City and Kalamazoo County to implement $18.9 million EPA-funded climate program; local sustainability efforts expand

Kalamazoo — Kalamazoo City sustainability planner Justin Gish and Kalamazoo County climate sustainability coordinator Taylor Van Winkle told the City Commission Committee of the Whole on April 7 that the county has received an $18,900,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (funded through the Inflation Reduction Act) to run a three-year climate and community investment program focused inside the City of Kalamazoo.

The grant award, which Van Winkle said began its performance period in January 2025 and runs through the end of 2027, will fund activities the presenters said are intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, cut air pollution, strengthen local infrastructure resilience and support workforce development. Van Winkle said enrollment of participants into the program is expected to begin in April 2025 and that hiring to staff the program began in the first quarter of 2025.

Why it matters: The grant’s size and the presenters’ description of city-county coordination mean the funds could support multiple local projects and workforce pathways targeted to neighborhoods the EPA identifies as disadvantaged. City staff also described several near-term city programs that city leaders will see in coming weeks or months, including a proposed resolution, pilot projects and community outreach intended to expand…