Dive Brief:

• South Dakota was one of several states which in 2009 took stimulus money from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in exchange for a promise to upgrade energy efficiency codes in commercial and residential buildings, but according to the Argus Leader the state never held up its end of the bargain.
• With a 2017 deadline looming to shown compliance, state advocates say there is little chance the federal government could demand the money back, but South Dakota's failure could impact its shot at funding opportunities down the line.
• Efficiency in buildings and equipment has been a major push of the Obama Administration; earlier this year the White House announced an initiative to improve building efficiency 20% by 2020.

Dive Insight:

The Obama Administration has been quietly pushing for improved buildings, equipment and appliance standards, over the years moving forward a slate of fairly bipartisan decisions that are cutting the country's consumption and meeting its growing demand with efficiency. But Argus Leader has the story of an attempt gone wrong in South Dakota, where the state took stimulus dollars but never held up its part of the bargain.

Maureen Guttman, president of the Building Codes Assistance Project, told the Argus Leader that while the federal government likely cannot take the money back because of the way the fund disbursement was specified, it could put other funding opportunities at risk down the line.

“I do think they could use it as criteria for future eligibility," she told the paper.

State officials claim the money was used appropriately. “There’s no question this money was used as it was intended,” Tony Venhuizen, the chief of staff to Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R), told the paper. The intended purpose of the $23.7 million stimulus was to fund projects ready to go immediately, he said. 

The state has no mandatory energy codes.

Former Gov. Mike Rounds (R), who took the funds for South Dakota, wrote in a letter to the Department of Energy that he intended to ask lawmakers and regulators to “consider actions to improve building energy codes.” As the Leader points out, that is "far from an ironclad commitment."

In February, the Obama Administration announced two dozen cities, states and businesses committed to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings 20% by 2020, and seven cities and states from across the country are committing to install more efficient outdoor lighting.

On the appliance side, Obama in 2013 targeted appliance standards to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 3 billion metric tons by 2030, and standards passed so far in his terms will reduce emissions by 2.2 billion.