$500,000 Available to Assist in Implementing Solid Waste Planning Obligations

SPRINGFIELD —Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) Director John J. Kim on Jan 17th, announced a new funding opportunity to assist counties and other units of local government in implementing their solid waste planning obligations under the Illinois Solid Waste Planning and Recycling Act (SWPRA). A Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) has been posted to the Illinois EPA website.

“These grants provide an important resource to county and local governments as they meet their obligations to update their plans for managing solid waste disposal and recycling,” said Director Kim. “This is the second funding cycle Illinois EPA has offered, following a recommendation from the Statewide Material Management Advisory Committee to provide financial support leading to meaningful updates to these plans.”

Under the SWPRA, counties and units of local government are obligated to revisit their Illinois Solid Waste Management Plans every five years and, if necessary, submit plans with significant updates to the Illinois EPA. The Illinois EPA Material Management and Compliance Section is responsible for reviewing any solid waste management plans with significant updates submitted pursuant to the SWPRA. Through this funding opportunity, Illinois EPA intends to provide interested counties, and other units of local government required to develop a county solid waste management plan, financial assistance to help prepare the next plan update.

Eligible projects include, but are not limited to, conducting a local solid waste and materials management needs assessment, surveying local solid waste and materials management stakeholders to determine programmatic expansion viability, internally authoring solid waste management plan updates, or procuring consulting services to prepare solid waste management plan updates. Each county or unit of local government is eligible for up to $10,000 in funding. All required forms and information can be found at: https://www2.illinois.gov/epa/topics/waste-management/materials-management/Pages/County-Solid-Waste-Planning-.aspx.

Applications for the County Solid Waste Planning Grants will be accepted January 17, 2023 through 5:00 PM (CST) on March 3, 2023.

Applicants may not apply for a grant until they are pre-qualified through the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) Grantee Portal.