PORT ANGELES – Clallam County Commissioners have restarted developing an official greenhouse-gas policy.
Later this month, they’ll hold a public hearing on a preliminary start for the policy.
A formal policy has been on hold until it was learned the county needs it to get grant money. Specifically, the county is pursuing a $5-million grant for broadband infrastructure. The county won’t be considered for that grant unless it puts in place a formal greenhouse-gas policy.
The policy as presented is considered a “starting point”. Commissioner Mark Ozias:
“It’s increasingly the case that state and federal funding is tied to what we are doing to help plan for mitigate climate change. And if that grant is successful, it’s going to be a substantial improvement, particularly in the central and eastern parts of the county. One of the requirements for that grant application is our county have a greenhouse gas policy. So, this is obviously not an ideal situation, but at the same time, it does sort of jump start something that we have needed to do anyway.”
The first version outlines a greenhouse gas inventory, vehicle emissions, as well as work of a climate advisory group the county started in 2018.
The county will call for a public hearing on the plan at their regular meeting Tuesday. That hearing would be set for September 28th.