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MassDEP details SMART grant priorities, Q&A rules and schedule for Spring 2025 cycle
Summary
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) presented the Spring 2025 SMART grant offerings, evaluation criteria, and a firm Q&A and application schedule, telling applicants that all substantive questions must come from the applicant and that no questions will be accepted after May 5.
Rachel Smith, regional planner and grant manager at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), opened a webinar for municipal applicants on the agency’s Sustainable Materials Recovery Program (SMART) for the spring 2025 grant cycle. MassDEP staff outlined program priorities, the agency’s review criteria, and the schedule for question submission and applications.
SMART funding comes from the state’s waste-to-energy credit (WEC) receipts under the Green Community Act and related MassDEP regulations, Smith said, and has supported municipal assistance coordinators, outreach programs such as RecycleSmart and the Green Team, and the department’s grant programs. "SMART was created through the Green Community Act and MassDEP regulations that qualified municipal waste combustors to earn waste to energy credits," Smith said.
Why it matters: applicants’ adherence to MassDEP’s eligibility, data reporting, and procurement rules helps determine which municipal projects best advance the department’s Solid Waste Master Plan and the department’s statewide waste-reduction goals. MassDEP staff said they consider municipal survey data, past grant performance and compliance, readiness to implement projects (for example, town approvals and procurement status), and whether a municipality serves an environmental-justice population when evaluating applications.
Key deadlines and process rules announced on the webinar: MassDEP will accept applicant-submitted written questions through May 5; the department will post official answers on May 12. Smith emphasized the new standardized Q&A rule: "The question should be from the applicant only." After May 5, MassDEP will not take additional substantive questions and will rely on the posted guidance and the grant guidelines. The department set the application deadline at midnight on June 2 and said awards are expected in the fall pending evaluation.
Smith and other presenters noted that the budget for Spring 2025 is an estimate based on past cycles; MassDEP awarded nearly $4 million in the 2024 cycle and said the final award pool this year will depend on the number and quality of applications. Staff also reminded applicants of three early-submission requirements: the municipal recycling and solid-waste survey, the RDP spending report for the prior year, and an annual notification of the municipality’s Buy-Recycled policy. Missing the February 15 early-submission deadline may cost municipalities one RDP point, staff said.
MassDEP repeated that the SMART program for Spring 2025 includes six grant categories and that guideline documents (with yellow highlights for changes) and contacts for municipal assistance coordinators are posted on the department website. Staff said they will use RITRAC, the agency’s online grant portal, for eligibility checking and application intake.
Ending: MassDEP urged applicants to consult the posted guidelines and contact their municipal assistance coordinators early. Smith closed the formal presentation by reminding attendees that the department will post the webinar recording and the Q&A responses and that only applicant-submitted questions received by May 5 will be treated as official for the Spring 2025 cycle.
