Trump administration locks MPCA out of $200 million in federal grants
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by)
The Trump administration has locked Minnesota out of $200 million in federal grants awarded to the state last year for community-based climate projects, leaving projects in limbo and underscoring the uncertainty and disruption unleashed by Trump's early budget cutting.
Last July the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the money for initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including climate-friendly farm practices, peatland restoration, energy efficiency, vehicle electrification and more.
'This funding will have a transformational impact on Minnesota, from farms to food shelves across the state,' Katrina Kessler, commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, said at the time. 'This investment will reduce greenhouse gasses while improving air quality, advancing new technologies, building food security and sovereignty, and directing benefits to low-income residents and communities of color.'
Now, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says the Trump administration has locked them out of those funds, and projects that had been planning on using the funding to get off the ground are scrambling to find alternatives.
'Unfortunately, the already-approved funding has not been reliably available to us to access since early February,' an MPCA spokesperson said. 'This is deeply concerning and could have long-term impacts on our mission of protecting the environment and human health.'
The EPA did not respond to a request for comment.
One project that had been banking on those funds is a food waste processing plant in Scott County, operated by Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy, or R&E.
The project has been in the works for seven years, according to Melissa Finnegan, the agency's director of strategic partnerships. Construction, by Shakopee-based Dem-Con, is slated to begin this spring.
It would process 75,000 tons per year of organic and food waste, converting it to enough natural gas to serve thousands of homes and reducing total carbon emissions by an amount equivalent to taking 6,000 cars off the road.
'The loss of a dedicated $10 million in funding for this $100 million project puts the entire endeavor at risk,' Finnegan said. 'If this $10 million is suddenly unavailable, the responsibility for the costs would be shifted to R&E, and ultimately the residents of both counties.'
Until recently, the MPCA had been planning on using the funds for expanding water quality and soil health programs, helping businesses transition to cleaner refrigerants, scaling up food waste programs, restoring 10,000 acres of peatland, and helping economically disadvantaged communities improve food security.
'Since the climate-smart food systems initiative was announced in July 2024, we've heard from farmers, food processors, local governments and community-based food organizations who are excited to get this work started,' MPCA Climate Director Kate Knuth said recently.
Shortly after taking office, however, President Trump attempted to freeze billions of dollars in federal funding and payments that had already been authorized by Congress. Federal judges have issued temporary restraining orders to keep federal funds flowing while challenges work their way through the courts, but the administration has frequently ignored those orders.
The Scott County waste processing plant is just one of thousands of projects across the country that are now in jeopardy as a result of the administration's actions.
'The uncertainty and overall lack of communication from the federal government regarding these funds has been particularly frustrating as we look to getting this project started,' Finnegan said.
She added that MPCA has told her that they do not anticipate the funds being made available again.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
22 minutes ago
- New York Post
Musk's father says Elon made a mistake going nuclear on Trump, predicts prez ‘will prevail'
Tech mogul Elon Musk's father lamented his son's scorched-earth war of words with President Trump as a 'mistake' and warned that the US leader would ultimately prevail in the nasty spat. Errol Musk, who has had a strained relationship with his billionaire son, explained that Elon had been under tremendous stress and was optimistic the two personality giants could patch things up. 'They've been under a lot of stress for five months. And it gives them a break. You know, they've had to get rid of all the opposition, try and put the country back on track, and do normal things and so forth,' Errol told Russian media, per Izvestia. 'They're very tired and stressed. And so you can expect something like this. It's not unusual,' the elder Musk added. 'Trump will prevail. He's the president. He was elected as the president, so Elon made a mistake, I think. But he's tired. He's stressed.' Elon had slowly begun to split with Trump and Republicans publicly last month over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act due to his concerns about its impact on the deficit. 4 Errol Musk seemed optimistic that President Trump and Elon Musk could reconcile. 