Planning Phase
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources submitted its initial work plan to EPA for the planning grant on April 28, 2023. EPA finalized grant agreements and awarded funding for the planning grants in August 2023. The grant workplan was updated in June 2025, and is available below.
The department issued subgrants to participating Missouri governments to inform stakeholders and the public about the planning process and solicit ideas. The following groups each received subgrants to conduct outreach in their communities.
- Harry S. Truman Coordinating Council
- City of Columbia
- Meramec Region
- Southwest Missouri Council of Governments
- City of Higginsville
The department used information gathered from outreach conducted by the subgrantee's listed above to develop the Missouri Plan for Environmental Improvement Grants and Missouri's Comprehensive Air Quality Plan.
Implementation Phase
The department submitted its Implementation Grant application to EPA before the April 1, 2024, deadline. The department applied for over $428 million to implement emissions reduction measures. During the application process, the department partnered and collaborated with various stakeholders including other department divisions, other state agencies, municipalities, public institutions, regional planning organizations, industry, nonprofit organizations and individuals throughout Missouri. Projects contained in the grant application included solar, energy storage, energy efficiency, waste management, electric conversion, sustainable agriculture, afforestation/ prairie restoration and a residential pre-weatherization program.
EPA reviewed and scored the department’s application and notified the department in July 2024, that the application was not selected for implementation grant funding. While the department was not chosen for the grant award, the department used the project ideas gathered from stakeholders during the application process as emission reduction measures in the Missouri Comprehensive Air Quality Plan.
On Feb. 27, 2024, the department finalized Missouri’s Plan for Environmental Improvement Grants, which serves as Missouri’s priority action plan under this grant. The department released a draft of the plan on Jan. 9, 2024, and invited the public to review and offer written comments on the draft until Feb. 7, 2024. The department also held a public meeting on the draft plan on Jan. 25, 2024. The proposed plan included a broad range of emission reduction measures and a list of project ideas collected during plan development.
In response to comments on the draft plan, the department updated the plan to include a summary of the public participation period, new projects received and other minor updates and improvements. The final plan is available at the link below. This plan is a required element of the federal grant the department received. Recipients were required to develop priority action plans to be eligible to apply and compete for a portion of the $4.3 billion in additional grant funding during the implementation phase.
On Nov. 13, 2025, the department submitted Missouri's Comprehensive Air Quality Plan, which serves as Missouri's comprehensive action plan under this grant. The department released a draft of the plan on Oct. 9, 2025, and invited the public to review and offer written comments on the draft until Nov. 12, 2025. This plan builds on Missouri’s Plan for Environmental Improvement Grants and covers emissions reduction measures across all emissions sources and sinks in all sectors of the state. The plan establishes non-binding, near-term and long-term emission reduction targets, addresses benefits to the community, including a workforce planning analysis, and presents other potential sources of funding for projects that implement the emissions reduction measures.
