Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett has announced that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is accepting applications for projects related to  abandoned mine drainage projects .

You'll have to be a non-profit or a government agency to get government money - the groups most likely to be able to do something on budget are prohibited from applying to get a grant from taxpayers.

The Growing Greener Grant Program is funded by a series of bond issues and a fee on waste entering landfills. The infusion of additional Act 13 revenues of more than $7.8 million restores funding levels to where they stood before the fund was obligated to pay debt service on the bond issues. A total of $16 million is available through the Pennsylvania Growing Greener program for projects to improve water quality in impaired waterways or to protect water quality where the watershed may be threatened by non-point sources, such as agricultural or urban runoff or acid mine drainage. Approved projects for this section of the grant solicitation must be completed by Dec. 31, 2018. The federal Water Pollution Control Act will provide $3 million for projects to support restoration of 35 such watersheds across the state. Projects for this section of the grant solicitation must be completed by Sept. 30, 2018.

As part of program to pay other government-funded groups to restore abandoned mine sites with government money, DEP also announced $2 million in federal Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act funding for abandoned mine drainage projects. The federal program is funded by a fee on the active mining industry.

The grant solicitation runs through July 11th. For more information and to download a grant application, visit www.dep.state.pa.us and click the "Growing Greener" button.