SW-704
financial
Assistance
Grants Authorized
by the Resource Conservation
& Recovery Act
-------
Contents
Grants Authorized by the Resource
Conservation & Recovery Act 1
Solid Waste Management Grants 2
Hazardous Waste Control Grants 5
Research,,Development, and Demonstration
Grants ~ 6
Training Project Grants 8
Public Education Grants 9
Discarded Tire Disposal Grants 10
General Information 11
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency / 1978
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents
U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC 20402
-------
Financial
Assistance
Grants Authorized
by the Resource Conservation
& Recovery Act
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976,
Public Law 94-580, has two major goals: protection of public health
and the environment from the adverse effects of inadequate solid
waste management and conservation of natural resources. Federal
financial assistance is authorized in a number of provisions of the Act.*
However, the availability of authorized funding is basically dependent
upon whether funds have been appropriated and allocated for specific
programs under the Actfunds for the grants described in this booklet
are available, unless otherwise indicated.
The grant authorities in RCRA are directed mainly toward aiding
the development of State and local solid waste management programs
and furthering the growth of knowledge and technology in solid waste
management and resource conservation. The following provides a
general description of the authorized programs. Details and
information on the current status of the grants are available from
the sources noted at the end of this booklet.
*No grant may be made under this Act (section 7008(b)) to any private
prof itmaking organization.
-------
Solid Waste Management Grants
State plan development grants
RCRA authorizes grants under sections 4008
and 4009 to provide financial assistance to
State and local governments and authorities
for the development of solid waste manage-
ment programs which are environmentally
sound and which encourage resource con-
servation and recovery.
Grants authorized under section 4008 (a)(l)
assist in the development and implementa-
tion of State solid waste management plans.
Minimum requirements for such plans
(section 4003) include regulation of land
disposal practices.
Proposed regulations establishing require-
ments for State plans under section 4002
were issued in August, 1978. (EPA, Guide-
lines for Development and Implementation
of State Solid Waste Management Plans,
43 Federal Register 167 (August 28, 1978),
pp. 38534-38546; final regulations are
expected to be published in the Federal
Register in mid 1979.)
The proposed criteria for determining the
sums to be allotted to each State are:
Population, the more populous States
receiving a greater amount of funding
The extent to which States or local
governments are providing their own
funding of solid waste management
programs
A State must not have decreased relative
funding of its own recurrent expenditures
for solid waste programming below 1975
levels
State and local implementation
grants
Grants are authorized under section 4008(a)(2)
to assist State and local governments and
authorities in the implementation of programs
to provide solid waste management, resource
recovery, and resource conservation services,
as well as hazardous waste control. (Except
-------
for the resource recovery grants described
below, no funding of section 4008(a)(2) is
expected during fiscal year 1979.)
Urban resource recovery
assistance
(President's Urban
Policy of 1978)
Some activities eligible for consideration
under this section include:
Facility planning and feasibility studies
Use of consultant experts
Technology assessments
Legal expenses
Preparation of requests for proposals and
evaluation of proposals received
Surveys and analyses of market needs and
marketing of recovered resources
Source separation projects
Site surveys for disposal facilities
No grant assistance is authorized for any
element of construction, land acquisition
or interest in land, or for subsidies for the
price of recovered resources. Assistance
shall be available only for programs
certified by the State to be consistent
with any State or areawide solid waste
management plan or program approved
pursuant to section 4007.
Under the above authority for State and local
implementation grants, this grant program will
provide funds directed specifically at aiding
development of resource recovery projects
in urban areas. Regulations governing the
procedures for awarding the funds were
promulgated October 17, 1978. The financial
assistance relationship between EPA and the
recipient in this program will take the form
of a "cooperative agreement" rather than a
grant. (Funding for this program was re-
quested in the President's Urban Policy
message of March 27, 1978; funds will be
available for the program beginning with
fiscal year 1979.)
-------
Rural community grants
(These grants are not
currently funded.)
Special community grants
(These grants are not
currently funded.)
The resource recovery grants will enable
cities to hire project managers and obtain
adequate consulting services for the
feasibility analysis, procurement planning,
and other preparatory steps in resource
recovery implementation.
Urban communities and jurisdictions of
all sizes are eligible for funding; however,
localities with a population of at least
50,000 will receive priority consideration.
