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Grants for Climate Action

Climate Smart Communities Grant Program

The Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Grant program was established in 2016 to provide 50/50 matching grants to cities, towns, villages, and counties of the State of New York for eligible climate change mitigation, adaptation, and planning and assessment projects.

Download the CSC Grants Fact Sheet (PDF) for an overview of the program.

Funds are available for two broad project categories - implementation and certification. The first project category supports implementation projects related to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (mainly outside the power sector) and climate change adaptation. The second supports planning and assessment projects aligned with Climate Smart Communities certification actions (leaves DEC website).

Round 7 of the CSC Grant Program is CLOSED.

For details on project types, requirements, and eligibility, see the 2023 Request for Applications (PDF)

Eligibility:

  • All municipalities, defined as a county, city, town, village, or borough (referring only to Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island) within the State of New York are eligible to apply to the CSC Grant program. Political subdivisions such as municipal corporations, school districts, district corporations, boards of cooperative educational services, fire districts, public benefit corporations, industrial development authorities, and similar organizations are not eligible to apply, however, may apply in partnership with an eligible lead municipality. See request for application for details.
  • Municipalities need not be a registered or certified as a Climate Smart Community to apply for a grant.
  • Applicant municipalities must be registered in the New York State Grants Gateway (leaves DEC website).

​Application:

  • ​ALL applicants must submit a resolution authorizing the application and specifying the match amount and the source of the local match. Applications without such a resolution will be deemed ineligible.
  • Pursuant to the requirements of Title 15 of the Environmental Protection Fund (Environmental Conservation Law [ECL] §54-1501 et seq.), the grantee must own the property upon which the proposed development, improvement, restoration, and/or rehabilitation project will be implemented, or obtain a climate change mitigation easement (CCME) from the owner of the project site. If the applicant does not own the property upon which the proposed project will be implemented, the applicant is required to submit a landowner agreement at the time of application as follows:
    • If the property owner is another municipality, submit a certified resolution by the municipal property owner in support of the project indicating agreement to enter into a CCME with the applicant.
    • If the property owner is not a municipality, submit a notarized written statement from the property owner in support of the project indicating agreement to enter into a CCME with the applicant.
  • ​Projects involving a partnership between two or more municipalities, or a municipality and a non-municipal entity, must submit, at the time of application, letters or other written agreements, signed by all parties, substantiating the collaboration and detailing the responsibilities, roles, and financial and in-kind match contributions of each party.

Additional Information:

Land Acquisition Toolkit

Recipients of Climate Smart Communities grant funding to acquire land for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects must complete the necessary documentation to receive approval for land purchases identified in their application work plan. To aid with the development of these documents, DEC has developed the following standards and guidelines for awardees to use.

For applications that contain land value as match:

All land value to be used as match must have been acquired before grant application. The following documents are required at the time of application:

  • map identifying the property, including adjacent roads and section-block-lot number
  • current appraisal report (preferably within 3 years) of the application date
  • copy of the recorded deed conveying title

The deed recording will need to have the "Notice of Grant" language recorded against the subject property and a certified copy submitted to the DEC.

For applications that contain land acquisition as grant funded, The following documents are required at time of application:

  • Map identifying the property, including adjacent roads, section-block-lot numb
  • Narrative description of property.
  • Legal description of property.
  • Narrative description of public access, forestry management, wetland management, flood infrastructure (natural [e.g., dune] and engineered) maintenance, or other climate mitigation or adaptation management or maintenance protocol to occur on the property.
  • Documentation that federal, State, and local taxes and fees are up to date and paid in full.
  • Provisional purchase agreement, if available,
    OR, if the property owner is another municipality, a certified resolution by the municipal property owner in support of the project indicating agreement to convey the real property to the applicant.
    OR, if the property owner is not a municipality, a notarized written statement from the property owner in support of the project indicating an agreement to convey the real property to the applicant.
  • Additional information or documentation as determined by DEC on a case-by-case basis.
  • The budget detail must estimate the value of the land being acquired for each parcel(s), transactional costs for each parcel(s), staff salaries devoted to or connected to the project or program, restoration costs, contractual costs, and travel cost. Applications that do not clearly detail costs associated with a land acquisition project or detail costs that do not provide a good value as it applies to achieving climate change adaptation and mitigation will not be eligible.
  • Monitoring and enforcement protocol. Applicants are required to submit detailed protocols to demonstrate proper enforcement and monitoring of properties acquired with funding through this grant opportunity. Applicants that do not upload a detailed property enforcement and monitoring protocol with an online application will be deemed ineligible for funding. The protocol must include, but is not limited to, the following information:
    • Monitoring Procedure
    • Frequency (e.g., annual)
    • Type of monitoring (e.g., boundary survey, encroachment, dumping)
    • Monitoring documentation (e.g., updated site photos, maps)
    • Parties responsible for monitoring (e.g., staff, volunteers, contractor)
    • Enforcement Procedure
    • Violation definitions (e.g., minor, major)
    • Potential violation response
    • Violation documentation
    • Resolving violations

The deed recording will need to have the "Notice of Grant" language recorded against the subject property and a certified copy submitted to the DEC.

