MDEQ Clean Air Mississippi Project (CAMP)

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) is leading the Clean Air Mississippi Project (CAMP) in partnership with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI) Office of Environmental Protection (MBCI/OEP) and invites you to be involved. CAMP is a statewide planning initiative funded by separate Climate Pollution Reduction Grants awarded to both MDEQ and OEP by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). CAMP aims to support job creation, lower energy costs for families, and provide cleaner air in places where you live, work, play, and go to school.

Through CAMP, the State of Mississippi and Choctaw Tribe will develop plans for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other harmful air pollutants. Mississippi will have access to $4.6 billion in competitive grant funding for implementing emission reduction measures. The goal is to address existing and new projects within community, government, industry, and/or non-governmental sectors aimed at improving air quality and reducing emissions that could contribute to climate change.

CAMP consists of two phases: Planning and Implementation.

Phase 1: Planning

During Phase 1, MDEQ and OEP are preparing statewide action plans that prioritize efforts to reduce GHG emissions and harmful air pollution. These plans are being developed with input from municipalities, participating agencies, non-governmental organizations, private industry, tribal members, and Mississippi residents, using existing climate, energy, and sustainability programs. Key deliverables in this phase include the following:

• Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP)
  • MDEQ’s PCAP, submitted to EPA March 2024
  • OEP’s PCAP, submitted to EPA April 2024

  The PCAP included the development of simplified GHG inventories, prioritized measures to reduce GHG emissions and co-pollutants, and an analysis of potential emission reductions achieved through implementation of these priority measures. Both the MDEQ PCAP and OEP PCAP are available for review.

• Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP)
  • Due to EPA fall 2025

  MDEQ and OEP are now leading the development of their respective CCAPs, which will expand on the work from the PCAPs and provide a pathway to cleaner air and lower energy costs. The CCAP will identify and quantify significant GHG sources/sinks and sectors in the state, establish near-term and long-term GHG emission reduction goals, and provide strategies and measures to achieve these goals.

Phase 2: Implementation

Phase 2 will offer competitive funding opportunities for implementing the GHG reduction measures identified in MDEQ’s and OEP’s PCAPs. Mississippi is competing for a portion of the $4.6 billion grant to implement these prioritized emissions reductions measures, with EPA expected to award funds to selected projects in 2024.

Let us hear from you! Together we are creating a healthy, thriving future for Mississippi.