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Ventura County presents regional climate-action planning and $48M implementation bid
Summary
Ventura County sustainability staff briefed the council on a $1M EPA planning grant to produce a Priority Climate Action Plan and a subsequent $48M implementation grant application aimed at EV charging, home energy incentives and transit electrification; staff requested continued city participation in the planning advisory group.
Ventura County program administrator Victor Bionas briefed the Port Hueneme City Council July 15 on regional climate action planning funded through the EPA's Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program. The county received a $1 million planning grant to craft a Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) and a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP), with the PCAP intended to be implementation-ready and the CCAP due in August 2025.
Bionas said the county formed a CPRG advisory group of local governments and community organizations; the advisory group identified building energy, transportation and solid-waste disposal as priority sectors and developed seven priority measures (three for building energy, three for transportation and one for organic-waste diversion). Measures cited included home energy retrofit programs, EV charging deployment and vessel speed reductions to cut emissions near the port.
For implementation, the county partnered with regional programs (VCA, 3C-REN) and submitted an implementation grant application seeking about $48 million to expand home-energy incentives, install charging stations, purchase battery-electric vehicles for Dial-A-Ride, and develop an electric-bike incentive program targeted at low-income and disadvantaged communities. Bionas asked the council to remain involved in monthly coordination, data-sharing for greenhouse-gas inventories, and review of draft plans; Councilmember Hernandez, as chair of the Ventura County VCA board, voiced support for continued city participation.
Bionas noted some program caps—several residential incentive streams are currently fully subscribed for 2024 but will reopen in 2025—and directed interested parties to the sustainability division website for details.
