Mississippi Administrative Code
Title 11 - Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
Part 4 - Nonhazardous Solid Waste Management Regulations
Chapter 3 - Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality Grant Regulations for Waste Tire and Solid Waste Assistance Funds, Authority
Rule 11-4-3.3 - Solid Waste Planning Grant Guidelines
Universal Citation: MS Code of Rules 11-4-3.3
Current through September 24, 2024
A. Eligibility and Allocation of Funds
(1) Ten percent (10%) of
the amount deposited in the local governments solid waste assistance fund
annually shall be set aside in a "solid waste planning grants fund." This fund
shall be used to make grants to counties, municipalities, regional solid waste
management authorities, or other multi-county entities to assist in defraying
the cost of preparing solid waste management plans as required by Section
17-17-227
of the Mississippi Code, Annotated. Such grants for purposes of these
regulations shall be herein referred to as "planning grants."
(2) Any funds remaining in the solid waste
planning grants fund at the end of the State Fiscal Year that are not awarded
shall be deposited back into the Solid Waste Assistance Fund and shall be
reallocated as described in Section
17-17-65
of the Mississippi Code, Annotated.
(3) Planning grant awards shall only be made
to counties, municipalities, regional solid waste management authorities or
other multi-county entities to conduct planning efforts involving the
comprehensive development or comprehensive update of a local solid waste
management plan. No planning grant shall be awarded for conducting efforts
involving only amendments or modifications to a local plan, such as the
addition of a new facility or program, the change in service area for a
facility, or other limited planning modifications that are not comprehensive in
scope.
(4) No planning grant shall
be awarded to a county or municipality that is a member of a regional solid
waste management authority or other multi-county entity, unless that county or
municipality has formally withdrawn from the authority or multi-county entity
in a manner consistent with the applicable sections of state law.
(5) Planning grants may be used to defray the
costs of preparing and developing a local solid waste management plan, where
the employee, person, contractor, or organization developing the plan has
obtained approval from the Department to prepare such comprehensive solid waste
plans in the State of Mississippi. A grant applicant may select an approved
person or organization to conduct the local planning efforts from a listing
maintained by the Department. Inclusion of persons or organizations on the
listing shall be based upon the presentation of credentials demonstrating
knowledge and expertise of solid waste planning in Mississippi and upon other
information determined necessary by the Commission. Persons that are denied
inclusion on the listing may appeal such decision to the Mississippi Commission
on Environmental Quality.
(6)
Whether an applicant chooses to utilize internal resources or contractual
resources to conduct the planning project, the planning project costs eligible
for grant funding shall generally be limited to the following:
(a) the salary of the personnel directly
involved in the collection of planning information and in preparing the plan,
for only that time expended in the development of the plan,
(b) the associated travel costs of
appropriate personnel for only that travel that directly relates to the
collection of information to develop the plan,
(c) the costs of formally adopting the plan
including the costs of public notice and hearing and other associated
expenditures related to complying with the procedures outlined in state law and
regulations for adoption of local solid waste management plans, and
(d) other miscellaneous costs such as
publication costs, survey costs, mailing and delivery costs, and other items
directly related to collecting information and preparing the plan.
Project costs must be specifically disclosed and justified in the proposed budget submitted with the grant application as described in Rule 3.3(B)(2).
(7)
No grant shall be awarded under this program for the purchase or lease of
equipment or other property.
B. Grant Application Procedures
In order to receive consideration for a grant award from the Commission on Environmental Quality, counties, municipalities, regional solid waste management authorities and other multi-county entities shall submit an application as per the following procedures:
(1) The Department may receive planning grant
applications at any time, but not later than April 30 of the funding year. All
applications received before that date will be evaluated for consistency with
these regulations, subject to the availability of funds.
(2) Grant applications shall be submitted on
a form provided by the Department and shall include a narrative description of
the scope of work and an itemized budget for the planning project. The itemized
budget shall indicate the overall total costs of conducting the planning effort
and the amount of grant funds proposed to be applied towards the total cost of
the planning effort.
(3) Grant
applicants that propose to utilize contractual assistance in preparing the plan
shall include the name, the contact information, and the primary person(s) of
contact for the contractor selected by the applicant and the reasons for the
selection of the contractor.
