Grant funding available for New York Climate Smart Communities projects – Central New York Business Journal

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Climate Smart Communities Grant Program has $22 million available to help municipalities take action to address climate change, Acting Commissioner Amanda Lefton recently announced.

Eligible projects include reducing flood risk by relocating or retrofitting critical infrastructure, reducing emissions from food waste, engineering feasibility studies, and other actions that target decreasing pollution and improving health and community resilience.

Municipalities that receive a grant are required to provide a local 50 percent match of the total project cost for most projects. The DEC can provide up to 80 percent of the cost for municipal projects that meet criteria for financial hardship and for projects located in disadvantaged communities.

Grants ranging from $50,000 to $2 million are available for projects that make improvements including reducing vehicle miles traveled, reducing food waste in landfills, reducing hydrofluorocarbon emissions from refrigeration and cooling equipment, increasing natural resilience through restoration/preservation of natural features, preparing for extreme heat and weather events, and feasibility studies for flood-risk reduction.

Grants between $10,000 and $200,000 are available for planning, inventory, and assessment projects that align with certain Climate Smart Communities certification actions in the areas of greenhouse gas mitigation, transportation, climate adaptation, and land use.

Funding for the program comes from the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act and the state’s Environmental Protection Fund.

For more information and applications, visit https://dec.ny.gov/environmental-protection/climate-change/resources-for-local-governments/grants-for-climate-action#CSC. Applications are due by July 31.