4 Elon Musk's time as a special government employee ended last month. AFP via Getty Images It started with some swipes during an interview on CBS's 'Sunday Morning Show.' Then, Musk ramped up his attacks on the marquee GOP megabill, ripping it as 'pork-filled' and a 'disgusting abomination.' Finally, last Thursday, Musk went nuclear on Trump. The world's richest man argued that without his help, 'Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.' At one point, Musk appeared to back impeachment against Trump and then dropped a 'big bomb,' claiming that the president was in the Epstein files, in a since-deleted post. During the epic public feud, Trump threatened to sever lucrative federal contracts with Musk's companies and the tech baron suggested he'd decommission the Dragon spacecraft, the government's main method of getting into orbit, before reversing course. 4 Elon Musk and President Trump had forged a public alliance to trim government waste and bloat. AP Musk's time as a special government employee wrapped up late last month, and Trump gave him a chummy send-off in the Oval Office. Musk had seemingly also grown incensed after the president withdrew his nomination of Jared Isaacman to helm NASA. 'Elon wants to stick to the principles of not giving in to the Democrats [and] their stupid ideas,' Errol added. 'It's normal, it's just a small thing, [it] will be over tomorrow.' Errol was in Moscow to address the Future Forum 2050, an event to promote Russia's development championed by diehard nationalist Alexander Dugin, who is known as 'Vladimir Putin's philosopher.' Trump has publicly downplayed the breakup with Musk, but warned the billionaire that there will be 'consequences' if he starts dipping into his deep pockets to help Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections. Elon has expressed openness to working to patch things up with the president and Vice President JD Vance had been optimistic they could bring the tech baron back into the fold. 'No, I don't have any plans,' Trump replied when asked by reporters if he had plans to reconcile with Musk, adding that he's 'not really interested' in such efforts. 'I'm not thinking about Elon. You know, I just wish him well.' 4 Elon Musk went berserk on President Trump last week as tensions boiled over. The president suggested that Musk had 'lost his mind' and gone 'crazy.' Privately, Trump bashed Musk as a 'big-time drug addict,' according to the Washington Post. Musk denies being addicted to drugs. Errol, who has a frosty relationship with his son, has long been a backer of Trump. The South African engineer had briefly been a politician, serving on the Pretoria City Council as an Independent and then later a member of the Progressive Federal Party, which opposed apartheid.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bold move to keep Americans safe from ‘terrorists' is basis for US travel ban for some African nations
President Donald Trump's restrictions on travel from 10 African countries are being praised by analysts for improving U.S. security internationally and domestically. The president said on X the travel ban was being introduced after a terror attack against a pro-Israel group advocating for Hamas to release Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado, last weekend, allegedly by an Egyptian man who had overstayed his visa. In a White House fact sheet, Trump said, "We will restore the travel ban, some people call it the Trump travel ban, and keep the radical Islamic terrorists out of our country." Suspect In Boulder Terror Attack Determined To Be Egyptian Man In Us Illegally: Fbi This point was backed by the State Department's principal deputy spokesperson, Tommy Pigott. In a briefing Thursday, Pigott said, "This is a national security imperative". But observers believe there is an external, international reason. Read On The Fox News App "Most, if not all, of the African countries were added to this list either because of extreme instability and thus terrorist havens or because relations between them and the U.S. is either extremely poor or non-existent," Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of FDD's Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital. "For instance, the U.S. has been historically hard on Eritrea for its human rights abuses and also alleged support for terrorism. While in Chad, its military regime kicked the U.S. military out of its territory last year, further hurting the U.S. military posture in Africa." Trump Bans Travel To Us From Several Countries To Block 'Dangerous Foreign Actors' Some of the restricted African countries listed below pose significant potential security concerns for the U.S. The world's two principal Islamist terror groups, ISIS and al Qaeda, represented here by Al-Shabaab, both operate openly in Somalia. The White House described it this week as "a terrorist safe haven." A briefing note accompanying the travel ban declared, "A persistent terrorist threat emanates from Somalia's territory. Somalia also remains a destination for individuals attempting to join terrorist groups that threaten the national security of the United States." The U.S. Africa Command mounted five air attacks against operators from both groups in just the 12 days up to June 2. Fighting and subsequent piles of bodies in the streets