Additional Information and Requirements for Post Award Land Acquisition as Grant Funded prior to closing.

Standards for Real Property Appraisal. Grantees must ensure the property appraisal meets these standards.(PDF)

Definitions of Common Appraisal Terms (PDF)

Code of Practice for Land Surveys adopted by the New York State Association of Professional Land Surveyors. Surveys must be in accordance with the Code of Practice for Land Surveys adopted by the New York State Association of Land Surveyors.

Survey Documentation and Requirements (PDF)

Survey Map Checklist (PDF)

Map Title Block Template (PDF)

Map Surveyor Certification Template (PDF)

Environmental Site Assessment Checklist (PDF)

Fee Title Requirements Checklist (PDF)

Fee Title 'Notice of Grant' Deed Restrictions

DEC reserved the right to request any additional information or documentation regarding land acquisition during the application process.

If the acquired property is used for activities which interfere with the accomplishment of approved climate change adaptation or mitigation purposes, the violating activities must cease, and any resulting adverse effects must be remedied.

Funding cannot be used for eminent domain proceedings.

Real property acquired, developed, improved, restored, or rehabilitated by a municipality under ECL Section 15-1523(1)(i) pursuant to this grant program shall not be sold or disposed of or used for other than climate change mitigation or adaptation purposes without the express authority of an act of the New York State Legislature, which shall provide for the substitution of other lands of equal environmental and fair market value, and reasonably equivalent GHG mitigation or climate adaptation benefits to the residents of New York, and be located within New York State, as closely as practicable to those to be discontinued, sold, or disposed of, and such other requirements as shall be approved by the commissioner.

For real property alienated under ECL Section 54-1525, DEC must review and approve the proposed acquisition of a new parcel(s) prior to the sale of the original parcel.

In accordance with the New York State Finance Law, landowners are considered sub-contractors of the grantee, therefore any landowner receiving $100,000 or more is required to submit a Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire before DEC will execute a contract with the applicant.

Municipal Zero-emission Vehicle (ZEV) Program

The Municipal ZEV Program was established in 2016 to provide rebates to cities, towns, villages, and counties of the State of New York to encourage and enable ZEV adoption by municipalities for fleet use as well as install electric vehicle charging and hydrogen fuel filling station components primarily for public use.

ZEV Vehicle Rebates

The Municipal ZEV Rebate provides rebates to cities, towns, villages, and counties to purchase or lease (for at least 36 months) eligible new zero-emission vehicles for fleet use.

Download the ZEV Rebate Fact Sheet (PDF) for an overview of the program.

ZEV Rebate Application Period is CLOSED

For details, requirements, and eligibility see the 2022 Request for Applications (PDF).

Eligibility:

  • All municipalities, defined as a county, city, town, or village residing within New York State are eligible to apply to the ZEV Rebate program. Political subdivisions such as municipal corporations, school districts, district corporations, boards of cooperative educational services, fire districts, public benefit corporations, industrial development authorities, and similar organizations are not eligible to apply.

​Application:

  • Applications are accepted only through the New York State Grants Gateway (leaves DEC website).
  • The deadline for the 2022 round was 4:00 p.m. on September 30, 2022.

ZEV Infrastructure Grants

The Municipal ZEV Infrastructure Grant program provides grants to cities, towns, villages, and counties to install hydrogen fuel filling station components and Level 2 (L2) and direct current fast charge (DCFC) electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) primarily for public use.

Download the ZEV Infrastructure Grant Fact Sheet (PDF) for an overview of the program.

ZEV Infrastructure Grant Application Period is CLOSED

For details, requirements, and eligibility see the 2022 Request for Applications (PDF).

Eligibility:

All municipalities, defined as a county, city, town, or village residing within New York State are eligible to apply to the CSC Grant program. Political subdivisions such as municipal corporations, school districts, district corporations, boards of cooperative educational services, fire districts, public benefit corporations, industrial development authorities, and similar organizations are not eligible to apply, however, may apply in partnership with an eligible lead municipality. See request for application for details.