Other selection criteria for these grants
are based upon the following:
Severity and immediacy of the area's land
disposal problem
* Institutional success factors, such as
financial capabilities and public and
private support
Prior progress toward implementation
of the progr&m for which funding is sought
Potential for relieving urban economic
distress
State grants are authorized under section 4009
for solid waste management facilities and
equipment in rural communities. These
grants may also be used to upgrade or close
existing facilities in such areas to meet
disposal requirements under RCRA.
The law contains eligibility criteria relating
to population density, economic conditions,
availability of facilities, and consistency
with State and regional planning.
Grants are authorized under section 4008(e)
to help certain communities improve existing
solid waste facilities or to construct new
facilities. These are communities with a
population of less than 25,000 where more
than 75 percent of total solid waste processed
comes from outside the community boundaries,
resulting in serious environmental problems.
Only one community in any State, and only
one project from that community, would be
eligible for funding in any given fiscal year.
Projects funded must assist in carrying out
approved State plans.
-------
Hazardous Waste Control
Grants
Purpose of grants
Criteria for allocation of funds
Hazardous waste control grants under
section 3011(a) of RCRA help States develop
and implement State hazardous waste
programs designed to meed RCRA require-
ments. (For applicable regulations, see
EPA, Amendments to Interim Grant
Regulations to Implement the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976
(September 25, 1978).) The objective is
"cradle-to-grave" regulatory control of
hazardous waste by the States.
Grants are available to promulgate and
enforce State criteria and standards
comparable to those required under RCRA.
This would include identification of hazard-
ous wastes and regulation of storage, trans-
portation, treatment, and disposal of
hazardous waste within the State. A
manifest system to track the movement
of wastes and a permit program for hazard-
ous waste management facilities are key
parts of the regulatory system.
Funds are allocated according to need,
as defined by quantity of hazardous waste
generated, in-state methods for handling
this waste, and the extent to which people
and the environment are exposed to hazard-
ous wastes. Other criteria may also be taken
into consideration by EPA's Administrator.
Grants are usually awarded for a year but
may be renewed annually. State agencies
are eligible to apply.
-------
Research, Development, and
Demonstration Grants
Solid waste research and
demonstration grants
Grants under sections 8001, 8004, 8005, and
8006 are authorized to support and promote
research, development, and demonstrations
related to solid waste management and
resource recovery. Programs related to
energy recovery from wastes may be eligible
for joint funding with the U.S. Department of
Energy.
To be eligible for assistance, projects must
be consistent with any applicable suggested
guidelines published by EPA pursuant to
section 1008 and any applicable State or
regional solid waste management plan.
Public or private authorities, agencies, and
institutions; State and local governments;
and individuals are eligible to apply.
Grants under section 8001 will support
research, demonstration, and studies
related to:
Demonstration facilities grants
(These grants are not
currently funded.)
Adverse health effects of solid waste
Operation and financing of solid waste
disposal programs
Resource recovery and conservation,
including marketing of recovered
resources
Hazardous waste management
Resource recovery source separation
systems
Improvements in land disposal practices
(including sludge disposal)
Grants under section 8004 may be used to
support construction and operation of
full-scale demonstration facilities which
improve either the technology or the cost-
effectiveness of existing waste management
practices.
-------
(These grants are not funded.)
"Special studies" and Grants under section 8005 may be made for:
demonstration grants for
resource recovery _ . .
"Special studies" related to all aspects of
energy and materials recovery, including
marketing, economic incentives, legal
constraints, waste management practices,
and appropriate technologies.
Demonstration of resource recovery systems
resulting from special studies under this
section.
Resource recovery and new or
improved facilities grants
(These grants are not funded.)
Grants under section 8006 may be made for:
Demonstration of resource recovery
facilities
Construction of new or improved solid
waste disposal facilities
These grants may be awarded only when
the costs of construction, operation, and
maintenance of any resource recovery system
are equitably distributed among the users of
the system. No funds may be used for land
acquisition or interest in land.
State, county, municipal, interstate, or
intermunicipal agencies and authorities are
eligible to apply.
-------
Training Project Grants
Purpose of grants
(These grants are not
currently funded.)
Grants are authorized under section 7007(a)
for occupational training in solid waste
disposal and resource recovery equipment
and facilities.
Criteria for allocation of funds
The grants are intended to support programs
for:
Occupational training in the management,
supervision, design, operation, or
maintenance of solid waste disposal and
resource recovery equipment and
facilities
Training of instructors and supervisory
personnel for training persons who design,
operate, and manage solid waste disposal
and resource recovery equipment and
facilities
Selection criteria for training grants are
to be based upon areas of need, as determined
by the Administrator of EPA, for support in
the implementation of the objectives of RCRA.
