EPA Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck to travel to Syracuse to announce award of Climate Showcase Communities grant to Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board

SYRACUSE, NY – The Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board (CNY RPDB) is pleased to announce that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Judith Enck will announce an award of $497,793 through its Climate Showcase Communities program to the CNY RPDB in Room 203 at the Syracuse Center of Excellence building at 727 East Washington Street at 12 noon on Monday, June 14.

The CNY RPDB project is the only project in New York and one of only 25 organizations to receive funding nationwide as part of a $10 million competitive grant program to assist local and tribal governments in establishing and implementing climate change initiatives. The overall goal of the US EPA Climate Showcase Communities Program is to create replicable models of community action that generate cost-effective greenhouse gas reductions. Successful models will also improve the environmental, economic, public health, or social conditions in local communities.

The CNY RPDB award will be used to implement the Central New York Climate Change Innovation Program over the next three years. Each year, the CNY RPDB will provide technical and financial assistance to three local governments within the CNY RPDB’s member counties including Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, and Oswego to:
• improve energy performance in local government operations; and
• remove barriers for greenhouse gas management and the reduction of vehicle miles traveled through the development of effective local government programs and policies in the areas of clean energy, green buildings, land use, transportation, and community master planning.

Local governments will be eligible to receive up to $30,000 for projects to retrofit their municipal facilities or upgrade their municipal vehicle fleets and make them more energy efficient. To participate in the program, local governments will be required to quantify and report greenhouse gas emissions inventories and to develop an overall climate action plan. Local governments must also commit to become a pledge driver for the US EPA’s “Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR” pledge campaign, which encourages community residents to take small, individual steps to reduce their energy consumption and fight against climate change.

The CNY RPDB will select local governments through a competitive process. Projects must provide ongoing annual reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases and additional environmental, health, or social outcomes such as improvements in energy efficiency, reductions in total vehicle miles traveled, or the creation of more walkable neighborhoods.

The CNY RPDB will reserve one of the three awards in each program year for a local government representing a population of less than 10,000 citizens. Additionally, the CNY RPDB will assign priority to localities designated by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation as “potential environmental justice areas,” minority and low-income communities that face disproportionate adverse environmental impacts.

“We are very proud that our community is one of only 25 to receive awards nationwide and that we will be joining others such as Honolulu, Sacramento, Denver and Chicago in the first year of this innovative program,” said David Bottar, Executive Director of the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board. “As a result of this project, Central New York will have nine local government projects that will be able to demonstrate to the entire nation how to transform public facilities into models of energy efficiency while saving taxpayer dollars, creating jobs, and reducing carbon emissions by approximately 2,400 metric tons over the next three years. This is equivalent to taking 460 cars off the road or eliminating the carbon emissions from the energy use of 200 homes each year.”

“I am so pleased to be part of this announcement,” said Congressman Dan Maffei. “The CNY Regional Planning and Development Board is part of a very small and exclusive group of organizations to be recognized by the EPA for this award. Local communities throughout the region will be the beneficiaries of these grants over the next few years, retrofitting their buildings and reducing energy. We are truly a leader for green energy research and development, which is not only great for the environment, but is going to be great for our local economy.”

About the EPA Climate Smart Communities Program
In 2009, EPA launched a competitive grant program to assist local and tribal governments in establishing and implementing climate change initiatives. The overall goal of the Climate Showcase Communities grant program is to create replicable models of sustainable community action that generate cost-effective and persistent greenhouse gas reductions while improving the environmental, economic, public health, or social conditions in a community.

About the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board
The CNY RPDB is a public agency that was established in 1966 by Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, and Oswego Counties under the provisions of Article 12B of the New York State General Municipal Law.

The CNY RPDB is governed by a board of directors that is appointed by its five member counties. Financial support for the agency is provided by member county contributions, state and federal grants, and contract service revenue. The CNY RPDB provides a comprehensive range of services associated with the growth and development of communities in Central New York through Comprehensive Planning, Economic Development, Energy Management, Environmental Management, Information and Research Services, Intergovernmental Cooperation, and Transportation Planning.

Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board
126 N. Salina Street
100 Clinton Square, Suite 200
Syracuse, NY 13202
www.cnyrpdb.org
contact:
Samuel Gordon, Senior Planner
315-422-8276 ext.204
sgordon@cnyrpdb.org

This release was published on openPR.