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.
States like MN should just stop giving the federal government any money in return.