Farm and Ranch Cleanup Grant Program

If illegal dumping is a problem on your property, the California Integrated Waste Management Board has a program that may help.

Grants of up to $10,000 per project ($50,000 per city/county) are available to fund clean-up activities. Funds may be used for waste removal and disposal, drainage control and grading improvement, slope and foundation stabilization, excavation, recycling, site security, and public education. Waterways flowing through private land are also eligible for cleanup.

To be eligible, the cleanup site must be located on a parcel zoned or approved for agicultural use (including silviculture, viticulture, horticulture, etc. activities) and the illegal dumping must be a nuisance or threat to public health and safety or to the environment. In addition, the owner must not be responsible for the dumping.

The Board may not award more than $10,000 per site but applications for the Cleanup Grant may consist of more than one site. The definition of a site is flexible and may consist of several piles along a roadside with various property owners or two noncontiguous piles on one larger parcel. Owners are not limited to one site.

The funding is provided to the city or county in which the site is located, so property owners must coordinate with a local government agency to get the funds. Possible applicants include local health agencies, public works departments, and enforcement agencies.

The Board's Grant Manager is committed to assisting applicants. The most time consuming elements of managing the grant will be (1) preparing a board of supervisors agenda item to obtain the resolution allowing the agency to enter into a grant agreement, (2) receiving a cost estimate, and (3) coordinating with the party conducting the cleanup activities.

Applications for the Farm and Ranch Solid Waste Cleanup Program are accepted on a continual basis. In order to rank and score applicants, Board staff will review applications on a quarterly basis.

For more information as well as applications and the review schedule, check the website at http://ciwmb.ca.gov/LEACentral/GrantsLoans/farmranch/default.htm. You can also ontact the Grant Manager Wes Mindermann at (916) 341-6314 or wminderm@ciwmb.ca.gov.