MassDEP outlines $200,000 technical‑assistance grants for community groups, details eligibility and timeline

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) on a public webinar outlined plans for a new Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) funding round, saying the agency expects roughly $200,000 to be available in this cycle and that individual awards will be up to $20,000.

MassDEP co-manager Patty Shaw described the purpose and rules of TAGs and how the grants support public involvement in hazardous‑waste site cleanups. “The TAG funding is limited to public involvement related activities. It may not be used to fund the actual cleanup or assessment at a disposal site,” Shaw said.

The Technical Assistance Grants are administered by MassDEP’s Waste Site Cleanup Program and are governed by the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP), the agency said. The TAGs fund expert technical help and public‑education activities — for example, hiring a licensed site professional (LSP) or translating technical materials — not new environmental or medical data or direct cleanup work.

Why it matters: TAGs are intended to help affected communities understand technical documents, participate more effectively in the MCP cleanup process and communicate with responsible parties and regulators. MassDEP staff emphasized TAGs are reimbursement grants: awardees must incur eligible expenses and submit invoices for reimbursement rather than receive lump‑sum payments.

Key details and eligibility

MassDEP said the total funding for the round is anticipated at $200,000 with awards of up to $20,000; the agency may award smaller amounts. “The grants are available for up to $20,000 but an applicant group may apply for less than $20,000; likewise, MassDEP has the discretion to award less than $20,000,” Shaw explained.

Eligible applicants include community groups (including existing public involvement plan, or PIP, groups), municipalities and certain public entities such as water districts, provided the applicant can show it is affected by oil or hazardous material from the eligible disposal site and has legal authority to receive and manage state grant funds. MassDEP noted that applicants who are owners/operators or otherwise responsible parties for a cleanup are ineligible for a TAG for that site.

Which sites qualify

MassDEP said eligible disposal sites must be located in Massachusetts and fall into one of the MCP’s eligible categories: waste‑site cleanup program sites tier‑classified as Tier 1 or Tier 2, or sites where response actions are “adequately regulated” by another program (for example, an EPA Superfund/National Priorities List site or sites regulated under other state programs). Sites where cleanup is complete (a MCP “permanent solution”) and closed are not eligible.

Examples and allowable uses

Permitted uses include hiring technical experts (LSPs or other consultants), risk assessors, translators for multilingual communities, public information meetings, community webpages and fact sheets. MassDEP staff gave examples of past awards: a municipality retained a risk assessor to review an existing risk assessment; another project funded translation and outreach in a multilingual community; and one award supported technical help related to PFAS impacts to private wells where an eligible disposal site had been identified as the source.

Not allowed: TAG funds may not create new environmental or medical data, be used to support adversarial litigation, or fund direct cleanup or response actions.

Application process and timeline

MassDEP co‑manager Nancy Fitzpatrick reviewed the application and review process and the agency’s timeline. The grant opportunity and application were scheduled to be posted on May 14. The official question‑and‑answer period opens the same day and runs through July 11, with answers to be posted by July 25. Fitzpatrick said, “All application and supporting documentation must be submitted electronically to MassDEP by 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 29.”

Applications are reviewed for eligibility and then scored by a grant review team using eight criteria, including site severity and complexity, the project’s ability to promote public awareness, outreach capability, implementation potential, budget and timeline, and whether the project benefits environmental‑justice communities or economic target areas.

Contracting and payment

Fitzpatrick reiterated that TAG awards are reimbursement grants and described post‑award paperwork: Commonwealth standard contract documents, a scope of services derived from the application, signatory designations for invoice approvals, an electronic funds transfer form and a W‑9. MassDEP expects contracts to run through June 30, 2027; start dates will depend on the contracting timeline.

Questions and follow‑up

MassDEP staff invited prospective applicants to contact the agency before May 14 for informal guidance; once the opportunity posts, answers will be published only in the formal Q&A on the TAG webpage in keeping with state procurement rules. Staff also pointed attendees to the Waste Site Cleanup Program’s public online database for site records and to video instructions on how to search it.

MassDEP staff closed by encouraging potential applicants to reach out for help preparing applications and to review example projects and program summaries available on the TAG program web page.