LINCOLN, Neb. — On March 1, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the first phase of its new $5 billion Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) Program, which is among the first of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) grant programs to be administered by EPA. The CPRG Program will award funds to state and local governments to develop and implement climate action plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) has remaining funds available for Nebraska schools and licensed child care facilities to sample for lead in their drinking water. All public, parochial, and private schools from pre-K through high school, and public and in-home child care facilities qualify.

The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) is reminding private well owners that the application deadline of March 31 is quickly approaching for the Private Well Reverse Osmosis Rebate Program.

LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) has sent invitations to schools across the state, seeking student entries for the 2024 “Nebraska: Don’t Waste It!” environmental calendar. The contest is open to all Nebraska students from grades K through 12, and the submission deadline is May 31, 2023.

The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) has extended the Private Well Reverse Osmosis Rebate Program.

The initial application period opened January 1, 2023 and closed March 31, 2023. Upon reaching the initial close date of March 31, 2023, NDEE received 92 applications requesting $211,071 of the $1.2 million allocated to the program, so funding remains available.

LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) and its partners have begun weekly sampling of public beaches across Nebraska for 2023.

This sampling will test for microcystin — a toxin produced by harmful algal blooms (HABs), also known as toxic blue-green algae — and E. coli bacteria at 55 public beaches at 50 recreational lakes across the state. The testing takes place annually from May through September.

Grant applications for the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) 2024 Waste Reduction and Recycling Incentive, Litter Reduction and Recycling, and Scrap Tire programs can be submitted between June 28 and August 9, 2023 (4:00 p.m. CST). The grant term will be January 1 through December 31, 2024. Grant decisions will be announced in December 2023. An estimated $3 million will be available for Litter grants and $4.5 million for Waste grants.

LINCOLN, NE – Today, the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) released a mid-year report on nitrate and water quality which includes nitrate data on private drinking water along with an update regarding the agency's continued effort to protect Nebraskans and the state's drinking water supply. NDEE Director Jim Macy said the new report shows that Nebraska’s drinking water quality remains high, and that Nebraska has the necessary tools to continue improving drinking water quality.

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality’s 2018 Clean Diesel Rebate Program has re-opened the application submission period for rebates to replace eligible diesel irrigation engines with all-electric equipment. The new application deadline is 5:00 PM Friday, Feb. 22, 2019.

Over $3.1 million in funds that the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality has recently received from the Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Environmental Mitigation Trust are now beginning to be distributed to local recipients for diesel vehicle replacement programs.

NDEQ received payments from the VW Trust Funds to support two projects: