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Rapid City committee hears update on EPA climate planning grant for I‑90 corridor
Summary
City staff and consultants outlined work on a four‑year EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant and a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan for the I‑90 corridor, presenting an emissions inventory, preliminary projections and funding opportunities while task force workshops continue.
Rapid City’s Public Works Committee received an update Sept. 10 on a four‑year EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant and related work to develop a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan for the I‑90 corridor, presenters said.
Liz Ann Zeller, the city’s climate pollution reduction grant manager in public works, told the committee the grant covers a four‑year planning effort and that consultants are preparing inventories and public engagement to shape actionable measures. “This is a 4 year planning grant,” Zeller said, and the team plans task force workshops and community outreach in the coming weeks.
Consultant Chris of SSG Sustainability Solutions Group said the plan’s geographic boundary covers the I‑90 corridor “from Spearfish all the way down the corridor to Rabbit City and Box Elder” and that 2021 is the base year for the initial greenhouse‑gas inventory. He described the inventory’s sector breakdowns, saying electricity and industrial processes are the largest present sources and mobile sources also contribute notably. “You can see electricity is one of the bigger sources of emissions mainly because the grid…does have some coal still left in it,” the consultant said.
The consultants presented two electricity‑emissions assumptions — one based on National Renewable Energy Laboratory projections and another reflecting Black Hills Energy’s plans — and noted those assumptions materially affect long‑term emissions projections. They described phase‑based work: immediate inventory and outreach, follow‑up task‑force and focus‑group work next year, and a final draft plan in spring–summer 2025 that would be returned to the community for review.
Presenters emphasized implementation opportunities tied to federal funding programs, naming the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act as major funding sources communities can tap. The team also highlighted possible action areas including renewable energy, retrofits for older buildings, alternative fuels and active transportation to reduce vehicle emissions.
Pat Roseland and other council members thanked the presenters for the outreach and work; the committee moved to acknowledge the update. The task force will meet this week and the consultants expect to present additional findings to the committee and to legal and finance staff in the near term.
Next steps: the project team will continue task‑force workshops and public outreach; the committee and staff will receive subsequent briefings as the plan is refined.