  • L2 EVSE that appear on the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) list of units qualified for the Charge Ready NY Program (leaves DEC website) OR L2 and DCFC units listed on the New York State Office of General Services (OGS) EVSE and Network Services State Contract (leaves DEC website) are eligible, as is hydrogen fuel dispensing equipment.
  • If a facility (location) has received funding from the NYSERDA Charge Ready Program, the same facility may not receive funding from this program, for the same equipment installed under Charge Ready; however additional units may be installed in the same facility.
  • Utility Make Ready Program (leaves DEC website) funds may be combined with funds from this program.

Application:

  • Applications are accepted only through the New York State Grants Gateway (leaves DEC website).
  • The deadline for the 2022 round was 4:00 p.m. on September 30, 2022.
  • Pursuant to the requirements of Title 15 of the Environmental Protection Fund (Environmental Conservation Law [ECL] §54-1501 et seq.), the grantee must own the property upon which the proposed development, improvement, restoration, and/or rehabilitation project will be implemented, or obtain a climate change mitigation easement (CCME) from the owner of the project site. If the applicant does not own the property upon which the proposed project will be implemented, the applicant is required to submit a landowner agreement at the time of application as follows:
    • If the property owner is another municipality, submit a certified resolution by the municipal property owner in support of the project indicating agreement to enter into a CCME with the applicant.
    • If the property owner is not a municipality, submit a notarized written statement from the property owner in support of the project indicating agreement to enter into a CCME with the applicant.​

Additional Information:

Managing Grant Contracts

Grant awards under $10,000 will be administered via NYS Letter of Agreement and awards $10,000 and over will be managed via NYS Master Contract for Grants (MCG) within the Grants Gateway, a web-based grants management system. All grantees must be registered in the Grants Gateway to enter into a contract and to receive grant payments. Registration is NOT an online process. Register as soon as possible (PDF) to allow time for processing and postal mail delivery.

To become familiar with the Grants Gateway (leaves DEC website), award recipients should read the Grants Gateway Vendor User Guide (PDF) and the Grantee Roles Document (PDF), which provide information on navigating the system, setting up user accounts, and roles and responsibilities of various user types.

All eligible applicants and award recipients should visit the NYS Grants Management website (leaves DEC website) for information about grant contracting with NYS and review the New York State Master Contract for Grants (MCG) (PDF). For additional contract details specific to the CSC grant program, see the CSC Program Specific Terms and Conditions (PDF); for the ZEV Rebate Program see the ZEV Rebate Program Terms and Conditions (PDF) and for ZEV Infrastructure Grant Program see the ZEV Infrastructure Grant Program Terms and Conditions (PDF).

Climate Change Mitigation Easement:

Pursuant to the requirements of Title 15 of the Environmental Protection Fund (Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) §54-1501 et seq.), the grantee must own the property upon which the proposed development, improvement, restoration, and/or rehabilitation project will be implemented, or obtain a climate change mitigation easement (CCME) from the owner of the project site. A CCME must develop, execute, and file with the appropriate County Clerk's office a CCME That ensures the following:

  • The property shall be accessible to the municipality for any necessary work to achieve the funded purpose throughout the anticipated life of the project.
  • The property shall provide the identified public benefit throughout the anticipated life of the project.
  • The property shall be used to achieve climate protection and mitigation goals pursuant to ECL Article 54, Title 15 "Climate Smart Communities Projects" throughout the anticipated life of the project.
  • The property owner shall provide information and data to the municipality or will provide access to the municipality for collection of data, as specified in the grant contract.
  • A ten-year minimum term for the easement is required to adequately reflect the expected useful life of the project.
  • The easement is to be enforced as a conservation easement pursuant to ECL Section 49-0305and 6 NYCRR Part 492.

A CCME template is available to assist grantees with appropriately structuring the CCME

Other Grants for Climate Action

See below for additional grant funding programs available to help communities reduce greenhouse gas emissions, plan and implement climate adaptation strategies, and improve resilience to climate change. Opportunities are available for municipalities and not-for-profit organizations.

Click the links for details on each individual program including eligibility requirements, funding availability, and application deadlines.

Department of Environmental Conservation Grants
Hudson River Estuary Grants
Mohawk River Watershed Grants
Marine Habitat Restoration and Resiliency Grants
Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI) Grants (leaves DEC website)
New York's Great Lakes Basin Small Grants Program (leaves DEC website)
Department of Agriculture and Markets Funding Opportunities (leaves DEC website)
Department of State Funding Opportunities (leaves DEC website)
Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve Student Research Opportunities (leaves DEC website)
EPA Clean School Bus Rebate Program (leaves DEC website)
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Solicitations and Funding Opportunities (leaves DEC website)


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