Montana is set to receive a nearly $50 million federal grant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the agriculture and forestry industries.
The Climate Pollution Reduction Grant that Montana secured is part of a sweeping U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-administered program that on Monday pledged $4.3 billion toward “community-driven solutions to the climate crisis.” EPA approved funding for 25 applications that the agency said will “reduce air pollution, advance environmental justice and accelerate America’s clean energy transition.”
Montana’s share of that Climate Pollution Reduction Grant “aims to return Montana’s forests and agricultural lands to their natural ability to store carbon as a strategic move toward a more sustainable and resilient future,” according to a Montana Department of Environmental Quality press release.
DEQ will work alongside the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and the Department of Agriculture to oversee the Forest, Community and Working Landscapes Climate Resiliency Project.
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The Montana Department of Environmental Quality described its participation in the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program as an opportunity for Montana businesses and communities to access funding for “Montana-made” projects and “tackle real needs that limited state resources may not fully address.”
If the funding is implemented as proposed, the state will plant 2.5 million trees and expand forest management to 8,000 acres, increase canopy coverage in up to 70 communities, improve water quality by reducing nuisance algal blooms stemming from agricultural runoff and mitigate the air pollution arising from coal seam fires. It will also distribute funding to incentivize cattle and beef industry innovation and improve soil health by modifying grazing strategies.
The EPA estimates that the 25 applications approved for funding nationally will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 148 million metric tons by 2030. The agency fielded more than 300 applications for the program, which was a product of the Inflation Reduction Act, a measure the U.S. Congress passed in 2022 that has been widely billed as the largest climate investment in the country’s history.
Another application the DEQ submitted to the EPA for $49 million to fund energy-related projects was denied. That application sought to upgrade the efficiency of Montana schools, convert government vehicles to cleaner alternatives, upgrade the state’s electricity grid and support efficiency audits under an existing state program that supports building and irrigation upgrades to reduce electricity requirements.
“While EPA has not announced any future rounds of funding under the CPRG program, this planning will help prepare innovative project concepts to access other federal funding sources,” the DEQ wrote in its release.
Under the direction of Gov. Greg Gianforte, DEQ emphasized a “non-regulatory, innovative, voluntary” approach to climate initiatives.
“I’m grateful we worked together to secure this historic investment to improve the resilience of our forests, agriculture industry and waterways through innovative, incentive-based projects,” Gianforte said in a press release on Monday afternoon.
Gianforte also expressed frustration that the energy efficiency proposal was not approved for funding.
“I’m grateful we worked together to secure this historic investment to improve the resilience of our forests, agriculture industry and waterways through innovative, incentive-based projects.”
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte
“Our states deserve better coordination from the federal government to best serve our communities and our students,” he said in the release.
As a participant in EPA’s climate initiative, Montana will also be expected to create a climate action plan by August of 2025. A spokesperson for the DEQ told Montana Free Press in March that the pending plan is expected to “further identify all significant greenhouse gas sources, establish reduction and mitigation goals, and provide strategies and measures to achieve these goals.” It will build off of the Montana Climate Pollution Reduction Priorities the state submitted to the EPA this spring.
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