The Kentucky Division of Water, within the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, has posted the 2026 Section 319(h) application process, including a November 13, 2026 Letter of Intent date and a February 15, 2027 full-application deadline. Kentucky receives Section 319(h) funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and competitively awards much of that funding to projects that reduce, remediate or prevent nonpoint source pollution.
Current Verification Status
Verification hold for applicant-specific action. The current official program page still labels the Section 319(h) Grant Documents as Coming this fall. Atlas will not treat the cycle as fully application-ready or begin ORIGINAL outreach until the current-cycle grant document set is posted and reviewed.
Funding and Match
Section 319(h) funds may reimburse up to 60 percent of total eligible project cost. Applicants must provide a 40 percent nonfederal match, and federal funds cannot be used as match. The current Kentucky guidance does not publish a universal per-project minimum or maximum award amount. Recent Kentucky awards have varied substantially by project type and scope.
Eligible Applicants
Interested applicants may include Kentucky communities, citizen groups, government agencies, colleges or universities, and nonprofit organizations. Applicant eligibility is project-dependent and must be paired with an eligible nonpoint-source pollution activity.
Eligible Project Uses
Funding may support development of Watershed Based Plans, implementation of EPA-approved Watershed Based Plans, innovative best-management-practice demonstrations, technical training, and education or outreach programs that produce behavior change and improve water quality. Kentucky gives priority to projects addressing impaired or threatened waters and pollutants of concern, with competitive scoring based on project quality and watershed need.
Deadlines and Submission
The current Kentucky program page sets the 2026 Letter of Intent deadline at November 13, 2026. The full application deadline is February 15, 2027. The Division of Water states that mailed applications must be postmarked by midnight on February 15, while hand-delivered applications must be received by 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Current grant guidance also allows an electronic Word or PDF application to be emailed to michaela.lambert@ky.gov by the application deadline.
Application Requirements
Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the appropriate Basin Coordinator and submit a Letter of Intent early enough to receive technical feedback. A complete application must clearly define the project need, objectives, milestones, partners and letters of support, and a comprehensive budget. Applicants are required to include a report generated from Kentucky’s 319 Report Viewer. Incomplete or ineligible applications will not be considered. Selected project work that will receive reimbursement may not begin before a legal contract is fully executed.
Important Restrictions
Section 319(h) cannot fund activities required to control regulated point-source discharges under KPDES, including permit-compliance obligations such as qualifying sewage-treatment, industrial, mining, CAFO, large construction-site or regulated MS4 activities. Research, faculty salaries, college-credit course development or tuition, certain promotional items, product sales and loans using grant funds are also ineligible.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 72/100. This is a current Kentucky-administered federal pass-through with broad public, nonprofit and educational eligibility and meaningful watershed, environmental-health and community-infrastructure value, offset by a substantial 40 percent nonfederal match and a technically detailed application. N9+ Fit Score: 0/100. QC Healthcare Fit: 0/100. The controlling materials do not establish a legitimate clinical-device, telehealth or remote-physical-examination procurement pathway, so N9+ should not be introduced.