Matt Smith, climate-smart coordinator for Warren County, told the Environmental Concerns and Real Property Tax Services Committee that the county submitted a Bronze recertification application in June and is “now just waiting for the official announcement from the state.”

The recertification matters because it can affect eligibility for technical assistance and grant programs, Smith said. He told the committee the county is also evaluating projects eligible for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Climate Smart Communities grant program and noted a previously successful application for a composting pilot done with Scott Royal and the Department of Public Works.

Smith said the county’s Climate Smart Task Force met in May with 16 total participants, including county departmental staff, municipal staff and members of the public, and that a meeting summary is available on the county Climate Smart Task Force web page. “CDRPC also just finished up their community level greenhouse gas inventory,” Smith said, adding that the Capital District Regional Planning Commission’s work shows greenhouse-gas emissions at regional, county, town, village and city levels and provides “incredibly useful data.”

Smith thanked Josh Drainoff at the Capital District Regional Planning Commission for technical assistance on the recertification and grant application efforts and encouraged communities that want help with the Climate Smart Communities program to reach out to him at CDRPC.

Next steps: the county will await the state’s recertification announcement and consider whether to apply to the DEC grant program; Smith said he will report back to the committee when the state responds.