“At the White House Conservation in Action Summit today, President Biden will announce major new actions to conserve and restore lands and waters across the nation, including by establishing Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada and Castner Range National Monument in Texas. The President will also direct the Secretary of Commerce to consider exercising her authority to protect all U.S. waters around the Pacific Remote Islands. These new commitments build on President Biden’s historic climate and environmental record, including delivering on the most ambitious land and water conservation agenda in American history.” Full announcement here.

FACT SHEET: President Biden Designates Castner Range National Monument

“As part of the Biden-Harris Administration‘s commitment to protect, conserve, and restore our country’s iconic lands and historic sites for the benefit of future generations, today President Biden will sign a proclamation establishing the Castner Range National Monument, in El Paso, Texas. This action will protect the cultural, scientific and historic objects found within the monument’s boundaries, honor our veterans, servicemembers, and Tribal Nations, and expand access to outdoor recreation on our public lands.” Full announcement here.

FACT SHEET: President Biden Designates Avi Kwa Ame National Monument

“As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to protect historically and scientifically important sites, honor culturally significant areas, and conserve and restore our country’s treasured outdoor spaces, today President Biden will sign a proclamation establishing the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument. This designation will honor Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples by protecting this sacred Nevada landscape and its historically and scientifically important features, while conserving our public lands and growing America’s outdoor recreation economy.” Full announcement here.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: President Biden Champions Conservation, Takes Action to Protect Lands and Waters

“Leaders across the country are celebrating President Biden’s boldest steps to date to protect the power and promise of America’s extraordinary natural wonders. With these new actions, President Biden is further delivering on the most ambitious land and water conservation agenda in American history and working to meet the first-ever national conservation goal to conserve at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. Leaders from across the country praised the announcements. Here’s what they’re saying.”

PRESS RELEASE: Biden-Harris Administration Announces $250 Million for Federal Agencies to Advance Net-Zero Projects and Save Taxpayers Money

“The Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), today announced $250 million in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help Federal agencies implement net-zero building projects and set an example in sustainability as the nation works to transition to clean energy and combat climate change. More energy efficient buildings will also save taxpayers money. The funding program—Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT)—is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda that is addressing the climate crisis in a way that creates good-paying jobs, grows industries, and makes the country more economically competitive.” Full announcement here.

FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Takes New Action to Protect Communities from PFAS Pollution

“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring every community has access to clean drinking water, free of chemicals and pollutants that harm the health and wellbeing of children, families, and communities. Today the Administration announced the first-ever national drinking water standard for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a major step to advance that commitment. This action builds on two years of progress on President Biden’s action plan to combat PFAS pollution, safeguarding public health and advancing environmental justice.” Full announcement here.

PRESS RELEASE: Interior and Defense Departments Launch Readiness and Recreation Initiative to Preserve Green Spaces, Enhance Recreation Opportunities around Military Installations

“The Departments of the Interior and Defense today announced a new partnership and $80 million in investments to preserve land around military installations and improve access to nature and outdoor recreation for millions of Americans. The announcement comes as the Biden-Harris administration convenes Tribal leaders, elected officials and conservation advocates for the White House Conservation in Action Summit, which will highlight the Biden-Harris administration’s historic investments to advance conservation, restoration, and stewardship efforts and access to nature in communities nationwide.” Full announcement here.

PRESS RELEASE: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Over $200 Million to Modernize and Expand Hydropower

“The Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced more than $200 million for the modernization and expansion of hydroelectric power throughout America and the advancement of new marine energy technologies. With today’s investment, supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed under President Biden, DOE is now accepting applications for two hydroelectric incentives—within the Hydroelectric Incentives Program, which is focused on maintaining and enhancing hydroelectric facilities to ensure generators continue to provide clean power, while improving dam safety and reducing environmental impacts. Hydropower, in all forms, will increase the availability of reliable energy, helping achieve President Biden’s goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035.” Full announcement here.

PRESS RELEASE: Biden-Harris Administration Invests Nearly $200M from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to Reduce Wildfire Risk to Communities across State, Private and Tribal Lands

“Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is investing $197 million in 100 project proposals benefiting 22 states and seven tribes, as part of the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program. Funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program helps communities, tribes, non-profit organizations, state forestry agencies and Alaska Native corporations plan for and mitigate wildfire risks as the nation faces an ongoing wildfire crisis.” Full announcement here.

