Federal / State / Local / Private:
State
Disaster declaration required?:
Yes
One time or recurring opportunity?:
One time
Responsible Organization:
NC DEQ
Contact info:
Chris Hollinger at (919) 707-8284 or Jason Watkins at (336) 776-9674
Application Link:
One electronic copy of the proposal must be submitted by email to chris.hollinger@deq.nc.gov. Please submit Microsoft Word (preferred) or Adobe (PDF) files.
Type of Partnership:
Applicants may combine funding requests for multiple types of projects into one proposal. Joint proposals, in which multiple local governments or a local government and an NGO partner on a project, are encouraged.
Rolling/ Fixed Deadline:
Fixed
Single or Multiple Deadlines?:
Single
Application Deadlines:
- September 14, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Period of Performance :
Up to 3 years
Who's Eligible?:
- City
- Councils of Government
- County
- Nonprofits
- Units of local government
Eligible Uses:
- Solid Waste & Environmental Services
Additional detail on uses:
Local governments, defined as counties, municipalities, councils of governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), in counties with a Tropical Storm Helene FEMA disaster declaration (D-4827) are eligible to apply for funding from the DRD grant program. 3 Eligible applicants for this grant include local governments and NGOs engaged in solid waste management activities related to Hurricane Helene recovery efforts. Eligible entities must demonstrate capacity for managing non-hazardous waste, including debris cleanup and disposal, and must be able to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
Approved uses of DRD grant funds include solid waste debris collection, storage, reduction, and final disposal (if not covered by FEMA); non-hazardous waste collection and disposal; clearing, management, and disposal of non-hazardous waste from shorelines, floodplains, farmland, compost management sites, residential clean-up sites, local park lands. Grant funds may be used for the operation and maintenance of currently owned equipment, contracted equipment costs, or the acquisition of rental equipment, in support of the collection, storage, reduction, and final disposal of Helene debris.
Prohibited Uses:
Grant funds may not be used for expenses which are not related to Helene debris, such as employee salaries, administrative expenses such as overhead, utility costs, contracted collection costs, and / or payment for other contracted cleanup or disposal services. Grant funding may not be used for purchasing equipment which would be used beyond the scope of the project (For example, the grant funds could not be used to purchase a new grinder or chipper).
Award Mechanism:
Competitive
Total funding available:
$18M ($5M awarded to NGOs, the remainder will go to local governments)
Match/Cost Share Details:
Grantee is responsible for covering any project costs that exceed the awarded grant amount or fall outside the list of eligible expenses.
Payment Mechanism:
Reimbursement
Award Selection Criteria:
1. Demonstration of Need (0-30 points): Does the proposed project address a specific equipment or debris removal need for the community? Will the project result in the faster debris clean-up and removal efforts in the region? Does the project address an unmet debris removal need caused by Hurricane Helene?
2. Planning (0-25 points): Did the Project Description include all necessary elements as outlined in the Required Proposal Format? Is the proposal accurately descriptive, well-researched, and backed by valid facts and assumptions? Is the project consistent with debris removal best management practices?
3. Debris Reduction Impact (0-25 points): Will the project contribute substantially toward removal of debris? Will the project position the community to be more resilient from future hazards and storm and weather events?
4. Efficiency / Cost-effectiveness (0-15 points): Does the project improve the long-term resiliency of the community’s debris removal program? Will the project improve the efficiency or costeffectiveness of the local debris removal program? Does the project make investments that will continue to serve the community for years to come?
5. Joint Effort (0 or 5 points): One-party proposals will receive zero (0) points; multi-party proposals will receive five (5) points.
Specific Compliance Requirements:
Monitoring and Compliance
- Solid Waste Section (SWS) grant management staff will monitor subrecipient projects to ensure compliance with EPA grant terms and conditions.
- Funds will be distributed to subrecipients on a reimbursement basis for approved expenditures, documented with paid invoices and proof of payment.
• All applicants selected for funding will undergo a compliance review to ensure that they do not have an outstanding Notice of Violation (NOV) related to North Carolina solid waste statutes and rules. Any outstanding NOVs must be corrected to the satisfaction of the N.C. Division of Waste Management (DWM) prior to any grant being awarded.
• DWM will submit a request through the NCDEQ contract processing system for a grant contract. Grantees must act to execute the resultant grant contract without excessive delay.