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[DISCLOSURE: The Blue Lake Rancheria is a minority owner of the Outpost’s parent company, Lost Coast Communications, Inc.]

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Press release from the Environmental Protection Agency:

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces the selection of the Blue Lake Rancheria, located within California, for a $11,498,810 Climate Pollution Reduction Grant funded by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda.

The Blue Lake Rancheria’s aptly named “Empowering Tribal Sovereignty: Creating Climate Resilience through Carbon Sequestration” project will combat climate change by expanding a carbon sequestration program for wetland and forest ecosystems. Funding will be used to acquire and restore coastal and forest land around Humboldt Bay that is within the Tribe’s ancestral territory and that is vulnerable to sea level rise, and to restore wetland habitat. This grant will accelerate the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe’s goal of sustainable Tribal sovereignty, while restoring, preserving, and protecting vital ecosystems, combatting sea-level rise, and improving the air we breathe.

“The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants being unveiled today will deliver unprecedented resources to Tribes here in California for local solutions that can provide national examples for how to combat climate change,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “These investments, which deliver on the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, will create jobs and reduce the emissions fueling climate change.”

“California Tribes are on the frontlines of the climate crisis, developing their own solutions to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, improve air quality, and bolster climate resilience,” said U.S. Senator Alex Padilla. “I’m grateful to the Biden-Harris Administration for providing tens of millions in direct federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to the Blue Lake Rancheria to support their sovereignty and locally led solutions.”

“Tribal communities are on the frontlines of climate change, which has ravaged land, water, and cultural resources. This investment from the Biden-Harris administration will give tribes the resources they need to implement their plans to create a more sustainable future and increase tribal sovereignty,” said U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (CA-2). “I’m glad the EPA selected Blue Lake Rancheria’s innovative project to receive funds I was able to secure as part of the Inflation Reduction Act so they can make their vision a reality.”

After an intensive review of 110 applications nationwide, the EPA selected Blue Lake Rancheria and 33 other highly competitive applications throughout our nation. The selectees, including 31 Tribal Nations, 2 Tribal consortia, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, to implement community-driven solutions to tackle the climate crisis, reduce air pollution, advance environmental justice, and accelerate the clean energy transition.

Thanks to funding from the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic Inflation Reduction Act, these grants will support the implementation of greenhouse gas reduction measures identified by Tribal and territorial communities. When estimates provided by all selected applicants nationwide are combined, the proposed projects will reduce harmful greenhouse gas pollution by over 7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2050 – equivalent to the carbon dioxide emitted from nearly 1.4 million homes’ electricity use for one year.

Today’s announcement marks the latest investment under this first-of-its-kind, nearly $5 billion Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program. In July, the EPA announced $4.3 billion for CPRG Implementation Grants General Competition selected applicants. In 2023, the EPA provided $250 million in planning grants, which served as the basis for greenhouse gas reduction measures proposed in the CPRG implementation grant applications.

The selected applications will target greenhouse gas pollution from six sectors of the economy with a particular focus on the transportation, electric power, and commercial and residential buildings sectors while spurring workforce development and job creation in Indian Country and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Today’s announcement and ongoing CPRG technical support for planning grant recipients are consistent with President Biden’s Executive Order 14112 on Reforming Federal Funding and Support for Tribal Nations to Better Embrace Our Trust Responsibilities and Promote the Next Era of Tribal Self-Determination. The Executive Order demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration’s respect for Tribal sovereignty and its commitment to ushering in the next era of Tribal self-determination by directing agencies to reform federal programs for greater autonomy of Tribal Nations over how Tribes can invest federal funding. The Executive Order also directs agencies to make federal funding less burdensome and more accessible for Tribal Nations.

The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program is also advancing President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure 40% of the overall benefits of specific climate, clean energy, and other federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. 

EPA made its Tribes and Territories Competition selections after reviewing 110 applications that requested more than $1.3 billion in funding. The agency expects to award funds under both the Tribes and Territories Competition and the General Competition later this year once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.

See the complete list of selected applications.

Learn about the CPRG program.