PRESS RELEASE: Biden-Harris Administration Proposes First-Ever National Standard to Protect Communities from PFAS in Drinking Water

“Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced it is proposing the first-ever national drinking water standard for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the latest action under President Biden’s plan to combat PFAS pollution and Administrator Regan’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap. Through this action, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking a major step to protect public health from PFAS pollution, leveraging the latest science and complementing state efforts to limit PFAS by proposing to establish legally enforceable levels for six PFAS known to occur in drinking water.” Full announcement here.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Proposes First-Ever National Standards to Combat PFAS in Drinking Water

“Yesterday the Biden-Harris Administration announced new action to protect communities from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pollution. The first-ever national standard to address PFAS contamination in drinking water delivers on President Biden’s commitment to protecting public health and advancing environmental justice. And it builds on two years of action to ensure every community has access to clean drinking water, free of chemicals and pollutants that harm the health and wellbeing of children, families, and communities. Here’s what they’re saying”

PRESS RELEASE: EPA Announces Final “Good Neighbor” Plan to Cut Harmful Smog, Protecting Health of Millions from Power Plant, Industrial Air Pollution

“Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the final Good Neighbor Plan, a rule that will significantly cut smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from power plants and other industrial facilities in 23 states. The final rule will improve air quality for millions of people living in downwind communities, saving thousands of lives, keeping people out of the hospital, preventing asthma attacks, and reducing sick days.” Full announcement here.

PRESS RELEASE: Biden-Harris Administration Announces $750 Million to Advance Clean Hydrogen Technologies

“The Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), today announced the availability of $750 million for research, development, and demonstration efforts to dramatically reduce the cost of clean hydrogen. This funding—the first phase of the $1.5 billion in President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law dedicated to advancing electrolysis technologies and improving manufacturing and recycling capabilities—is a crucial component of the Administration’s comprehensive approach to accelerating the widespread use of clean hydrogen and will play a vital role in achieving commercial-scale hydrogen deployment this decade. Produced with net-zero carbon emissions, clean hydrogen is a key pillar in the emerging clean energy economy and will be essential for reaching the President’s goal of a 100% clean electrical grid by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.” Full announcement here.

PRESS RELEASE: Biden-Harris Administration Opens Applications for First Round of $2.5 Billion Program to Build EV Charging in Communities & Neighborhoods Nationwide

“The Biden-Harris Administration today opened applications for a new multi-billion-dollar program to fund electric vehicle (EV) charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure in communities across the country and along designated highways, interstates, and major roadways. This is a key step towards the President’s goals of building a national network of 500,000 public EV charging stations and reducing national greenhouse gas emissions by 50–52% by 2030.” Full announcement here.

PRESS RELEASE: DOE Invests $47 Million to Reduce Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas Sector

“The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced nearly $47 million in funding for 22 research projects to advance the development of new and innovative measurement, monitoring, and mitigation technologies to help detect, quantify, and reduce methane emissions across oil and natural gas producing regions of the United States. Methane emissions are the second largest contributor to climate change—only carbon dioxide ranks ahead of methane as a greenhouse gas source. The selected projects will help to ensure an efficient, resilient, and leak-tight U.S. natural gas infrastructure and support President Biden’s U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan and the Biden-Harris Administration climate goal of a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.” Full announcement here.

PRESS RELEASE: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Sweeping Protections for Up To 16 Million Acres of Land and Water in Alaska

“Today, the Biden-Harris administration is taking sweeping action to complete protections of the entire U.S. Arctic Ocean from any future oil and gas leasing. The Interior Department also announced that it is preparing new rules to provide maximum protection to millions of acres of lands in the western Arctic, including the area around Teshekpuk Lake, a vital home to caribou and other wildlife that are central to Alaska Native communities’ traditional way of life. The actions announced today build on the President’s record of having conserved more lands and waters in his first two years than any president since John F. Kennedy.” Full announcement here.

FACT SHEET: President Biden’s Budget Lowers Energy Costs, Combats the Climate Crisis, and Advances Environmental Justice

“The Budget builds on this historic progress by advancing clean energy and investing in climate science, strengthening resilience, advancing environmental justice, and doubling down on America’s global climate leadership. The President’s Budget invests a total of $52.2 billion in discretionary budget authority to tackle the climate crisis, $10.9 billion more than FY 2023 or an increase of nearly 26 percent. The combination of these and other long-term investments.” Full fact sheet here.

