The Community Environmental Project Fund (CEPF) provides money to support the restoration of the environment in communities that were damaged by environmental pollution.
The fund was created by the Delaware General Assembly in 2004 (74 Del. Laws, c. 203). The legislation authorizes the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) to establish a grant fund by withholding 25% of funds collected as penalties for violations of environmental regulations.
These funds are returned to the communities where the violations occurred as competitive grants to nonprofit organizations in equity focus areas to support community environmental projects.
The CEPF uses a searchable mapping tool to ensure that funding supports the state’s environmental justice goals. Delaware has identified Equity Focus Areas to direct investment to address existing inequities. These areas are shown on the map, along with locations of past CEPF investments and of facilities that have had penalty assessments.
Designation as an Equity Focus Area does not guarantee a CEPF grant award. But prioritizing investment in impacted communities that are also Equity Focus Areas can, potentially, have a positive impact on quality of life.
The 2025 grant awardees are:
Learn more about some of the past projects funded via the Community Environmental Project Fund.
Eligible community environmental projects must mitigate pollution, enhance the environment or create recreational opportunities. The funds are provided to improve overall conditions within the environment, while providing outcomes targeted to improve quality of life, and develop opportunities for collaborative problem solving.
Eliminate, minimize, or reduce environmental pollution and reduce the risks to human health and the environment.
Enhance natural resources, improve indigenous habitats and improve the quality of habitats and ecosystem functions.
Enhance natural resources, improve indigenous habitat to create new recreational opportunities and increase access to existing recreational opportunities.
Related Topics: assistance, communities, environmental justice, finance, funds, grants, loans, public involvement
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