Grant Details

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): Solid Waste Management (SWM) Grant Program - FY 2025

Agency:	U.S. Department of Agriculture
CFDA:	10.762
Federal FON:	SWMFY25
Office:	Rural Development (RD) Rural Utilities Service (RUS)
Multipart Grant:	No

Next Due:	12/31/2024 (Application)
Solicitation Date:	10/01/2024

Match Required:	Recommended
Match Type:	In-Kind
Actual Funds:	$4,000,000 (Estimated)

Summary:

The purpose of this program is to support qualified organizations to provide technical assistance and training to communities to help reduce or eliminate the pollution of water resources and improve planning and management of solid waste sites in rural areas. Eligible activities include:

Providing technical assistance and/or training to reduce the solid waste stream through reduction, recycling, and reuse
Providing training to enhance operator skills in maintaining and operating active landfills
Providing technical assistance and/or training for operators of landfills that are closed or will be closed in the near future with the development/implementation of closure plans, future land use plans, safety and maintenance planning, and closure scheduling within permit requirements
Evaluating current landfill conditions to determine the threats to water resources

Projects must serve rural areas and towns with populations of 10,000 or fewer.

Projects may provide technical assistance through the following methods:

Providing hands-on technical assistance and/or training primarily to solid waste management systems managers/operators
Providing technical assistance primarily through the distribution of educational materials and other outreach methods
Providing technical assistance through a demonstration and/or evaluation project
Providing technical assistance to address the contamination of drinking water and surface water supplies by emerging contaminants, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)

The funding agency encourages applicants to consider projects that will advance the following key priorities:

Assisting rural communities with recovering economically through more and better market opportunities and through improved infrastructure
Ensuring all rural residents have equitable access to Rural Development (RD) programs and benefits from RD-funded projects
Reducing climate pollution and increasing resilience to the impacts of climate change through economic support to rural communities

Refer to page 11 of the NOFA file for additional information regarding each priority area.

Eligibility Notes:

Eligible applicants are:

Private, nonprofit organizations with tax-exempt status designated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Public bodies
Federally acknowledged or state-recognized Native American tribes or groups
Academic institutions

To be eligible, public bodies must meet the requirements listed on page 5 of the NOFA file.

Eligible applicants may be legally established and located in any of the 50 states; the District of Columbia; or the U.S. territories of Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Projects that serve areas that meet one or more of the following criteria will be awarded additional points during the application evaluation process:

Are a multistate area
Have a population of fewer than 5,500
Have a median household income (MHI) of 100 percent or less of the state non-metropolitan median household income (SNMHI)

All applicants must meet the following requirements:

Be incorporated by December 31, 2024
Demonstrate proven ability, background, experience, legal authority, and actual capacity to provide technical assistance and/or training on a regional basis, as detailed on pages 5-6 of the NOFA file

Applicants that demonstrate at least six years of experience in developing and implementing successful technical assistance and/or training programs similar to proposed projects will be awarded additional points during the application evaluation process, with the most points awarded to applicants with more than ten years of experience.

Applicants may apply for existing projects.

The following entities are not eligible to apply:

Private businesses
Federal agencies

Previous award recipients include:

Alaska Forum, Inc. (AK)
University of Alabama at Birmingham (AL)
Earth Island Institute (CA)
Oklahoma State University (OK)
Windham Solid Waste Management District (VT)

Refer to the Award file for additional information regarding previous award recipients.

Eligible Applicants:

Local Government
Academic Institutions
Native American Tribe
Non Profits
State Government

Application Notes:

Applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on December 31, 2024.

Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov. Applications submitted via fax, email, or any other means will not be accepted.

Applications must include:

SF 424
SF 424A
SF LLL (if applicable)
SF 424B
AD-1047
AD 1049
AD 1048
Attachment regarding assistance provided to rural development employees, as required by RD Instruction 1900-D
Form RD 400-4
Form RD 400-1
Indirect cost documentation
Statement of compliance for Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Certification regarding Forest Service grant
Project proposal (20 pages max)
Supplementary materials:
- Evidence of legal existence
- Current certified list of directors and officers
- Evidence of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax-exempt status
- Copy of the most recent audit
- Financial statements
- Other organizational documents (if applicable)
- Other supporting information, as listed on pages 6-7 of the ProgramRule file
- Other supplementary materials, such as letters of support, resolutions, and policies (optional)

The project proposal must be formatted on single-sided pages using at least a 12-point font, preferably Times New Roman font.

The following are required in order to submit an application:

Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
SAM (System for Award Management) registration

Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam.

Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

Project area (10 points)
Applicant experience (5 points)
Applicant resources (10 points)
Population of area(s) to be served (15 points)
MHI of the proposed area(s) to be served (10 points)
Project duration (5 points)
Needs assessment (15 points)
Goals and objectives (15 points)
Work plan (40 points)
Actual assistance provided (30 points)
Evaluation methods (20 points)
In-kind support (10 points)
Sustainability (10 points)
Geographic, economic, and agency priority issues (15 points)

Refer to the NOFA, Guide, and ProgramRule files for additional application information.

Match Required:	Recommended
Match Type:	In-Kind
Actual Funds:	$4,000,000 (Estimated)

Match Notes:

Matching funds are not required for this program; however, applicants that provide at least 10 percent of the total project budget via nonfederal in-kind contributions will be awarded additional points during the application evaluation process. The number of additional points will be based on the percentage of in-kind contributions provided, as detailed on page 10 of the NOFA file.

In addition, applicants that demonstrate the ability to sustain the project after the project period without federal award using a thorough financial analysis that includes cash on hand, projected revenues, and outside source contributions will be awarded additional points during the application evaluation process.

Funding Notes:

Approximately $4 million is expected to be available to support awards through this program. There is no minimum or maximum award amount.

Funding will be provided on a reimbursement basis.

Awards are anticipated to be made in June 2025.

The project period will span from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026.

Costs for contracts with non-affiliated organizations to provide proposed assistance are limited to 49 percent of the total award amount.

Funds may not be used for:

Application development costs
Duplication of current services or replacement or substitution of support normally provided by other means
Political or lobbying activities
Purchase of real estate or vehicles, improvement or renovation of office space, or repair and maintenance of privately owned property
Construction, improvement, rehabilitation, modification, or operation and maintenance of water, wastewater, and solid waste disposal facilities
Construction of or furnishing a building
Intervening in the federal regulatory or adjudicatory proceedings
Suing the federal government or any other government entities
Making contributions or donations to others
Projects that duplicate technical assistance given to implement action plans under the National Forest-Dependent Rural Communities Economic Diversification Act of 1990

Refer to pages 3-4 of the ProgramRule file and page 1 of the FactSheet file for information regarding additional ineligible costs.

For FY 2023, 21 awards were recommended for funding through this program. For FY 2022, 28 awards were recommended for funding. For FY 2021, 26 awards were distributed. Refer to the Award file for details.

Contacts:

Cynthia "Cyndy" Leonard
(540) 742-5284
Water-RD@usda.gov

Agency Address
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Rural Development
Rural Utilities Service
STOP 1510, Rm 4121-S
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-1510

Contact Notes:

Questions should be directed to Cyndy Leonard.

Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov.

The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.

Files:

NOFA File: US0486_NOFA_FY2025.pdf (367.2 Kb)
Guide File: US0486_Guide_FY2025.pdf (233.9 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US0486_ProgramRule_FY2025.pdf (126.1 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US0486_FactSheet_FY2025.pdf (171.1 Kb)
Award File: US0486_Award_FY2025.pdf (917.9 Kb)

File Notes:

The NOFA file contains the full solicitation for this program. The Guide file contains detailed application instructions. The ProgramRule file contains the federal administrative rules governing this program. The FactSheet file contains general program information. The Award file contains information on previous award recipients.

Grant Keywords

USDA, RUS, SWM, Solid Waste Management Grant Program, rural, small town, dump, garbage, landfill, solid waste, trash, waste collection, waste disposal, waste management, HHW, household hazardous waste, litter, recycle, recycling, recycling facility, recycling program, reuse, trash collection, waste to energy, incinerate, incineration, incinerator, compost, composting, yard waste, food waste, heavy metal, electronics recycling, battery recycling, hazardous waste collection, municipal infrastructure, sanitation, technical assistance, TA, conservation, conserve, ecological, ecology, ecosystem, environment, environmental, environmentalism, green, habitat, natural resource, nature, outdoor, preservation, preserve, protect, protection, restoration, restore, stewardship, toxic waste, public health, city planning, civic, infrastructure development, municipal improvement, chemical, contaminant, contaminate, contaminated, pollute, polluted, pollution, toxic, cleanup, debris, decontamination, organic waste, Puerto Rico, territory, territories, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, U.S. Virgin Islands, waterbody, waterbodies, water, river, stream, tributary, tributaries, creek, estuaries, estuarine, estuary, water quality, clean water, drinking water, water supply, water resource, water infrastructure, potable water, brownfields, clean-up, hazardous waste, industrial waste, leakage, leak, leaking, spill, poison, distressed community, rural landfill, rural solid waste, Native American, American Indian, Indian, tribe, tribal, nonprofit, non-profit, not-for-profit, nonprofit organization, public body, public bodies, academic institution, PFAS, RD, polyfluoroalkyl substance, perfluoroalkyl substance, rural development, SNMHI, MHI, median household income, rural waste management, rural solid waste management, rural SWM, landfill closure, water pollution