Two Capital Region communities are receiving environmental recognition.
Schenectady County and the Columbia County town of New Lebanon have been awarded Silver-level Climate Smart Community certifications, the highest level of award from New York state recognizing local efforts toward sustainability and environmental stewardship.
Speaking in Schenectady Thursday, county legislator Richard Ruzzo, a Democrat from District 1, says it’s well-deserved.
“This recognition demonstrates our unwavering commitment to sustainability and positions us as one of the leading municipalities in New York State in the fight against climate change. Climate Smart Communities is a program designed to empower local governments and take to take meaningful action to reduce greenhouse gases and to adapt to the challenges of a changing climate,” Ruzzo said.
Overall, 412 New York state communities are registered in the program.
Ruzzo says the county has been working hard to become more environmentally friendly.
“The Schenectady County Solar Consortium has been a tremendous example of effective collaboration where we have transformed used land into green renewable energy producing sites. We have over 266 megawatts of power being produced, and it's projected to save the taxpayers of this county over $25 million,” Ruzzo said.
State Department of Environmental Conservation Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar also announced funding for municipalities to electrify their vehicle fleets.
“We'll be putting, starting today, $750,000 into our municipal zero emission vehicle rebate program. So this is going to be open now for municipalities to start applying. First come first serve basis,” Mahar said.
Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy says the city, which is at bronze status, is close behind.
“It shows the level of activity that both the city and county are doing on an ongoing basis and the partnership that we have that's producing environmental sustainability, and also more cost-effective government,” McCarthy said.
The Democrat notes the city has technically converted the largest percentage of its vehicle fleet to electric of any in New York.
“It's our golf carts at the municipal golf course, which they don't take into account in terms of the normal review, but it's those type of things, if you can do those things, it all adds up,” McCarthy said.
Steve Powers is a New Lebanon town legislator and chair of its Climate Smart Community Task Force.
“New Lebanon has only a population of 2,300 people. So we're a small town. It's just I think a testament to what you can do when you have a group of dedicated volunteers, as well as asupportive town board and supervisor,” Powers said.
New Lebanon is also a member of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s Clean Energy Communities program, a partner in the Climate Smart Communities effort.
“We got $120,000 in grant money to put in solar panels as well as heat pumps in Town Hall. This year as a result of achieving silver, we're going to get $175,000 in that program,” Powers said.
Powers says work isn’t done in New Lebanon, saying he wants to achieve the next level in recognition in the Clean Energy Communities Program by Halloween, which would unlock another quarter-million-dollar grant.
“We want to put in a battery backup system in the town hall, because as we found in the last storm, we were out of electricity for three days,” Powers said.
New Lebanon also received $2 million in the state budget to close its landfill, which was ordered closed in 2009 and has been on a waiting list to shutter since 2011.
Jeff Scharl is a project manager for communities and local governments with NYSERDA.
“Many municipalities recognized today have embraced clean energy and energy efficiency measures to become Clean Energy Communities, and demonstrate that they are at the forefront of harnessing the latest technologies to build a healthier and more sustainable future for the residents,” Scharl said.
More information about the program can be found here.
