Biden-Harris Administration announces $49.7 million for community-driven solutions to cut climate pollution across Montana

Funded by President Biden's Investing in America Agenda, EPA announces selected applications through competitive Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program to tackle climate change, improve air quality and advance environmental justice

July 22, 2024

HELENA, Mont. - Today, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration's Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the general competition selections of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (MTDNR) to receive a $49,769,891 Climate Pollution Reduction Grant to implement community-driven solutions that tackle the climate crisis, reduce air pollution, advance environmental justice and accelerate America's clean energy transition.

MTDNR's proposed project, The Montana Forest, Community and Working Landscapes Climate Resiliency Project, will fund measures that improve forest management and expand urban and community forests. The selected application will also assist efforts to mitigate wildfires and coal seam fires and support local initiatives to improve soil health and reduce pollution from agriculture.

"President Biden believes in the power of community-driven solutions to fight climate change, protect public health and grow our economy," said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. "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. 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."

"Our guiding mission is ensuring all people in Montana have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink and the opportunity to live healthy lives," said Regional Administrator KC Becker. "These grants-unprecedented in their funding-bring us and Montanans closer to achieving these goals. The Montana DNR's climate resiliency projects will provide funding to improve soil health across the state and reduce pollution from agriculture through community-driven solutions and local initiatives developed by Montanans. "

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 - including 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 that other states, local governments, Tribes and 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 GHG 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 five 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 program for Tribes, Tribal consortia and territories later this summer.

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

Learn more about the selected applications.

Learn more about the CPRG program.