Rosebud gets $7.8M to build electric vehicle charging stations, buy EV garbage truck

Biden administration taps tribe for Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program

The White House is sending millions to a western South Dakota tribe as part of the Biden administration’s clean energy initiative.

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota has been awarded a $7,879,394 Climate Pollution Reduction Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), marking one of the largest climate investments ever made by the agency in a Tribal community. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe is among 33 recipients of funds under the $5 billion program.

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“Words cannot express the selection to provide the Rosebud Sioux Tribe with such a glorifying opportunity to be awarded a prestigious grant,” said Ivan Crow Eagle, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s environmental director.

According to the EPA, the grant will fund the installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, the purchase of electric buses for public transit routes, and the acquisition of a heavy-duty EV garbage truck.

In a news release, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said the grants are intended for projects that “address climate change, reduce air pollution, advance environmental justice, and accelerate the clean energy transition.”

The EPA has selected 34 applications, including those from 33 Tribal recipients and the Municipality of Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, to support projects that address climate change, reduce air pollution, advance environmental justice, and accelerate the clean energy transition.

The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program is also part of the White House’s goal to ensure that 40 percent of its clean energy investments benefit disadvantaged communities.