Arkansas city centers receive $100 million Climate Pollution Reduction Grant

Arkansas’ most populous city centers have received $100 million in grants to reduce climate pollution. The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants, or CPRGs, were announced Monday morning. It’s the largest environment-focused grant won by Arkansas.

The funding is distributed by the Environmental Protection Agency and will be split between Central Arkansas, the Fort Smith area, and Northwest Arkansas. Over $48 million of the total will go to Central Arkansas projects, just over $36 million will go to Northwest Arkansas, and over $18 million will go to the Fort Smith metro area.

Casey Covington is the Executive Director of Metroplan, which led the grant application effort and represents Central Arkansas’ stake in the funding. He says each area has different priorities, but share a common goal.

“What you see in all the regions is an emphasis in preserving our natural areas and conserving those areas,” Covington said, adding that land restoration and pedestrian-bicycle infrastructure improvements are also key focus areas.

Covington says Central Arkansas’ funding will go towards converting street lights into LEDs to save energy and updating areas without lighting. The money will also go toward helping public entities and small businesses transition and invest in energy efficient projects, and building more bike and pedestrian trails.

Tim Conklin is the executive director of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission. He said the grant will fund 18 projects across the region, but emphasizes that every step of the grant cycle–from writing the proposal to finishing the projects–has been a collaborative effort.

“It’s not one entity in Northwest Arkansas or any of the other metro areas that’s actually implementing the complete grant of a hundred million dollars, it is over 50 planning partners that supported the grant and numerous entities implementing the grant,” Conklin said. “It’ll be quite the accomplishment over the next five years here in the state of Arkansas.”

Climate Pollution Reduction Grants are designed to help local communities transition to clean energy and reduce pollution. The projects outlined in the grant proposal align with goals set out by the state Department of Energy and Environment Innovation Priority Action Plan, which was submitted to the EPA earlier this year. The EPA awarded similar grants to 24 other projects across the nation.

Fort Smith City Administrator Carl Geffken has watched temperatures and severe weather increase over the past two decades. For him, that’s a sign that something needs to change.

“This is a way that we can help slow that progression. And if we can do more of this and open opportunities economic and otherwise, for our residents, for our cities, our counties, and the state, then it’s a win-win,” Geffken said.

Cities and towns in the Fort Smith area will use their funding for projects such as re-designing unused alleyways, building electric vehicle charging stations, and adding solar panels to public buildings. Geffken called the grant “transformational.”

“It will also show that no one should consider Arkansas a flyover state, because that’s doing a huge disservice to us,” Geffken said.

Casey Covington from Metroplan agrees–he recognizes the benefits of having clean air and a state where people want to spend time outside.

“Being able to maintain that quality air and be able to provide our residents and visitors with high quality experience in our outdoors is what this program is gonna help us do,” Covington said. “And as part of that it’s gonna have long term benefits to our climate and our environment.”

And anything that helps preserve the beauty of the Natural State, Covington thinks, will likewise boost Arkansas’ economy, tourism, and development as a whole.