds that will be available beginning July 1, 2011, it is important that you respond to the newly consolidated Bay Trust Fund RFP.  It is also important that you contact MDE for additional guidance (see contacts below).  By responding to this RFP, your proposal will be eligible for all three fund sources listed above. 

Search for Maryland 319(h) Grant Projects - Public Information In National EPA “GRTS” Database (leaving MDE website) 

Maryland's 319 Nonpoint Source Program 2008 Annual Report

What is Nonpoint Source Pollution?

Nonpoint Source Pollution (NPS), unlike pollution from industrial and sewage treatment discharge pipes, comes from many diffuse sources. This type of pollution is called nonpoint source pollution because it does not come from a single outlet, waste pipe, or "point" source.  NPS is caused when water from rainfall or snowmelt moves over and through the ground.  During this movement, the water picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants.  Eventually, this water, with the pollutants it carries, reaches lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters, and even our underground sources of drinking water.

Nonpoint Source Pollution is one of the major contributors to degradation of Maryland’s waterways and the violation of water quality standards.  The kinds of pollutants associated with nonpoint sources are diverse and potentially include:

• Fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides from agricultural lands and residential areas;
• Oil, grease, and chemicals from urban runoff.
• Sediment from construction sites, croplands and forestlands, and eroding streambanks;
• Acid drainage from abandoned mines;
• Bacteria and nutrients from livestock, pet wastes, and septic systems;
• Atmospheric deposition and hydromodification are also sources of nonpoint source pollution.

Managing Nonpoint Source Pollution

Maryland's nonpoint source pollution problems are as diverse as its landscape.  In response, the State’s strategy is to pursue a wide array of nonpoint source pollution control programs that are aimed at combating these varied pollution sources. Revision and updating for Maryland's Nonpoint Source Management Plan is in progress. Information will be posted on this web site as it becomes available.

Financial Assistance: 319 Grants 

Maryland uses federal grants made available by the Federal Clean Water Act Section 319(h) to help fund for State nonpoint source management and to provide grants for nonpoint source control by State and local projects that help eliminate water quality impairments  caused by nonpoint sources.  More information is available on MDE’s 319(h) Grant Program web page. A 319 Grant may be used to leverage other fund sources including Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Trust Fund (leaving MDE Site) or other existing capital programs financed through the Water Quality Finance Program.

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