Description: The EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program, established under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, offered grant money to states, local governments, tribes and territories to develop and implement plans for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other harmful air pollution. The EPA awarded CPRG grants in two categories: (1) $250 million for non-competitive planning grants to develop Priority Climate Action Plans (PCAPS) and (2) ~$4.6 billion for competitive implementation grants to implement measures contained in a PCAP.

The CPRG program is currently closed to new applications; however, the implementation grants that the EPA has awarded to local and municipal governments are summarized below for reference. They represent projects that reduce climate pollutant emissions and which serve as examples of what can be included in local planning documents or project initiatives, with or without IRA funding.

• Central Midlands Council of State Governments (South Carolina) – $8.7 million grant to implement a matching fund designed to leverage local finances and increase investment in established and resilient infrastructure projects that reduce GHG emissions while also addressing extreme heat, flooding, pollution, and equity challenges.
• City of Austin (Texas) – $47.9 million grant to coordinate a regional transportation initiative to deliver residents new, clean travel options, focusing on (1) improving regional transit service, (2) investing in mobility infrastructure, and (3) inspiring behavioral change.
• City of New Haven (Connecticut) – $9.5 million grant to support the building of a networked geothermal system to provide clean heating and cooling to Union Station and the construction of a neighborhood-scale, mixed-income housing development adjacent to the station by Housing Authority of New Haven.
• City of New Orleans (Louisiana) – $50 million grant to improve access to active transportation, adopt energy efficiency measures in city buildings, install solar panels, and implement urban forestry programs emphasizing native plants. These projects primarily focus on improving the health and wellbeing of local low-income and disadvantaged communities.
• Cuyahoga County, City of Cleveland, City of Painesville (Ohio) – $129.4 million grant to advance the transition from reliance on a coal-fired power plant in Northeast Ohio by funding deployment of 63 megawatts (MW) of solar installations on brownfield and previous landfill sites and 10 MW of battery storage, as well as restoration of natural habitats and expanded tree coverage on former brownfield sites.
• Denver Regional Council of Governments (Colorado) – $199.7 million grant to reduce GHG emissions from residential and commercial building sectors and increase energy and resource efficiency, with an emphasis on low-income and disadvantaged communities. These projects focus on (1) providing free home retrofits and upgrading services for low-income and disadvantaged populations, (2) offering free energy advising to residential, multifamily, and commercial building owners, (3) providing rebates and incentives to accelerate the adoption of energy efficiency and electrification, and (4) establishing a building policy collaborative to advance ambitious building policies at the local level.
• Hudson Valley Regional Council (New York) – $3.1 million grant to support installation of biofilters to reduce fugitive methane emissions from closed landfills in the Mid-Hudson Valley Region of New York. It will also promote installation of solar arrays and battery storage systems, installation of native pollinator gardens, and creation of long-term ecosystem stewardship plans at former landfills.
• King County (Washington) – $50 million grant to reduce operational emissions from existing multifamily and small commercial buildings, lower embodied carbon emissions in new building construction through government procurement practices and local building codes, and create systems to reuse wood at the end of a building’s life to avoid emissions.
• Metroplan, Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission, and City of Fort Smith (Arkansas and Oklahoma) – $100 million grant to support transition to clean energy, including development of green networks to restore lands and promotion of active transportation and transit.
• South Coast Air Quality Management District (California) – $500 million grant to decarbonize the Southern California goods movement corridor via initiatives such as installing electric vehicle charging, increasing zero-emission freight vehicles, and electrifying equipment and diesel freight switcher locomotives.
• Southeast Conference (Alaskan Southern Coastal Communities) – $38.6 million grant to replace residential oil-heating systems with energy-efficient heat pumps in Alaska’s southern coastal communities.

Goal: Plan and develop projects that reduce GHG and other air pollutant emissions.