EPA Announces $307M for Community-Driven Solutions to Cut Climate Pollution Across Nebraska

LENEXA, KAN. (JULY 22, 2024) – Today, as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the general competition selection of the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) to receive a $307 million Climate Pollution Reduction Grant to implement community-driven solutions to tackle the climate crisis, reduce air pollution, advance environmental justice, and accelerate America’s clean energy transition.

NDEE will fund measures to increase the adoption of climate-smart and precision agriculture and reduce agricultural waste from livestock. The selected application will also fund projects to improve energy efficiency in commercial and industrial facilities and low-income households, as well as deploy solar and electrify irrigation wells.

“President Biden believes in the power of community-driven solutions to fight climate change, protect public health, and grow our economy. Thanks to his leadership, the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program will deliver unprecedented resources to states, local governments, and Tribes to fund the solutions that work best in their communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Selected recipients have put forward ambitious plans to advance sustainable agriculture, deploy clean industrial technologies, cut emissions and energy costs in homes and commercial buildings, and provide cost- and energy-efficient heating and cooling to communities, creating economic and workforce development opportunities along the way.”

Through this grant, the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy will deliver innovative environmental solutions that work for rural and urban Nebraskans across the Cornhusker State,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meghan A. McCollister. “We are proud of the effort undertaken by the NDEE to secure this grant and share their goal of partnering with agriculture, industry, and neighborhoods to find common sense solutions to environmental issues.”

“We are excited about the opportunities these funds provide for Nebraska,” said NDEE Interim Director Thad Fineran. “With this grant, Nebraska will continue to build on innovative practices. Many are already implementing to grow our economy while protecting our environment and energy resources.”

“We are grateful to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy for their diligent efforts in securing these vital funds and to the Biden-Harris administration and EPA for making them available,” said Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird. “This significant federal investment will bolster the efforts of Lincoln and other local governments across our state as we work with our residents and businesses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, spur new clean energy jobs, and ensure a more sustainable future for all.”

EPA made its selections through a rigorous grants competition that was designed to be fair and impartial. The Agency reviewed nearly 300 applications that were submitted by entities from across the country and requested a total of nearly $33 billion in funding.

The 25 selected applications – from states, a Tribe, local governments, and coalitions of these entities – will receive federal funding to implement local and regional solutions. Many of these projects can be expanded and provide examples and blueprints that other states, local governments, tribes, and even businesses can replicate in their work to tackle the climate crisis.

Together, these selected projects will implement ambitious climate pollution reduction measures designed by states, tribes, and local governments that will achieve significant cumulative greenhouse gas reductions by 2030 and beyond. When estimates provided by all selected applicants are combined, the proposed projects would reduce greenhouse gas pollution by as much as 971 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050, roughly the emissions from 5 million average homes’ energy use each year for over 25 years.

EPA expects to announce up to an additional $300 million in selections under the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program for tribes, tribal consortia, and territories in the coming weeks.

State, tribal, and local action is vital to deliver on the President’s commitment to reduce climate pollution by over 50% by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions no later than 2050. The innovative measures contained in the selected applications, developed with input from local communities, are expected to achieve substantial public health benefits, such as reducing exposure to extreme heat, improving air quality, reducing energy burden for lower-income Americans, improving climate resilience, and providing workforce and economic development opportunities, particularly in low-income and disadvantaged communities.

The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants advance President Biden’s historic Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure that 40% of the overall benefits of certain climate, clean energy, and other federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.

The grants will fund projects supporting the deployment of technologies and programs to reduce greenhouse gases and other harmful pollution across the country and build the infrastructure, housing, industry, and competitive economy needed for a clean energy future. These grants will also help businesses capitalize on new opportunities, spur economic growth and job creation by supporting new and growing industries, and support development of training programs to prepare workers. EPA expects to award the funds later this year, once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.

Many of the proposed projects contained in the selected applications announced today – as well as the $250 million in planning grant funding that EPA is providing under the CPRG program for development of Climate Action Plans by state, local, and tribal governments across the country – will complement the Biden-Harris administration’s historic federal actions and national climate strategies across sectors. Those include:

U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization
Administration’s efforts to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2035 and make zero emissions construction common practice by 2030
Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap
U.S. Buildings Decarbonization Blueprint
Administration’s climate-smart agriculture efforts and Nature-Based Solutions Roadmap
U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan
National Climate Resilience Framework ... and more!