Wastewater Treatment Facility Anaerobic Co-Digestion/Biogas Grant Program

The Wastewater Treatment Facility Anaerobic Co-Digestion/Biogas Program is issued by the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment under the ONE RED initiative. The program is being redesigned pending approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but the stated objectives remain focused on organic waste management, renewable energy generation, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction. The NOFO was announced on May 8, 2026, with $57,000,000 in total funding available and an expected 2 to 4 awards. The purpose of the program is to fund the development, expansion, and optimization of anaerobic digestion systems at wastewater treatment facilities that incorporate co-digestion of agricultural feedstocks. Funded projects must advance organic waste diversion and the collection and beneficial reuse of renewable natural gas in conjunction with greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Eligible RNG use pathways include scrubbing and reuse onsite for power generation or heating, scrubbing and sale through pipeline injection, other beneficial reuse methods, or a combination of those approaches. Eligible project types include construction of new anaerobic digesters at wastewater treatment facilities, expansion or retrofit of existing digesters to enable co-digestion, installation of gas collection and upgrading systems, feedstock distribution, preprocessing and storage systems, and biogas utilization systems such as combined heat and power or RNG upgrading and interconnection. Eligible costs include engineering and design, equipment purchases and installation, construction and site preparation, electric or gas interconnection costs, workforce training related to project implementation, permitting, and environmental review. Ineligible costs include routine maintenance unrelated to expansion, standalone systems not producing or utilizing RNG, costs not authorized under the approved work plan, and costs incurred before award unless explicitly authorized. Eligible applicants are publicly owned treatment works. Private entities may participate as partners, contractors, or co-applicants, but those relationships must be clearly identified in the submission. Projects must be entirely within Nebraska, applicants must be in good standing with the Nebraska Secretary of State, and applicants must comply with all state and federal laws, regulations, and permits. Applicants must also commit to state and federal subgrantee regulations, financial agreements, and reporting requirements. Funding will be provided as grants on a reimbursement basis, and applicants must provide a minimum 50 percent cost share. Applications must include a project narrative of up to 10 pages, a technical plan, a feedstock and partnership plan, a budget and financial plan, an environmental benefits analysis, a permitting and regulatory plan, and additional required information explaining risks that could delay project operation. The project narrative must describe project objectives, current WWTF infrastructure, proposed upgrades, co-digestion approach, feedstock strategy, implementation timeline and milestones, readiness to proceed, ability to complete the project by August 2029, and positive economic growth impacts. Applications will be evaluated based on technical merit, readiness and ability to complete the project by deadline, community economic growth impact, consistency with program objectives, partnerships and biogas feedstock security, and cost-share match commitment. Application packages must be submitted electronically to DWEE.ONERED@nebraska.gov no later than June 12, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. CST. Applications may be submitted in PDF and Excel formats. Awards are expected in August 2026, contingent upon timely completion of evaluations and approval of the DWEE workplan. The project period is up to 36 months, and funded projects must be able to complete work by August 2029. Programmatic and technical questions may be sent to dwee.onered@nebraska.gov or directed by phone to 402-471-2186.

Prioritize readiness to proceed, ability to complete by August 2029, secure agricultural feedstock partnerships, clear cost-share documentation, strong technical merit, documented community economic growth benefits, and consistency with organic waste diversion, RNG reuse, and GHG reduction objectives.