The Climate Pollution Reduction Grant, or CPRG, was created under the Inflation Reduction Act and is being administered through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. You can learn more about the grant in general by visiting EPA.gov.

The grant is for $1,000,000 across four years. It is specifically earmarked for planning to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). An additional $4.6 billion is available for competitive implementation grants for projects identified in Priority Climate Action Plans (PCAPs). 

There are 60 communities in the Hartford region’s CPRG planning area, including primarily CRCOG and RiverCOG member communities. Municipalities in our plan include: Andover, Avon, Berlin, Bloomfield, Bolton, Bristol, Burlington, Canton, Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Columbia, Coventry, Cromwell, Durham, Deep River, East Granby, East Haddam, East Hampton, East Hartford, East Windsor, Ellington, Enfield, Essex, Farmington, Glastonbury, Granby, Haddam, Hartford, Hartland, Hebron, Killingworth, Lyme, Manchester, Mansfield, Marlborough, Middlefield, Middletown, New Britain, Newington, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Plainville, Portland, Rocky Hill, Simsbury, Somers, South Windsor, Southington, Stafford, Suffield, Tolland, Union, Vernon, West Hartford, Westbrook, Wethersfield, Willington, Windsor, and Windsor Locks.

Connecticut does not have county governments – instead we have 9 COGs, or Councils of Government. We are regional planning agencies that support the municipalities in our regions on issues like transportation, land use, economic development, environmental protection, and more. You can learn more about CRCOG at crcog.org and RiverCOG at rivercog.org 

CRCOG highly encourages proactive engagement from municipalities to ensure their priority projects are identified in the PCAP. For more information, please contact Kyle Shiel, Principal Planner and CPRG project manager at kshiel@crcog.org. 

The grant spans four years, starting June of 2023. We submitted our Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) before March 1st, 2024. Implementation grant applications are due April 1st, 2024. The Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) is due in 2025. We will submit Program Status Reports between 2025 and 2027. 

Eligible implementation projects are determined by the priority measures listed in our region’s PCAP. Some eligible projects based on our PCAP reduction measures may include: 

• Expanding non-motorized transportation options, like multiuse trails or bicycle lanes. 
• Building electric vehicle infrastructure. 
• Promoting or subsidizing renewable energy projects, like solar panels on the roofs of municipal buildings. 
• Implementing waste reduction strategies, like diverting organics away from landfills and burn plants and into composting operations. 
• Providing energy audits and implementation support, to ensure residential and commercial buildings use less fossil fuel powered energy. 

These are just a few possible examples. Projects or programs able to demonstrate a quantified reduction in greenhouse gas emissions are likely potential projects.  

Proposals such as increasing carbon sinks through protecting open space or climate adaptation (like building infrastructure to withstand extreme weather) would fall outside the scope of this grant. 

Adaption generally refers to projects that help us respond to climate change, like flood barriers or cooling centers. Mitigation generally means making the impacts of climate change less severe by preventing or reducing the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere. Both adaptation and mitigation are important. If we address adaptation without mitigation, it’s a bit like scooping water out of a sinking ship before patching up the leaks.  

The first step to reducing our emissions is understanding where they come from. That’s why we are working to develop a greenhouse gas inventory specific to our region. The next step is where you come in: we need community input to take the most meaningful, effective actions possible.

We appreciate everyone who took time to participate in our PCAP Public Engagement and Outreach efforts or provide feedback on our PCAP Draft. Please stay tuned for information about additional opportunities to provide input on our Regional Climate Action Plan.

These Climate Pollution Reduction Grants span the majority of the U.S. There are two other regions with their own grants - Bridgeport and New Haven, while the CT Department of Energy & Environmental Protection is creating a plan to cover the rest of the state. Any community in Connecticut will be covered by one of these plans.

Check this site for updates and follow CRCOG various social media channels. You may also contact the CPRG project manager Kyle Shiel at kshiel at crcog dot org.