U.S. EPA Begins Implementation of Inflation Reduction Act’s Climate Change and Environmental Justice Initiatives

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency  on Nov. 4 announced preliminary public discussion and comment suggestions for a subsection of new and active programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, enacted in August. The programs include air quality and climate projects tackling clean energy, transportation, methane emissions, and climate super-pollutants. The initiatives will support President Biden’s agenda to tackle climate change, safeguard public health and improve environmental justice.

The agency’s engagement approach for these programs consists of four components. Firstly, the agency issued a request for information on the core design aspects of the IRA programs. Secondly, the agency seeks expert input on vital program design areas from its Federal Advisory Committees. Thirdly, the strategy involves launching participant listening session sequences to empower key stakeholders to provide comments directly to the agency’s staff. Finally, a new webpage will provide information on the performance of IRA programs managed by the agency.

The agency issued a RFI requesting public input on fundamental design characteristics for a number of IRA programs, a critical initial action as the agency attempts to implement extensive levels of financing from the regulation. These preliminary meetings will aid in confirming the design and operation of the programs, echo feedback from a wide variety of stakeholders to make certain that the maximum economic and environmental benefits of this investment reach all consumers, especially disadvantaged communities.

The agency has requested feedback on six public dockets:

• Climate pollution reduction grants – $5 billion to help states, air pollution control agencies and other local governments to build and execute climate pollution reduction plans.
• Transportation programs – $4 billion for two programs to cut emissions from the transportations sector.
• Methane emissions reduction program – $1.55 billion to lower methane emissions from the oil and gas sector.
• Air pollution – over $300 million in financing to assist the agency’s air quality mission by investing in activities that increase monitoring, enhance monitoring methods and improve air quality in schools, among others.
• American Innovation and Manufacturing Act – $38.5 million for execution of the act to employ the Kigali Agreement on hydrofluorocarbons.
• Low emissions electricity program and GHG corporate reporting – $87 million to fund a wide array of activities to support low emissions electricity production and $5 million to develop standardisation and transparency of corporate climate action commitments.