Penny Douglas
penny.douglas@usda.gov
202.253.0504
State USDA Rural Development offices

The Solid Waste Management (SWM) Grant Program provides funds to organizations that will work to reduce or eliminate pollution of water resources and improve planning and management of solid waste sites in rural areas.

Grantees will be expected to:

• Evaluate current landfill conditions to determine threats to water resources
• Provide technical assistance and/or training to enhance operator skills in the operation and maintenance of active landfills
• Provide technical assistance and/or training to help communities reduce the amount of solid waste coming into a landfill
• Provide technical assistance or training to prepare for closure and future use of a landfill site

Special consideration may be given for projects serving:

• Areas with fewer than 5,500 people
• Areas with fewer than 2,500 people
• Regional, multi-state, or national areas
• Lower income populations

Eligible applicants include:

• States
• Local governments
• Nonprofit organizations
• Federally recognized tribes
• Academic institutions

Applicants should have a proven record of successfully providing technical assistance and/or training to rural areas and be able to demonstrate the financial, technical, and managerial capability to comply with federal and state laws and requirements.

Award ceiling: $1,000,000
Expected number of awards: 30
Project period: 1 year
Estimated total program funding: $4,000,000

A link to application instructions is available on the program website.

Applicants may apply online through grants.gov or file paper applications.

Grant applications for projects that serve a single state may be mailed to the state's USDA Rural Development office.

Applications that propose to serve more than one state may be mailed to:

Assistant Administrator
Water and Environmental Programs
Rural Development, Rural Utilities Service
United States Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
STOP 1548, Room 5145 South
Washington, DC 20250-1548