have been reported in the past month in Tripoli, the Libyan capital. The U.N.'s Support Mission in Libya recently posted on X that the situation could "spiral out of control." "The historical terrorist presence within Libya's territory amplifies the risks posed by the entry into the United States of its nationals," the White House note states, adding U.S. border officials can't properly vet Libyans because "there is no competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents in Libya." The U.S. has already imposed sanctions against the leaders of both parties involved in a two-year civil war that has reportedly killed 150,000 and displaced 12 million. The U.S. claims up to 28% of Sudanese overstay their visas. The criminal records of Eritreans are not available for inspection by U.S. officials. With an overstay rate of up to 55%, the White House also reported that "Eritrea has historically refused to accept back its removable nationals." Critics Have Meltdown And Accuse Trump Of Imposing Renewed 'Muslim Ban' Through 'Disgusting' Travel Order The West African country is causing concern in Washington as it deepens relations with Russia. Chad President Idriss Deby went to Moscow last year for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Kremlin Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was then warmly welcomed in Chad's capital, N'Djamena, for a reciprocal visit. Russia's shadowy Wagner private mercenary group's importance in the country is being questioned after three of its members were arrested in September and sent back to Moscow. Banning nationals this week, the U.S. said Chad has had a visa overstay rate of up to 55%. In Chad, President Deby responded by saying, "I have instructed the government to act in accordance with the principles of reciprocity and suspend the issuance of visas to U.S. citizens." People from this West African country have reportedly overstayed their F, M and J visas by up to 70%. Depending on the visa category, up to 35% of citizens in the U.S. are reported to have overstayed their visas. Overstaying is the main issue for the other African countries whose nationals are partially restricted and now have only limited entry into the U.S. Has an overstay rate of up to 35%, and, the White House says, "has historically failed to accept back its removable nationals." Togo suffers from poor governance, nepotism and widespread corruption, which reportedly goes all the way to the president's office. Over 50% of the population lives below what's regarded as the international poverty line. Togo's nationals have an overstay rate of up to 35% in the U.S. Burundi vies with South Sudan for the dubious title of poorest country in the world. Yet soaring inflation has caused a devastating rise in food prices. A former rebel group has led the country for two decades in a climate of political unrest and alleged repression. Burundi's citizens have an overstay rate of up to 17% in the article source: Bold move to keep Americans safe from 'terrorists' is basis for US travel ban for some African nations
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wall Street Journal slams Vance's foreign student stance as ‘false choice'
The Wall Street Journal's editorial board on Friday slammed recent comments by Vice President Vance on foreign students as a 'false choice' amid tensions between the Trump administration and higher education institutions. In an interview on Newsmax's 'Greg Kelly Reports' late last month, Vance said that an 'idea that American citizens don't have the talent to do great things, that you have to import a foreign class of servants and professors to do these things, I just reject that.' The Journal noted Vance's comments in a Friday opinion piece, alongside other comments in which he said 'we invest in our own people' and that he believes 'that's actually an opportunity for American citizens to really flourish' when it comes to international student visa restrictions. 'This is a classic false choice. Of course the U.S. has talent and should invest in it. But welcoming foreign students doesn't hinder Americans,' the editorial board said in their piece. 'The cold, hard numbers show that too few Americans are pursuing STEM fields to meet the future needs of business and government. Of all U.S. bachelor's degrees, biology and engineering fields make up about 13%,' they added. Earlier this week, limits were placed on foreign student visas at Harvard University by President Trump. 'Admission into the United States to attend, conduct research, or teach at our Nation's institutions of higher education is a privilege granted by our Government, not a guarantee,' Trump said in a Wednesday proclamation restricting the visas. In recent months, the Trump administration has targeted multiple higher education institutions over alleged inaction on campus antisemitism and policies around transgender athletes. 'Does the Trump Administration want to stop illegal immigration, or nearly all legal immigration, including foreign students? The evidence is growing that it wants the latter, which will sharply reduce the human capital the U.S. needs to prosper,' the Journal editorial board wrote. The Hill has reached out to Vance's office for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
