Landfill Methane Mitigation Grant Program

The Landfill Methane Mitigation Grant Program is administered by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Air Pollution Control Division, and is funded through a federal climate pollution reduction grant. The program supports Colorado's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste landfills. Colorado Air Quality Control Commission Regulation 31 requires additional municipal solid waste landfills to install gas collection and control systems and establishes requirements including earlier gas collection, enhanced surface emissions monitoring, component leak monitoring, and the phase-out of open flares as primary gas control devices. The grant program is intended to achieve methane emission reductions earlier than required by Regulation 31 and other applicable federal regulations, or to support projects that go beyond the regulation's requirements. The overall program budget is approximately $14.2 million, funded by U.S. EPA Region 8 through October 2029. Awards are expected to begin at $100,000 per state fiscal year, although actual award amounts may vary depending on the number of qualified applications. The program operates on a cost-reimbursement basis, so grantees must fund expenses up front and request reimbursement for allowable costs. Reimbursement is expected monthly following approval of an invoice and monthly project report, and costs incurred before execution of a legally binding grant contract are not reimbursable. Eligible expenses may include GCCS design plans and permits, GCCS components and equipment, installation and performance testing, enhanced gas collection monitoring and tuning systems, replacement of open flares with enclosed flares, associated operation and maintenance training, and pre-approved project travel. No applicant matching or cost-share requirement is stated. Eligible applicants are nonprofit organizations, local governments consisting of counties or municipalities, and private companies that own or operate a municipal solid waste landfill in Colorado where the proposed methane mitigation equipment or technology will be installed. Projects must achieve methane reductions through earlier compliance with Regulation 31 or go above and beyond required compliance. Eligible projects fall into three categories: design and installation of one new GCCS with associated performance testing when timely completion is possible; design and replacement of one existing open flare with an enclosed flare with associated performance testing when possible; or design and installation of technology or a system that optimizes gas collection from an existing GCCS. Priority Level One consists of qualifying local-government-owned landfills or nonprofit organizations whose boards consist entirely of local governments when the landfill had less than 8 million short tons of waste-in-place as of December 31, 2025. Other eligible MSW landfills are Priority Level Two. A complete application may cover no more than one municipal solid waste landfill and must use the forms and templates supplied by CDPHE. Required materials include Attachment A, Cover Sheet and Signature Page; Attachment B, Application Information Form; Attachment C, Project Work Implementation Plan; Attachment D, Applicant Checklist; Attachment E, Budget Template and Justification; and, when applicable, Attachment F, Financial Risk Assessment Questionnaire. Additional available quotes for proposed services or materials may also be attached. Application content addresses applicant and landfill information, the funding request, project prioritization, executive summary, project characterization, demonstration of need and project readiness, commitment and capacity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, project risk mitigation, implementation planning, and the project budget. Applications can be submitted electronically to climatechange@state.co.us using the required subject line identifying the landfill. CDPHE first reviews applications for completeness and applicant eligibility. Complete applications proceed to the LMMGP Review Committee, composed of CDPHE staff including representatives of the Air Pollution Control Division and Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division. Applications are evaluated on a 100-point scale. Scored areas include the executive summary, project characterization, demonstration of need and project readiness, capacity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, project risk mitigation, project work implementation plan, and project budget. Priority Level One applications with passing scores are considered for funding before Priority Level Two applications. Financial risk ratings are communicated to reviewers and may affect the overall funding decision and the monitoring requirements imposed after an award. The RFA was published on August 28, 2026. CDPHE will hold an informational pre-application webinar on September 16, 2026. Written inquiries are due to climatechange@state.co.us by October 12, 2026, at 5 p.m. MT, and answers and RFA changes are scheduled for publication on October 26, 2026. Applications are due December 1, 2026, at 9 p.m. MT. The estimated award notification date is January 14, 2027, and the estimated contract effective date is March 11, 2027. The federal program funding extends through October 2029, all reimbursable spending actions must be completed no later than one month before the end of the applicable grant period, and the resulting grant agreement may be renewed for up to four additional years at CDPHE's sole discretion. The source does not establish this application opportunity as recurring.

Submit a complete application using every required CDPHE form and template; demonstrate earlier-than-required or above-and-beyond methane reductions; clearly document the source of up-front project funding and project readiness; address risks and continued emissions reductions after grant funding; ensure the work plan and budget directly support the scored application components; Priority Level One applications with passing scores are considered before Priority Level Two applications.