The City of Springfield is receiving millions of dollars from the EPA. The grant money is meant for pollution reduction, climate change resilience and a number of other projects.
A plan involving 1,500 new trees, investments in community solar, and a home energy retrofit program will be getting support from a nearly $20 million dollar grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, among other efforts.
In late July, the EPA announced that the city and its "Green and Resilient Springfield" plan would be awarded an "Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grant" - the only grantee in New England this time around.
"Springfield’s an urban center - we've taken a lead for urban centers, and we want to be able to reduce pollution and bring about climate resiliency, and we want to continue to be a regional leader,” Mayor Domenic Sarno said Wednesday, speaking at city hall during an event highlighting the award and where the funds will go.
According to the EPA, Springfield has committed to investing "in a community solar project," as well as retrofitting 30 "one- to four-unit homes to reduce energy use and improve indoor air quality."
Springfield will also convert two "city-owned buildings to non-grid clean energy sources," expanding their use as "community resilience hubs and emergency shelter locations."
City Deputy Development Officer for Housing, Community Services and Sustainability Tina Quagliato Sullivan says that includes geothermal.
"These are pilot projects, and that will be at the Kenefick Park Fieldhouse in the North End and the Mason Square Library,” she said. “Both of these buildings will serve as heating and cooling centers for the public in extreme weather."
Also included is funding for street tree-planting, expanded air quality monitoring and ValleyBike, the recently-restarted regional bike share program.
The multi-faceted undertaking will also involve a number of community partnerships. At least a dozen local organizations are taking part in the plan in some capacity.
That includes the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts – which partnered with Springfield for the EPA grant.
According to Samantha Hamilton, the organization’s director of coalition building and community engagement, community partnerships are central to implementing different aspects of the effort.
“We will be working with our local organizations like ... Wayfinders, ARISE for Social Justice, MLK Family Services, New North Citizens’ Council and PVPC to implement,” Hamilton told WAMC. “One of the great project elements is reviewing a [Strong, Healthy, & Just Plan] with community residents to make a new plan forward for climate resiliency in Springfield.”
According to the mayor’s office, the application for “Green and Resilient Springfield” includes “climate action strategies and interventions” designed to benefit “vulnerable populations most impacted by climate change.”
Targeted areas include most of the city’s downtown and western side along the Connecticut River, as well as much of the Mason Square area and surrounding neighborhoods.
Climate justice is also a large component of the plan – with some funding going toward direct, community engagement, spreading awareness and assisting locals with accessing programs and resources available to them.
Rusty Polsgrove is associate director of Arise for Social Justice, as well as the group’s environmental justice organizer.
“I think here in Springfield, a couple of the barriers that we face are people who speak English as a second language, we face a lot of racial disparity. And we face a lot of economic disparity,” they told WAMC. “And so, I'm excited about this plan that we have coming up, because we have a lot of tools in our tool belt to address these three key things, to make things more equitable, so people can access resources in their language, so people have folks who can help them navigate really confusing government processes, to help them weatherize their homes, or to get better heating and cooling systems that are more energy efficient.”
