PREPA Grant Program

PREP's grant program is called the Piscataqua Region Environmental Planning Assessment Grant Program—also known as the PREPA Grant Program. PREPA Grants support any of the 52 cities and towns within the Piscataqua Region Watershed in both Maine and New Hampshire. The program helps our communities make big strides in protecting their natural resources and water quality, as well as in preparing for and adapting to recurring extreme weather.

Project topics often include:

  • Wetland & Shoreland Protections: Safeguarding water bodies and areas along shores, rivers, and vernal pools as well as other wetlands.
  • Floodplain Management: Reducing flood risk by strengthening local floodplain and planning for future flood hazards.
  • Land Conservation: Protecting important natural areas and open space through planning, conservation tools, and local land use policies.
  • Stormwater Management: Managing stormwater runoff through stronger standards, low impact development, and local stormwater planning.
  • Septic System Management: Protecting water quality by improving septic system standards, tracking systems, and promoting proper maintenance.
  • Climate Resilience: Preparing communities for climate impacts through vulnerability assessments, planning, and actions that reduce future risk.
  • Drinking water protections: Supporting plan adoption and local actions to protect drinking water sources.

Additionally, we conduct and update an assessment called The Piscataqua Region Environmental Planning Assessment, or PREPA. This assessment identifies opportunities for water quality and natural resource protections in our entire watershed, organized by municipality. It includes both regulatory and non-regulatory approaches to resources management. By looking up the data for your specific city or town, you can use that analysis as inspiration for your project.

Grants may be for planning or regulatory purposes. PREPA Grants provide $5,000-$25,000 in funding.

Have questions or what more information? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions and/or contact Assistant Director Abigail Lyon: 

📧 Abigail.Lyon@unh.edu    ☎️ (603) 862-3729

While our current PREPA data is always available (see below), our 2026-2027 PREPA Grant applications have now closed. Please sign up for our newsletter to learn about the next application window.

Book Personalized Grant Support with Abigail Lyon

We strive to make the entire grant process—from application to reporting—as accessible as possible. Our current application is intentionally brief and Assistant Director Abigail Lyon is always available to answer your questions, brainstorm your budding ideas, or provide first-time application support.

While office hours will resume during of the next application window, you can always email Abigail at any time: Abigail.Lyon@unh.edu

A headshot of Abigail Lyon, Assistant Director of PREP. She an adult woman with blonde hair and she stands in front of a local body of water. She is smiling.
Assistant Director Abigail Lyon

Eligibility

The PREPA Grant Program provides funding opportunities to any of the 52 cities and towns in the Piscataqua Region Watershed in both Maine and New Hampshire.

It also funds watershed groups and organizations partnering with one or more municipalities in the Piscataqua Region Watershed. A watershed is an area of land where all the water from rain and snow drains into a common body of water, such as a river, bay, or ocean.

Our waterways are deeply connected, even if there is distance between them. From Wakefield and Deerfield in New Hampshire to Portsmouth (NH) and Kittery, Maine our watershed is like a big bowl that catches all the water and channels it to one place: the ocean. When all parts of our watershed thrive, so do we.

Projects may, but are not required to, use town-specific recommendations and/or analysis from the Piscataqua Region Environmental Planning Assessment.

A map of the Piscataqua Region Watershed, featuring 42 towns in New Hampshire, ranging east from Portsmouth and Hampton, west to Deerfield and Candia, and North to Wakefield. The map also features 10 Maine towns from Acton north and inland), Berwick, to Kittery along the coast. The map is also color cordinated by subwatershed, including the Piscataqua River, Salmon Falls River, Lamprey River watersheds, among others.
Click the map above for an enlarged view.

Get Ideas for your grant: explore the data by Municipality in the PREPA Assessment

Recommended Actions

The actions below are not meant to be exhaustive but reflect a menu of prioritized recommendations for communities. Actions are directly related to the questions found on the PREPA assessment forms and reflects both regulatory and non-regulatory actions. PREP is committed to assisting communities and is requesting proposals for the 2026 PREPA Grant Program from municipalities and partnering organizations for projects resulting in achievement or significant progress toward achievement of one or more of the following recommended actions.

Select a Municipality

Download Data for Acton
1
Work with landowner to conserve land
2
Adopt an Open Space Plan
3
Develop a septic system inventory & conduct septic maintenance outreach
4
Increase shoreland and wetland setbacks to 100 feet

Frequently Asked Questions

Don't see your question below? Please contact Abigail Lyon!
📧 Abigail.Lyon@unh.edu
☎️ (603)-862-3729

This program has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under Assistance Agreement 4T00A01778 to the recipient. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nor does the U.S. EPA endorse trade names or recommend the use of any products, services or enterprises mentioned in this document.