Environment department says $800k in illegal dumping fund grants available

Mike Easterling, Farmington Daily Times
·2 min read

FARMINGTON — With $800,000 up for grabs, San Juan County officials hope to again earn grant money from a state agency to promote trash cleanup and recycling efforts.

The New Mexico Environment Department announced in a March 17 news release that applications for its Recycling and Illegal Dumping Fund grants are being accepted through March 31. San Juan County has been the recipient of RAID grant money over the last two fiscal years, and county spokesman Devin Neeley said it will apply for funding again this year.

The grants are available to municipalities, counties, pueblos, nations, tribes, solid waste authorities, cooperative associations and land grant communities for such projects as scrap tire management, illegal dumpsite abatement, recycling and composting, according to the news release. The funds also may be used to develop educational outreach and marketing campaigns.

San Juan County officials haven chosen to use the RAID grants for a variety of purposes in the past, including a public awareness campaign they initiated last year. In February 2022, three billboards with anti-litter or anti-dumping messages went up along County Road 350 on Crouch Mesa, U.S. Highway 64 between Farmington and Bloomfield and N.M. Highway 516 between Farmington and Aztec.

This anti-litter billboard adjacent to County Road 350 on Crouch Mesa was paid for by a Recycling and Illegal Dumping Fund grant from the New Mexico Environment Department.
This anti-litter billboard adjacent to County Road 350 on Crouch Mesa was paid for by a Recycling and Illegal Dumping Fund grant from the New Mexico Environment Department.

The county’s grant award that year was for nearly $17,000, which was spent on the billboards and on the cleanup of three illegal dumpsites, the news release states.

In Fiscal Year 2023, the county received a RAID grant for two hydraulic dump trailers that are used to transport trash collected from illegal dumping sites, Neeley said. The county recently received delivery of those vehicles.

Neeley said he did not know the specifics of the county’s proposal for this year, but he said it would be submitting a request for funding to NMED by the end of the month.

A billboard on the north side of U.S. Highway 64 between Farmington and Bloomfield was part of an anti-litter campaign initiated by San Juan County officials in 2022 using grant money from the New Mexico Environment Department.
A billboard on the north side of U.S. Highway 64 between Farmington and Bloomfield was part of an anti-litter campaign initiated by San Juan County officials in 2022 using grant money from the New Mexico Environment Department.

Over the last 16 years, the state agency has awarded nearly $12 million to entities throughout the state for 370 projects, according to the news release. That funding has helped abate more than 180 illegal dumpsites across New Mexico.

“RAID grants provide vital funding to assist communities in addressing illegal dumping and the proper disposal of scrap tires in New Mexico,” solid waste bureau chief Joan Snider states in the news release. “This program funds projects that keep neighborhoods healthy, safe and pollution free. Eligible entities should submit applications in order to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Applications are available online at https://www.env.nm.gov/forms. They may be submitted via email, mail or fax. The grants are awarded on a competitive basis for the state fiscal year starting on or about July 1. Funded projects must be completed within the fiscal year, according to the release.

Call 505-827-0197 or email SWB.inbox@env.nm.gov for more information.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com.

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This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: San Juan County has been recipient of grant money last two years