The purpose of the Clean Water Fund is to implement the DEQ’s surface water quality monitoring plan and to implement water pollution controls.

Surface Water Quality Monitoring Projects
The legislation for the Clean Water Fund stated that the highest priority for the Fund would be the monitoring strategy; therefore, $45 million of the $90 million was set aside to implement the monitoring strategy.  Implementation of the monitoring strategy is being done using both grants and direct contracts to vendors.  For more information:

• Emerging Issues Water Quality Monitoring Grants, page 22 of the Grants and Loans catalog
• Local Water Quality Monitoring Grant, page 34 of the Grants and Loans catalog
• Volunteer Monitoring Grants, page 6 of the Grants and Loans catalog

Water Pollution Control Projects
The other half of the Clean Water Fund is intended to implement water pollution control activities, which, under the Clean Water Fund administrative rules, were identified as the following:

• Providing state match to establish and implement the  conservation reserve enhancement program (CREP) in Michigan.  The administrative rules established a $5 million limit on the CREP and that obligation has been met. 
• Implementing water quality protection or improvement activities in approved watershed management plans that are required under a NPDES  voluntary storm water permit.
• Implementing water quality protection or improvement recommendations in approved watershed plans that place a strong emphasis on protecting  high quality waters.
• Implementing water quality recommendations in  RAPs and LaMPs, other than those involving contaminated sediments.
• Implementing programs to identify and require the correction of illicit connections to storm sewer systems.
• Identifying failing on-site septic systems.
• Implementing corrective measures to correct failing on-site septic systems.
• Locating and plugging abandonded wells.

 The Grants and Loans catalog is also available as a Word document (490 KB).