U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7 - 11201 Renner Blvd., Lenexa, KS 66219
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations

Contact Information: Jonathan Klusmeyer, klusmeyer.jonathan@epa.gov, 913-343-2991

LENEXA, KAN. (AUG. 7, 2024) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe joined Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, state officials, and agriculture representatives at Jacobsen’s Farm in Omaha, to highlight the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy’s (NDEE) selection for a $307 million EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG).

During the tour, EPA officials saw how farms such as Jacobsen’s Farm will benefit from CPRG funding awarded to NDEE to support clean investments in agriculture in the state.

“EPA is pleased to partner with Governor Pillen and the State of Nebraska to deliver community-driven solutions to address climate change, protect public health, and invest in neighborhoods, family farms, and communities across the Cornhusker state,” McCabe said. “The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy’s innovative plan will reduce emissions from agricultural production in rural communities, deliver financial assistance to low-income residents for energy efficiency upgrades, and reduce harmful pollution. These programs will pay public health dividends for generations to come and will provide critical information for others across the country to adopt and adapt to address these challenges in their own communities, especially rural communities.”

“The public outreach and statewide input that was received through this process allowed us to shape our application to make the greatest impact across the state,” Pillen said. “I am grateful to EPA for recognizing the uniqueness of our application and our great state. This grant will strengthen our rural communities, our agriculture industry, and allow Nebraska to fully realize the potential of full value agriculture. This grant signifies what can be done when we all come together for Nebraska and her citizens.”

“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 NDEE to secure this grant and share their goal of partnering with agriculture, industry, and neighborhoods to find common-sense solutions to environmental issues.”

NDEE will fund measures to increase the adoption of climate-smart and precision agriculture and reduce agricultural waste from livestock. The selectee 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.

Background

EPA announced its CPRG selections on July 22, 2024, after 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 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: 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.

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