by Nick Fitzmaurice
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) received a federal planning grant this fall of $3 million as the Governor’s designated lead agency to implement the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program. In February, DEQ released a draft of 10 priority measures to be included in Montana’s Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP). The final PCAP was due March 1, and measures included in the plan are eligible for grants in the second phase of CPRG funding, distributing $4.6 billion nationally for implementation projects. Although projects must be included in the PCAP to be eligible for grant funding, DEQ will develop a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan this summer as part of the CPRG program. A status report is due to the EPA in 2027.
In Montana, CPRG implementation is largely underwhelming as the Governor’s office is limiting DEQ to only reduce greenhouse gas emissions through “nonregulatory” projects and voluntary measures, making it virtually impossible for funds awarded in Montana to directly focus on fossil fuels and replacing them with utility-scale renewables. DEQ held a virtual public meeting in February as part of a public input process for the draft priority measures.
Although far from comprehensive for Montana decarbonization, these draft measures were mostly good-faith efforts at emissions reductions. MEIC and many others pushed back on the Industrial & Power Sector “Colstrip Carbon Conversion Project,” an expensive, energy-intensive, and technologically unproven carbon capture retrofit at the Colstrip Power Plant that would prove detrimental to climate action in Montana. However, other measures such as Healthy, Sustainable Schools (energy efficiency programs, on-site renewables); Clean, Reliable Transportation (zero-emission vehicle fleets for schools); High Performance Homes & Businesses (energy efficiency programs); and Investments in Electric Grid Technology (improving transmission connectivity and efficiency to more effectively manage and share renewable energy across a regionally integrated grid) were all supported.
This article was published in the March 2024 issue of Down To Earth.
