ALBANY- The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released for public comment proposed new eligibility guidelines to support projects funded through the State’s successful Climate Smart Communities (CSC) grant program under the historic $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022. The guidelines will support the State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act mandate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent by 2050 and help communities prepare for the effects of climate change.
“Thanks to Governor Hochul’s leadership, DEC’s Climate Smart Communities program is helping New York’s municipalities mitigate climate change and strengthen community resiliency,” said Commissioner Seggos. “These investments through the Bond Act will help reach Governor Hochul’s aggressive climate action goals, and support locally led efforts to reduce climate-altering emissions, especially from organic wastes and refrigerants, and strengthen local infrastructure. I commend DEC’s experts for developing these guidelines and encourage all interested stakeholders to review and provide comments so we can move this important funding forward.”
The CSC grant program is a competitive statewide grant program open to local governments to support the implementation of climate change mitigation and adaption projects. Bond Act funding may only be used for certain capital projects. Other activities eligible for CSC grants may be eligible for State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) investments. DEC will use public input on these draft eligibility guidelines to inform development of the Bond Act-funded CSC grant program.
The draft eligibility guidelines available for comment enable the public to provide input on the implementation of Bond Act funding as part of the $400 million directed towards ‘Climate Change Mitigation.’ Once finalized, the criteria will guide funding allocations DEC will use to select Climate Smart Community projects.
The CSC grant program makes awards of between $50,000 and $2 million each to support locally administered projects to adapt to climate change and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions outside the power sector, as described below. Since the program’s inception, DEC has awarded more than $60 million from the EPF to municipalities in support of local climate mitigation and adaptation projects. Bond Act resources will augment ongoing EPF funding, with grant opportunities made available via the same request for applications.
Eligible projects in the mitigation category must reduce greenhouse gas emissions outside the power sector. Eligible greenhouse gas mitigation project types include, but are not limited to the following:
- Construction of on-road or off-road facilities for non-motorized forms of transportation that facilitate commuting or access to daily needs (recreational trails are not eligible);
- Construction of new, or expansion of existing, facilities to process food scraps;
- Establishing and implementing easily replicated renewable energy projects, including solar arrays, heat pumps, and wind turbines in public low-income housing;
- Reducing fluorinated greenhouse gas emissions from refrigeration, chillers, and air-conditioning equipment through replacement or retrofit; and
- Land acquisition (in-fee) required to implement the proposed greenhouse gas mitigation project (excludes acquisition by eminent domain).
Eligible climate change adaptation project types include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Increasing or preserving natural resilience, such as construction of living shorelines and other nature-based landscape features to decrease vulnerability to the effects of climate change;
- Flood-risk reduction, including but not limited to, strategic relocation or retrofit of climate-vulnerable critical municipal facilities or infrastructure to reduce future climate change-induced risks to those facilities;
- Replacing or right-sizing flow barriers;
- Extreme-heat preparation, including but not limited to construction of cooling centers and permanent shade structures;
- Emergency preparedness, including but not limited to, purchase and installation of emergency warning systems; and
- Land acquisition (in-fee) required to implement the proposed climate change adaptation project (excludes acquisition by eminent domain).
Disadvantaged Communities
The Bond Act requires that disadvantaged communities shall receive no less than 35 percent, with the goal of 40 percent, of the benefit of total Bond Act funds ($4.2 billion). Disadvantaged communities are those identified by the Climate Justice Working Group, pursuant to the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. DEC has established a 40 percent goal for the CSC grant program consistent with this Bond Act requirement and will aim to prioritize 40 percent of CSC grant awards to benefit disadvantaged communities.
The full eligibility guidelines are available in the Environmental Notice Bulletin. Public comments on the draft guidelines may be submitted in writing to: Myra Fedyniak, Office of Climate Change, NYS DEC, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12223-1030 P: 518-402-8448, Email: cscgrants@dec.ny.gov (Place “Bond Act” in the subject line).
Public comments will be accepted through Friday, April 12, 2024.