(4)
Unless specifically approved by the Commission, applicants shall be limited to
the following grant funding levels:
(a) For
counties, municipalities, regional solid waste management authorities, or
multi-county entities whose latest census population is 75,000 or greater, the
maximum funding level shall not exceed 50% of the total costs of conducting the
planning project.
(b) For counties,
municipalities, regional solid waste management authorities, or multi-county
entities whose latest census population is 25,000 or greater but less than
75,000, the maximum funding level shall not exceed 60% of the total costs of
conducting the planning project.
(c) For counties, municipalities, regional
solid waste management authorities, or multi-county entities whose latest
census population is less than 25,000, the maximum funding level shall not
exceed 75% of the total costs of conducting the planning project.
(d) For counties, municipalities, regional
solid waste management authorities, or other multi-county entities that are
deemed to be economically disadvantaged communities, the maximum funding level
may be up to 90% of the total costs of conducting the planning project. For the
purposes of these regulations, an economically disadvantaged community shall be
defined as one that meets at least one of the following criteria:
(1) The county has an annualized unemployment
rate that is 200% of the state unemployment rate as determined by the
Mississippi Employment Security Commission's most recently published data,
or
(2) 30% or more of the
population of the county is at or below the federal poverty level, based on
data compiled in the most recent federal census.
Local governments applying for funding as economically disadvantaged communities must demonstrate in the grant application that the community meets at least one of these criteria.
(5) Applications shall be
evaluated and ranked with preference for approval based on the following
factors:
(a) Circumstances have occurred where
no approved solid waste plan exists for the jurisdictional area of the
applicant.
(b) The proposed
planning project is the result of an order or directive of the Commission on
Environmental Quality.
(c) The
level of need of the local planning project is greater than for other proposed
projects.
(d) The applicant has not
been previously funded under this grant category.
When funds requested exceed funds available, the ranking factors above maybe used to determine which projects are awarded grant funding. However, the Commission, in its discretion, may also apportion available funding to all applicants in a fair and equitable manner when the factors above do not yield clear award preferences. Such apportionment shall be made utilizing the maximum funding percentages of Rule 3.3(B)(4) as guidance.
C. Disapproval of Grant Applications
(1) The
Department may refuse to approve a grant application for any of the following
reasons:
(a) the Department determines that
the planning project is not consistent with these regulations or with State
laws or regulations governing the development of a local solid waste management
plan;
(b) the Department determines
that the applicant has failed to provide a complete grant application as per
Rules 3.3(B)(1) and/or (2);
(c) the
applicant is in violation of, or delinquent on any condition of a previously
awarded grant by this Department;
(d) the applicant has deliberately falsified
information submitted as part of the grant application;
(e) the Department determines that the
applicant has proposed expenditures for grant project activities or components
that are unnecessary or that exceed the usual and customary costs for such
activities or components;
(f) there
are insufficient grant funds in the solid waste planning grants fund;
(g) the grant application is ranked lower by
the Department than other proposals based on the factors described in Rule
3.3(B)(5); and
(h) other
appropriate factors as determined by the Commission on Environmental
Quality.
(2) Should the
Department refuse to approve a grant application for any reason, the applicant
may request a hearing before the Commission in accordance with Section
49-17-35,
Mississippi Code, Annotated.
D. Conditions of Grant Award
(1) The grantee shall comply with all
applicable procurement and purchasing regulations established pursuant to state
law.
(2) The grantee shall ensure
that the development and adoption of the local solid waste management plan
shall be conducted in a manner consistent with the applicable state laws and
regulations and with the comprehensive planning guidance provided by the
Department for the development of a local solid waste management
plan.
(3) Upon completion of the
grant project and adoption of the resulting plan, the grantee shall provide
three official copies of the local solid waste management plan to the
Department for review and consideration. Two of the copies shall be hard copies
of the plan and one copy shall be an electronic version. The grantee shall also
retain a sufficient number of copies of the plan for its own continual review
and implementation.
(4) At the
discretion of the Commission, monies which are unspent after the grant
expiration date shall be forfeited back to the solid waste planning grants
fund.
(5) The grantee's matching
share, if applicable, shall be expended or committed in proportion to the
release of state grant funds.
(6) A
summary report shall be prepared and submitted to the Department with each
reimbursement request, detailing the cost of the planning project and a summary
of the activity conducted during the payment period.
(7) The Commission may include other
conditions as part of the grant award, which are determined necessary to ensure
that the planning provisions of state law and regulations are
followed.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Mississippi may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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