PRESS RELEASE: Interior Department Announces $135 Million to Help Create Jobs and Revitalize Land in Coal Communities

“As part of the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to clean up legacy pollution while creating good-paying jobs and new economic opportunities for coalfield communities, the Department of the Interior today announced that the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement is awarding $135 million in fiscal year 2023 funding for Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) grants. The six Appalachian states with the highest number of unfunded high priority abandoned mine land (AML) problems and three Tribes with approved AML programs are eligible for the grants. Established in 2016, the AMLER program funds projects that return legacy coal mining sites to productive uses through economic and community development.” Full announcement here.

PRESS RELEASE: Biden-Harris Administration Announces $6 Billion To Drastically Reduce Industrial Emissions and Create Healthier Communities

” The Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), today announced approximately $6 billion in funding to accelerate decarbonization projects in energy-intensive industries and provide American manufacturers a competitive advantage in the emerging global clean energy economy. Funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, the Industrial Demonstrations Program will focus on the highest emitting industries where decarbonization technologies will have the greatest impact, such as iron and steel, aluminum, cement and concrete, and other energy-intensive industrial processes. Widespread demonstration and deployment of decarbonization projects within these industries is key to achieving the President’s goal of a net-zero economy by 2050 and will help strengthen and secure America’s global leadership in manufacturing for decades to come.” Full announcement here.

PRESS RELEASE: Biden-Harris Administration Announces First-Ever Awards from Program to Reconnect Communities

“U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a historic $185 million in grant awards for 45 projects through the new Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, a first-of-its-kind initiative to reconnect communities that are cut off from opportunity and burdened by past transportation infrastructure decisions. Established by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Reconnecting Communities Program provides technical assistance and funding for communities’ planning and construction projects that aim to connect neighborhoods back together by removing, retrofitting, or mitigating transportation barriers such as highways and railroad tracks. The Department is funding transformative community-led solutions, including capping interstates with parks and providing access to nature to nature-deprived communities, filling in sunken highways to reclaim the land for housing, converting inhospitable transportation facilities to tree-lined Complete Streets, and creating new crossings through public transportation, bridges, tunnels and trails.” Full announcement here.

PRESS RELEASE: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Over $250 Million to Fund Innovative Projects That Tackle Climate Pollution

“The Biden-Harris Administration is making $250 million available to develop innovative strategies to cut climate pollution and build clean energy economies. These planning grants, through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are the first tranche of funding going to states, local governments, Tribes, and territories from the $5 billion Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program created by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. The program provides flexible planning resources for states, Tribes, territories, and municipalities to develop and implement scalable solutions that protect people from pollution and advance environmental justice.” Full announcement here.

PRESS RELEASE: Biden-Harris Administration Invests $315 Million to Advance Reliable Clean Energy in Rural and Remote Communities

“The Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), today announced $300 million for projects that increase energy affordability and promote climate resilience and $15 million for a prize competition to help rural communities build the capacity needed for clean energy development and deployment. These two new funding opportunities are a critical component of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-funded Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) program, which aims to improve the resilience, reliability, and affordability of energy systems in communities across the country with 10,000 or fewer people. Today’s announcements will help deliver local community-driven energy projects in rural and remote communities and reflect the President’s unwavering commitment to ensuring no community is left behind in the nation’s historic transition to a clean energy future.” Full announcement here.

Department of Energy, Office of Technology Transitions

• Summary: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) publishes the following questions regarding potential engagement with the Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation (FESI), directed to be established under the CHIPS and Science Act. The purpose of this RFI is to seek input on how DOE stakeholders may engage with the FESI directly, and how DOE may engage with the FESI and the communities it will serve. Interested parties are requested to answer some or all of the questions at their discretion.
• Link: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/02/15/2023-03199/request-for-information-foundation-for-energy-security-and-innovation-fesi
• Deadline: March 27, 2023

Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP): Framing the National Nature Assessment

• Summary: Nature is important in its own right and provides value to the lives of all Americans. To increase our knowledge of nature in the United States and its links to global change, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), on behalf of the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), requests input from the public to help inform the framing, development, and eventual use of the first National Nature Assessment (NNA). USGCRP committed to conducting a National Nature Assessment on April 8, 2022, under the authority of the Global Change Research Act of 1990. President Biden reinforced and elevated the importance of this assessment to a matter of national policy by calling for it in Executive Order 14072. (https://www.federalregister.gov/ documents/ 2022/ 04/ 27/ 2022-09138/ strengthening-the-nations-forests-communities-and-local-economies) on Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities and Local Economies (April 22, 2022). This request for information (RFI) will inform USGCRP as it develops this first-of-its-kind assessment.
• Link: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/10/31/2022-23593/framing-the-national-nature-assessment
• Deadline: March 31, 2023

