The Provincial Council of León allocates 150,000 euros to clean septic tanks

The Provincial Council of León will provide 150,000 euros in subsidies for the cleaning of septic tanks for town councils in the province with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants and their neighborhood councils during the 2026/2027 period. The call, approved by agreement of the Governing Board on September 25, 2026, and processed under a competitive bidding system, is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of León no. 208, corresponding to this Tuesday, November 3, 2026, with the official reference BOP-LE-2026-208003 and number BDNS 939033 in the National Grants Database.

The summary is disseminated in accordance with articles 17.3.b and 20.8.a of the General Grants Law 38/2003, of November 17, while the full text can be consulted on the Provincial Council’s website, in the Rural Development and Environment section. The grants are also governed by the General Regulatory Bases approved by the Plenary on February 27, 2008 (published in the Official Gazette of the Province of León no. 45/2008, of March 5) and by the execution bases of the current budget.

The purpose is to assist town councils in the provision of waste treatment services, in accordance with articles 26 and 36 of the Law 7/1985, of April 2, Regulating the Bases of the Local Regime, and to collaborate in complying with the conditions that the discharge authorizations of the Basin Organizations impose on septic tanks. The competent body to resolve is the Governing Board, by delegation of the Plenary.

Up to 90% of the invoice and 600 euros per tank

The subsidy covers up to 90% of the budget of the invoice assumed by the town council or neighborhood council for the cleaning service and management of the material extracted from each septic tank, excluding VAT, with a cap of 600 euros per applicant. The aid is granted only once per septic tank for the entire eligible period, between November 1, 2026, and October 31, 2027.

The extraction and management of septic tank sludge that does not allow for the stabilization or drying of the produced sludge are eligible for subsidies, provided it is justified that the waste is removed and managed according to applicable regulations. The grants are compatible with others from different administrations, but the total sum cannot exceed the cost of the activity.

Three periods with 50,000 euros each

The credit is divided into three tranches of 50,000 euros, and unspent amounts are transferred to the following period, with preference given to higher-scoring applications:

• First period: from the day following the publication of the summary until February 28, 2027.
• Second period: from March 1 to June 30, 2027.
• Third period: from July 1 to October 31, 2027.

In the third term, if there is no credit for one type of beneficiary and there is a surplus in the allocation destined for the other, that remainder may be used. The maximum resolution period is 90 calendar days from the end of each term.

Itemized invoice and secretary’s certificate

Applications are submitted electronically through the Provincial Council’s headquarters (sede.dipuleon.es), under the procedure of the Rural Development and Environment Service. The required documentation includes:

• Invoice with VAT itemized and the concepts of travel, extraction (with number of hours), and management (treatment by an authorized manager or treatment plant).
• Certification from the secretary with the NIF (Tax ID) and NIMA of the contracted company, the date of the works, the cleaning location, the destination of the sludge, the kilograms extracted, the hours employed, confirmation that the pit does not allow for stabilization or drying, and an indication of whether it was subsidized in 2025.
• Document proving the receipt and acceptance of the sludge by the final recipient; weighing tickets are not considered valid.
• In the case of neighborhood councils, municipal certification of the delegation of the pit management.

The justification must be presented within a maximum period of one month from the notification of the grant, including annexes II, III, and VI and proof of the dissemination measures regarding the Provincial Council’s collaboration. The announcement appears signed in León on September 25, 2026, by the Deputy Delegate for Ecological Transition (Resolution No. 9827 of July 31, 2025).

The threshold of 20,000 inhabitants places this line of aid within the rural area of the province, where the dispersion of nuclei and the absence of sanitation networks mean that many homes and hamlets depend on individual septic tanks. The call transfers to the town councils and neighborhood councils the cost of a technical intervention that, in small municipalities, usually exceeds their annual budgetary capacity for this service.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of León, no. 208, November 3, 2026, section I, pp. 56-59 (official reference: BOP-LE-2026-208003).