{"id":210219,"date":"2025-09-08T12:51:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T12:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/210219\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T12:51:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T12:51:12","slug":"dallas-is-increasing-its-budget-for-environmental-initiatives-heres-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/210219\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas is increasing its budget for environmental initiatives. Here\u2019s how"},"content":{"rendered":"

While several city departments in Dallas had their budgets slashed to close a projected $36 million budget gap, the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability received an increase. <\/a><\/p>\n

The city of Dallas is proposing a $5.6 million budget, a slight increase from the current cycle\u2019s $5.3 million. <\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Dallas'<\/p>\n

Paul White II, the interim director of the department, said the plan sets aside funding for programs aimed at expanding<\/a> solar energy, electric vehicles and climate planning. <\/p>\n

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Get the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe definitely want to engage with our residents, and we\u2019re using our resources like the Environmental Commission to help disseminate information and gather community input,\u201d White said. \u201cThis budget is going to help us carry on with our goals.\u201d <\/p>\n

One of the most significant changes to the budget is the transfer of 50 Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability employees to other departments.<\/p>\n

One employee oversees the city\u2019s Zero Waste program, 12 work on the Water Conservation Program, and 37 work on the Stormwater Management Program. Before 2020, the positions were in the Sanitation Department and Dallas Water Utilities. Now, they are being moved back.<\/p>\n

White stated that the changes were aimed at optimizing staff capacity and allocating resources to enhance community service.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

In 2020, the Dallas City Council unanimously approved the Dallas Comprehensive Environmental and Climate Action Plan, a 30-year plan that guides the city\u2019s strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning to renewable energy, and preparing for climate impacts. <\/p>\n

Kathryn Guerra, chair of the Dallas Environmental Commission, said she was glad to see the budget for the office of the environment was not cut, and the city manager is proposing to allocate money to other departments to advance the city\u2019s environmental goals. <\/p>\n

Electric fleet<\/p>\n

The budget supports implementing the city\u2019s long-term climate plan. One of its main pillars is access to sustainable transportation, including a shifting all new light-duty fleets to fully electric by 2040.<\/a><\/p>\n

The city is allocating another $6.1 million for 97 on-grid chargers, four solar off-grid chargers, and 75 to 100 electric vehicles. <\/p>\n

The proposal introduces an annual goal for the city to transition a portion of the municipally owned vehicle fleet to electric: 10% by the end of the 2026 fiscal year and 15% electric by the end of the next.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An electric vehicle charging station is seen along South Good Latimer Expressway, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Dallas.<\/p>\n

El\u00edas Valverde II \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

Ian Seamans, a City Hall advocate with Environment Texas,<\/a> said it\u2019s great to see the city doubling down on its commitment to electric vehicles. <\/p>\n

But increasing the city\u2019s electric fleet percentage by only 5% a year will only bring it to 75% by 2040.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would love to see the commitment from the city to invest in electric heavy-duty vehicles and apply for available federal grants,\u201d Seamans said. \u201cIt would be kind of leaving money on the table if we don\u2019t take advantage of that, especially since we are probably not expecting to see great increases in electric vehicle grants.\u201d <\/p>\n

CECAP has an interim goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 43% by 2030 and aims to eliminate them by 2050.<\/p>\n

Based on Dallas\u2019 2015 greenhouse gas inventory, 64% of emissions come from the buildings and energy sectors and 35% from the transportation sector. <\/b>The remaining 1% of emissions came from other sectors, including industrial processes and solid waste.<\/p>\n

Later this fall, White said the city will release its updated greenhouse gas inventory. <\/p>\n

Solar panels<\/p>\n

Dallas\u2019 facilities department is getting a $500,000 boost for maintenance and repairs on the city\u2019s rooftop solar panels. <\/a><\/p>\n

White said that 11 city-owned buildings currently have solar panels installed, and they are working on more. <\/p>\n

Using federal funds, the city plans to add panels to Bachman Recreation Center and the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center by the end of the next fiscal year. <\/p>\n

\u201cSolar incentive grants have been hit pretty hard. And of course, to be resilient, we want to be able to invest in that renewable energy,\u201d White said. \u201cSo that\u2019s something that just keep an eye on.<\/p>\n

Ongoing challenges <\/p>\n

Dallas faces persistent environmental challenges, including extreme summer heat, flood risks and poor air quality. Some advocates have raised concerns that the scale of local funding for environmental programs remains limited given the urgency of the issues.<\/p>\n

This year, the city published its latest urban heat island effect study, which mapped more than 350 square miles to determine which locations are the hottest. Most are in downtown, Oak Cliff, northwest and West Dallas.<\/p>\n

\"Office<\/p>\n

Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability staff present an urban heat island project update during an Environmental Commission meeting at Dallas City Hall, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Dallas.<\/p>\n

El\u00edas Valverde II \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

These areas can get about 12 degrees hotter than other parts<\/a> of the city during the summer. <\/p>\n

White said his office will collaborate with the community and businesses to develop solutions to alleviate the heat island effect. <\/p>\n

Dallas County is in nonattainment for ground-level ozone, which means it exceeds federal air quality standards, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.<\/p>\n

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, ground-level ozone contributes to increased asthma attacks and other respiratory health problems, especially in children, older adults and people with breathing problems.<\/p>\n

\"Cindy<\/p>\n

Cindy Hua, Downwinders at Risk board chair (center left), speaks during a news conference to announce Toxic Twins: Fund the Fund Campaign outside Dallas City Hall, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Dallas. The campaign pushes for the removal of TAMKO and GAF through the city\u2019s nonconforming use fund.<\/p>\n

El\u00edas Valverde II \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

Residents of District 6 in West Dallas and District 7 in southern Dallas have pushed for the closure of two shingle factories for years. They asked the city to allocate funds in the budget to pay shutting down the businesses, as required by state law, but the proposed budget didn\u2019t include the funding. <\/p>\n

Still, last month, council members from these two districts announced that they would initiate the process of shutting down the facilities. They haven\u2019t said where they\u2019d get the money.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Members<\/p>\n

Residents and environmental advocates said they plan to closely monitor ongoing budget conversations to ensure that no cuts are proposed to these initiatives. Once approved, they plan to ensure that the city implements its policies to achieve its climate and environmental goals. <\/p>\n

The City Council is scheduled to debate and vote on the proposed budget throughout the month. It takes effect Oct. 1. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While several city departments in Dallas had their budgets slashed to close a projected $36 million budget gap,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":162437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,14840,14841,746,21678,50,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-210219","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-city-council","11":"tag-dallas-city-hall","12":"tag-environment","13":"tag-equity","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-texas","16":"tag-tx","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115168771827049671","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}