State or interstate agencies and municipalities,
educational institutions, and other organiza-
tions capable of carrying out an approved
training project would be eligible to apply.
-------
Public Education Grants
Purpose of grants Under authority of section 8003 (e)(2) grants
are awarded to develop and implement
educational programs which promote citizen
understanding of the need for environmentally
sound solid waste management practices.
Activities eligible for consideration include
educational programs related to problems
of siting of solid waste facilities; enhancing
public awareness of solid waste issues;
integration of related programs to optimize
utilization of local resources; and generation
of support for resource conservation and
recovery.
Criteria for allocation of funds
Selection criteria for public education
grants are based upon capabilities of the
agency or organization to generate public
understanding and support in the most
critical areas. Because of limited funds,
the number of grants is restricted to
approximately six a year. State or inter-
state agencies, municipalities, education-
al institutions, and other nonprofit agencies
and organizations are eligible.
-------
Discarded Tire Disposal Grants
Under section 2004(a), grants are authorized
to improve tire disposal practices. The
grants are intended to subsidize the cost of
purchasing tire shredders by providing 5
percent of the purchase price. (These grants
are not funded.)
10
-------
General Information
Public participation Programs for which a grant is awarded under
and citizen suits RCRA to a State, municipal, interstate, or
intermunicipal agency or to any public
authority, agency, or institution shall be
the subject of public participation consistent
with EPA's Interim Guidelines, Public Parti-
cipation in Solid Waste Management (43
Federal Register 8 (January 12, 1978);
40 CFR Part 249). These guidelines are
expected to be superseded in 1979 by a set of
consolidated regulations: EPA, Public
Participation in Programs under the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act, the Safe
Drinking Water Act, and the Clean Water Act.
RCRA (section 7002) also provides for
citizen suits where there is an alleged
violation of any permit, standard, regulation,
or requirement which is effective pursuant
to the Act.
Applications for grants Requests for application forms and completed
applications should be submitted to the
appropriate EPA regional office listed on the
last page of this booklet. The staffs in each
EPA regional office will assist in the prep-
aration of an application.
Applications in response to a solicitation
in the U.S. Department of Commerce
publication, Commerce Business Daily,
must be submitted as indicated in the
Request for Proposal (RFP). All other
requests must be submitted to the Grants
Administration Division, PM-216, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
Washington, DC 20460.
Completed applications for assistance
under sections 4008(a)(l) and 3011 must
be submitted by August 1 for a grant the
following year. Other applications should
be forwarded as indicated in the grants
solicitation.
11
-------
Further information Staff in EPA Headquarters, Washington,
D.C., and the EPA regional offices listed
on the last page of this booklet will provide
additional information on current funding
availability, deadlines for application,
eligible projects, selection criteria, and
answer other questions on EPA's grants and
grant programs under RCRA. See also, EPA,
Implementation of the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act of 1976, Interim Regula-
tions, 42 Federal Register 203 (October 20,
1977) and 1978 Catalog of Federal Domes-
tic Assistance (Washington, D.C.: Office
of Management and Budget, 1978), updated
semiannually.
SM-704
ua 1720
12
-------
EPA REGIONS
U.S. EPA, Region 1
Solid Waste Program
John F. Kennedy Bldg.
Boston, MA 02203
617-223-5775
U.S. EPA, Region 2
Solid Waste Section
26 Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10007
212-264-0503
U.S. EPA, Region 3
Solid Waste Program
6th and Walnut Sts.
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-597-9377
U.S. EPA, Region 4
Solid Waste Program
345 Courtland St., N.E.
Altanta, GA 30308
404-881-3016
U.S. EPA, Region 5
Solid Waste Program
230 South Dearborn St.
Chicago, IL 60604
312-353-2197
U.S. EPA, Region 6
Solid Waste Section
1201 Elm St.
Dallas, TX 75270
214-767-2734
U.S. EPA, Region 7
Solid Waste Section
1735 Baltimore Ave.
Kansas City, MO 64108
816-374-3307
U.S. EPA, Region 8
Solid Waste Section
1860 Lincoln St.
Denver, CO 80295
303-837-2221
U.S. EPA, Region 9
Solid Waste Program
215 Fremont St.
San Francisco, CA 94105
415-556-4606
U.S. EPA, Region 10
Solid Waste Program
1200 6th Ave.
Seattle, WA 98101
206-442-1260
------- |