CA. Receives $300 Million Clean California Grant Program for Local Projects Across the State

SACRAMENTO – The Newsom Administration Dec. 1, announced the availability of almost $300 million in Clean California grants and called on local communities to submit applications for projects that will clean and beautify local streets, tribal lands, parks and transit centers throughout California. The new grants are part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Clean California initiative, a sweeping $1.1 billion, multiyear clean-up effort led by Caltrans to remove trash, create thousands of jobs and engage communities to transform public spaces. 

Clean California is a massive expansion of state and local litter abatement efforts that will remove 1.2 million cubic yards of trash from state highways each year – up from 270,000 cubic yards in 2020. The initiative is set to generate an estimated 10,000 to 11,000 jobs over three years, including for people exiting homelessness, at-risk youth, veterans, those reentering society from incarceration, local artists and students. 

Beginning Dec. 1, California cities, counties, transit agencies, tribal governments and other governmental entities can submit proposals of up to $5 million to beautify their communities and address trash and debris. Among other examples, Caltrans will consider projects that remove litter on city streets, create a marker on a thoroughfare entering a town or neighborhood, beautify an area through greening or landscaping, or facilitate cultural connections and civic pride within a community. 

Caltrans anticipates receiving proposals from agencies in all 58 California counties and will award about 200 grants to create hundreds of sustainable, green beautification and litter abatement projects statewide. The department  will match local investments and address the needs of more severely underserved communities to meet an ambitious goal of funding 300 local projects throughout California over the three-year program. Since July, Caltrans has collected 3,800 tons of trash – enough to fill more than 70 Olympic-size swimming pools – and made more than 600 conditional job offers as part of the program.

The grant application period closes Feb. 1, 2022, and Caltrans will announce the grant recipients on March 1, 2022. Award recipients must complete their project by June 30, 2024.

Details: www.cleancalifornia.dot.ca.gov/local-grants/workshops-milestones.