Grant applications for the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment (DWEE) 2026 Waste Reduction and Recycling Incentive, Litter Reduction and Recycling, and Scrap Tire programs can be submitted between July 9 and August 20, 2025 (4:00 p.m. CST).

The grant term will be January 1 through December 31, 2026.  Funding decisions are expected to be announced in December 2025.  Available funding is anticipated to be approximately $3 million for Litter grants and $4 million for Waste grants, with a maximum award of $500,000 per application.

The state has issued a health alert for Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB), also known as toxic blue-green algae, at Glenn Cunningham Lake in Douglas County.

Samples taken earlier this week at Glenn Cunningham Lake measure above the threshold of eight parts per billion (ppb) of total microcystin, which is a toxin released by certain strains of blue-green algae. 

LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment (DWEE) has announced the award of over $15 million in grants to local communities to support critical infrastructure upgrades that will strengthen the reliability and resilience of Nebraska’s electric grid.