Noem declines climate pollution reduction grants, citing Biden's 'wasteful' spending

A spokesman for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said federal spending "often comes with strings attached" when asked why the state did not apply for Climate Pollution Reduction Grants.

The program administered through the Environmental Protection Agency provides states with $3 million grants for "reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution," according to the agency's website. The grants are part of a $5 billion allocation from the Inflation Reduction Act.

South Dakota, Florida, Kentucky and Iowa are the only four states that did not apply, according to the EPA's website.

"South Dakota is one of the top 10 'greenest' states in America," said Noem spokesman Ian Fury, citing an April 2022 WalletHub report. "This isn't because we take federal money or institute green mandates. It's because our people love the beauty of our state and do their part to cherish it."

Noem believes Biden's "wasteful spending" is the cause of the high inflation seen recently, Fury said in an email to The Center Square.

"Moreover, this spending is oftentimes not the best solution to the problem it is seeking to solve," Fury said. "For instance, while the federal government was spending trillions of dollars throughout the COVID pandemic, South Dakota proved that lockdowns and mandates were not necessary to stop the spread of the virus – who knows where our nation would be today without South Dakota as the counterexample."

South Dakota is focused on "solving long-term problems with one-time investments rather than creating new government programs," Fury said.

"We either decline or return money that we don't need, as we did when President Trump offered extended unemployment benefits in August 2020, and as we did when we returned more than $80 million in federal renter's assistance money in 2022," Fury said. "We are confident that we utilize federal money more wisely than other states."

SoDak350, a group that says it is "building the grassroots movement for climate action in South Dakota," criticized the decision in a Facebook post.

"Disappointing - yet unsurprising - that South Dakota has chosen to pass up millions of dollars to reduce carbon emissions and other air pollution," the group said. "South Dakota was one of only four states that chose to leave the funding on the table - all others seized the opportunity to invest in a cleaner environment and a more resilient economy."

The grant program is open to metropolitan statistical areas, territories and tribes.

The City of Sioux Falls and Rapid City are both eligible for $1 million in grant funding as large Metropolitan Statistical Areas," said EPA's Rich Mylott in an email to The Center Square. "The deadline for MSA applications is April 28. EPA is currently discussing this grant opportunity with both cities."