Title
Approval of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) Application for an amount not to exceed $2,489,000 for the Purpose of Developing a Community Food Composting Program And Authorization for Letter of Intent
Recommended Action
I move that Council approve submission of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) application in an amount not to exceed $2,489,000 for the purpose of developing a community food composting program and authorize the County Manager to draft and sign a letter of intent indicating the application and MOA submission.
County Manager's Recommendation
The County Manager recommends that Council approve the motion as presented.
Body
Recently, County staff learned about a potential grant opportunity from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with availability of up to $4.3 billion for the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Implementation general competition for the purpose of implementing ambitious measures that will achieve significant cumulative GHG reduction by 2030 and beyond. EPA anticipates awarding approximately 30 to 115 grants ranging between $2 million and $500 million under this general competition.
To be eligible to apply for this grant, the GHG reduction measure must be included in New Mexico Environment Department’s Priority Climate Action Plan. In January 2024, Los Alamos County requested New Mexico Environment Department to include Organic Waste Diversion and Food Waste Prevention in the state’s priority climate action plan.
For this grant application, four prominent NM communities are forming a coalition to expand access to organics diversion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the northern and southern part of the state. Coalition members include Santa Fe County, Los Alamos County, Las Cruces, and Dona Ana County. The City of Las Cruces has verbally agreed to serve as the fiscal agent and South Central Solid Waste Authority has agreed to serve as the grant administrator and will officially apply for the grant on behalf of the coalition. If successful, Los Alamos County will be a grant sub-recipient. The grant application requires a letter of intent to be submitted with the grant application. An official Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the coalition members is then due by July 1, 2024. The letter of intent will state our intent to apply for the grant as a coalition and submit an MOA. The MOA will list each partner committing to participate in the coalition, state the purpose of the MOA, clearly describe the agreed upon roles and responsibilities of the participating parties to ensure project success, and further describe the operating model for the coalition. Los Alamos County is requesting $2,489,000 while the total grant request is $4,372,880.
If successfully awarded, Los Alamos County will utilize grant funds to establish a food waste composting program and facility for the purpose of composting food scraps and yard trimmings from residential and commercial customers and diverting them from the landfill. The project would begin by preparing the site at the Los Alamos County Eco Station as approved by the County Council on February 6, 2024. Grant funding will be used to make necessary site improvements and purchase equipment such as a loader and collection containers for the compost process.
There is no match or in-kind requirement for this grant application, which is due April 1, 2024.
Attachment A shows the Grant Matrix which gives details about this specific grant and shows County Manager approval.
Alternatives
Council could not approve this application and then all project funding would be passed on to residents via increased fees.
Fiscal and Staff Impact/Unplanned Item
If this grant is approved and awarded, the grant funding would augment funds from Environmental Services fund. There will be minimal staff impact to manage and report on the grant if awarded.
Attachments
A - CPRG Grant Matrix