NOTICES
DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Opening of New Grant Round for Recycling Program Development and Implementation Grants under Section 902 of Act 101, Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 1988
[51 Pa.B. 2879]
[Saturday, May 22, 2021]The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) announces the opening of a new section 902 grant round to support the development of municipal recycling programs under section 902 of the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 1988 (Act 101) (53 P.S. § 4000.902). Municipalities eligible for recycling grants include counties, cities, boroughs, incorporated towns, townships, home rule municipalities, councils of governments, consortiums or similar entities established by two or more municipalities under 53 Pa.C.S. Chapter 23, Subchapter A (relating to intergovernmental cooperation). The application deadline is September 24, 2021, at 5 p.m.
Application Requirements
Municipalities who did not receive a section 902 grant award in 2020 will receive additional consideration for funding during this solicitation period. All municipalities compliant with Act 101 are eligible and may apply. Applicants must be in compliance with the provisions of Act 101 and the implementing regulations, the Department's Guidelines for Proper Management of Recyclable Materials, and any previous grant contract provisions to be eligible to receive grant funding. County applicants should be in compliance with planning and other county-related provisions of Act 101. Applicants who are not in compliance with Act 101 and annual reporting requirements or the program performance recycling grant requirements of the act of November 9, 2006 (P.L. 1347, No. 140) will not be considered. Programs must operate in compliance with their municipality's land use plan where applicable.
Municipalities are eligible for 90% funding of approved recycling program costs. Municipalities considered financially distressed by the Department of Community and Economic Development under the Municipalities Financial Recovery Act (53 P.S. §§ 11701.101—11701.712) are eligible for 100% of approved costs. No application requesting more than $350,000 in grant funding will be accepted.
All applicants are required to complete the Sustainability Plan portion of the application that includes definitive actions and strategies for optimizing program self-sufficiency. The plan shall include, at a minimum, strategies for reducing costs and generating revenues, provisions for establishing incentives associated with waste reduction and recycling, mechanisms for public outreach and stakeholder input, and tracking mechanisms to document progress toward sustainability milestones until optimum sustainability is realized. The Department's technical report on Building Financially Sustainable Recycling Programs can provide assistance in developing such methods and strategies. The technical report can be found on the Department's web site at http://files.dep.state.pa.us/Waste/Recycling/RecyclingPortalFiles/Documents/fin_sust_rec.pdf. Applicants that fail to complete the Sustainability Plan portion of the application will not be considered for funding.
The following elements will receive priority for funding:
• Development and implementation of incentive-based pricing and collection programs designed to increase the quantities and types of recyclable materials and reduce the quantity of waste collected.
• Development and implementation of an organics collection or management program, or both.
• Development and implementation of multimunicipal collection, processing, or a materials marketing program, or both, where capital costs are reduced or recycling marketability is enhanced, or both, due to intergovernmental cooperation.
• Municipal recycling programs that will develop and implement methods of collection and processing of recyclable materials through source-separation, dual-stream or commingled practices. The applicant must demonstrate that these recyclable materials have value and greater marketability.
• New and innovative recycling educational programs that support the applicants' recycling collection efforts.
In addition, communities whose existing recycling programs contain the following components will receive additional consideration:
• Publicly provided or municipally contracted waste and recycling services.
• The collection of six or more of the following materials: newsprint, office paper, corrugated paper, other marketable grades of paper, aluminum cans, steel or bimetallic cans, colored glass containers, clear glass containers and plastics.
• Municipal recycling programs that are currently collecting and processing recyclable materials through source-separation, dual-stream, or commingled practices. The applicant must demonstrate that these recyclable materials have value and greater marketability.
• Incentive-based pricing and collection programs designed to increase the quantities and types of recyclable materials and reduce the quantity of waste collected.
Eligibility Requirements
Only those projects involving municipalities that have a mandatory trash collection program or projects seeking support for a residential recycling program that have a corresponding commercial recycling program will be considered for funding. Applicants seeking funds to replace curbside collection containers or collection vehicles, or both, will need to demonstrate that the new equipment will increase collection efficiencies and tonnage of materials.
Eligibility Costs
Eligible recycling program development costs include: recycling program design costs; recycling market investigations; development of recycling market commitments; development of recycling program ordinances; development of recycling public education programs; and the costs of developing contracts for procuring equipment or services necessary for the operation of the recycling program.
