Nassau County villages could benefit from going green, according to representatives of the state’s Climate Smart Communities program who addressed officials at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Nassau County Village Officials Association.
David Berg of Cameron Engineering and Neal Lewis of The Sustainability Institute said villages could position themselves for grants, save money and help the environment by developing plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“It’s about becoming more resilient in the face of climate change,” Berg said. “Most of the measures villages would take in this program would save money.”
The program, which has participating municipalities produce plans to conserve power, use renewable energy and encourage residents to lower their carbon footprints, has both environmental and economic benefits, according to Lewis.
“We want to combine those goals,” said Lewis.
The program, organized by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, gives villages a blueprint for reducing their emissions but is not mandatory, according to Lewis.
“Climate Smart gives a series of categories of things we want people to take action in. It doesn’t prescribe,” Lewis said.
And entering the program could give villages a leg up in requesting state grants for environmental projects, Lewis said.
“We want to see Long Island do well and bring a number of grants home,” Lewis said.
Berg said that the program, which provides free environmental consulting to villages from Cameron Engineering, could lower resident’s tax bills and help them adjust to changing weather.
Among the specific goals Berg highlighted were decreasing energy demands from village operations, increased use of renewable energy by village governments and more efficient fleets of municipal vehicles.
“There are a lot of opportunities to replace those vehicles with hybrids or all electric,” Berg said.
Berg also said villages could provide incentives for residents to conserve energy and adjust codes to make it easier for residents to install solar panels.
And though villages who participate sign a pledge to make their operations greener, Berg said the state would not be inflicting any penalties on villages which don’t comply.
“It’s an honor system, but we certainly hope you would strive toward those goals,” Berg said.