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

• Summary: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) on behalf of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Greenhouse Gas Monitoring & Measurement Interagency Working Group (GHG IWG), established by the Office of Science & Technology Policy, White House Climate Policy Office, and Office of Management and Budget. The GHG IWG seeks to receive input from the public on the draft Federal Strategy to Advance an Integrated U.S. Greenhouse Gas Monitoring & Information System (GHGMIS Strategy) that is posted on the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System’s (NSPIRES). The GHG IWG will use information received to 1) inform the drafting of the final version of the GHGMIS Strategy and 2) in discussions on potential partnerships related to demonstration projects.
• Link: https://go.nasa.gov/USGGMIDraftFederalStrategy
• Deadline: April 4, 2023

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget

• Summary: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requests comments on the initial proposals from the Federal Interagency Technical Working Group on Race and Ethnicity Standards (Working Group) for revising OMB’s 1997 Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (SPD 15).[1] Responses to this Notice will be shared with the Working Group and will help the Working Group develop their final recommendations to OMB and will also help OMB determine how to revise SPD 15 to improve the quality and usefulness of Federal race and ethnicity data.
• Link: https://www.regulations.gov/document/OMB-2023-0001-0001
• Deadline: April 12, 2023

REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION AND GRANT FUNDING

Department of Energy, Office of Technology Transitions

• Summary: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) publishes the following questions regarding potential engagement with the Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation (FESI), directed to be established under the CHIPS and Science Act. The purpose of this RFI is to seek input on how DOE stakeholders may engage with the FESI directly, and how DOE may engage with the FESI and the communities it will serve. Interested parties are requested to answer some or all of the questions at their discretion.
• Link: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/02/15/2023-03199/request-for-information-foundation-for-energy-security-and-innovation-fesi
• Deadline: March 27, 2023

Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP): Framing the National Nature Assessment

• Summary: Nature is important in its own right and provides value to the lives of all Americans. To increase our knowledge of nature in the United States and its links to global change, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), on behalf of the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), requests input from the public to help inform the framing, development, and eventual use of the first National Nature Assessment (NNA). USGCRP committed to conducting a National Nature Assessment on April 8, 2022, under the authority of the Global Change Research Act of 1990. President Biden reinforced and elevated the importance of this assessment to a matter of national policy by calling for it in Executive Order 14072. (https://www.federalregister.gov/ documents/ 2022/ 04/ 27/ 2022-09138/ strengthening-the-nations-forests-communities-and-local-economies) on Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities and Local Economies (April 22, 2022). This request for information (RFI) will inform USGCRP as it develops this first-of-its-kind assessment.
• Link: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/10/31/2022-23593/framing-the-national-nature-assessment
• Deadline: March 31, 2023

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

• Summary: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) on behalf of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Greenhouse Gas Monitoring & Measurement Interagency Working Group (GHG IWG), established by the Office of Science & Technology Policy, White House Climate Policy Office, and Office of Management and Budget. The GHG IWG seeks to receive input from the public on the draft Federal Strategy to Advance an Integrated U.S. Greenhouse Gas Monitoring & Information System (GHGMIS Strategy) that is posted on the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System’s (NSPIRES). The GHG IWG will use information received to 1) inform the drafting of the final version of the GHGMIS Strategy and 2) in discussions on potential partnerships related to demonstration projects.
• Link: https://go.nasa.gov/USGGMIDraftFederalStrategy
• Deadline: April 4, 2023

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget

• Summary: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requests comments on the initial proposals from the Federal Interagency Technical Working Group on Race and Ethnicity Standards (Working Group) for revising OMB’s 1997 Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (SPD 15).[1] Responses to this Notice will be shared with the Working Group and will help the Working Group develop their final recommendations to OMB and will also help OMB determine how to revise SPD 15 to improve the quality and usefulness of Federal race and ethnicity data.
• Link: https://www.regulations.gov/document/OMB-2023-0001-0001
• Deadline: April 12, 2023