Eligible recycling program implementation costs include: purchasing or leasing vehicles used to collect recyclables, transporting recyclables to processing facilities or markets and vehicles used in the operation of a materials recovery facility; reusable containers for the collection or storage of recyclable materials; acquiring or renovating buildings, or both, for the processing or storage of recovered materials; equipment used to process or manufacture recyclable materials into usable products; improvements to land needed to operate a recycling facility or yard waste composting facility authorized under 25 Pa. Code § 271.103(h) (relating to permit-by-rule for municipal waste processing facilities other than for regulated medical or chemotherapeutic waste; qualifying facilities; general requirements); and the costs associated with educating the public on recycling program requirements.
Under this grant solicitation, the following will not be eligible for funding: promotional items; glass crushing equipment (unless specific marketing arrangements have been identified); vehicles equipped with compaction units (except for the sole collection of yard waste or paper fiber); and backyard composting units and public recycling containers for parks and streetscapes.
Other eligible and noneligible costs are listed in the grant application packet. Composting projects and programs will be considered to be recycling projects or programs accordingly.
A municipality must retain sole ownership of equipment or facilities funded by the grant. Funding for equipment or facilities purchased for the recycling program used for recycling and other purposes will be prorated according to its recycling use (no equipment used for recycling less than 50% of the time will be eligible for funding). Funding for certain leaf and yard waste collection equipment may be limited according to its seasonal use. Funding for wood chipping equipment will be approved only when the equipment is part of an approved yard waste composting facility operating under the Department's guidelines and where the material is collected curbside from residents. Funding of street sweepers for the purpose of leaf collection will not be considered.
Funding may be restricted in situations where equipment or services requested through a grant application may be available from the public or private sector within the county of the applicant. Public notices may be required before the grant application may be submitted depending upon the nature of the funding request. When the municipality submits the recycling grant application to the Department, it must include proof of compliance with the notification requirements, a description of any responses received to the notice and an explanation of why the municipality has concluded that the mechanical processing equipment is not available to the program from the private sector.
Requirement for Preapplication Conference
Potential applicants must contact the appropriate Department regional planning and recycling coordinator to schedule a preapplication conference to discuss application requirements and program particulars. A list of these individuals is included at the end of this notice. Applications will be returned to municipalities that fail to schedule a preapplication conference. Grant preapplication forms are available on the Department's web site, www.dep.pa.gov (search term ''Recycling Grants Financial Assistance'').
Application Deadline
Grant applications must be submitted online through the Commonwealth's Electronic Single Application web site, eGrants, at www.esa.dced.state.pa.us. Applications must be received by 5 p.m. Friday, September 24, 2021, to be eligible for funding. Applications will not be accepted after the deadline. All grant awards are predicated on the receipt of recycling fees required by sections 701 and 702 of Act 101 (53 P.S. §§ 4000.701 and 4000.702) and the availability of moneys in the Recycling Fund.
Contact Information
Inquiries concerning this notice should be directed to Mark Vottero, Recycling Grants Coordinator, Department of Environmental Protection, Rachel Carson State Office Building, Bureau of Waste Management, Division of Waste Minimization and Planning, P.O. Box 8472, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8472, at mvottero@pa.gov or (717) 772-5719.
Regional Planning and Recycling Coordinators
Southeast Region
(Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties)Department of Environmental Protection Waste Management Program
2 East Main Street
Norristown, PA 19401
(484) 250-5900
Mary Alice Reisse, mreisse@pa.gov
Ann Ryan, aryan@pa.govNortheast Region
(Carbon, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Northampton, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming Counties)Department of Environmental Protection Waste Management Program
2 Public Square
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711-0790
(570) 826-2108
Berit Case, bcase@pa.govSouthcentral Region
(Adams, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry and York Counties)Department of Environmental Protection Waste Management Program
909 Elmerton Avenue
Harrisburg, PA 17110-8200
(717) 705-4735
Jessica Shilladay, jesshillad@pa.govNorthcentral Region
(Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga and Union Counties)Department of Environmental Protection Waste Management Program
208 West 3rd Street, Suite 101
Williamsport, PA 17701
(570) 916-8648
Joseph Delgrippo, jdelgrippo@pa.govSouthwest Region
(Allegheny, Beaver, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland Counties)Department of Environmental Protection Waste Management Program
400 Waterfront Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-4745
(412) 442-4000
Sharon Svitek, ssvitek@pa.gov
Bradley Cunningham, bcunningha@pa.gov
Bill Jester, wijester@pa.govNorthwest Region
(Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, Venango and Warren Counties)Department of Environmental Protection Waste Management Program
230 Chestnut Street
Meadville, PA 16335-3481
(814) 332-6981
Regina Schweinsberg, rschweinsb@pa.govPATRICK McDONNELL,
Secretary
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 21-809. Filed for public inspection May 21, 2021, 9:00 a.m.]
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