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EPA Awards City of Little Rock $500,000 in Climate Showcase Communities Grant

Release Date: 04/14/2011
Contact Information: For more information contact Dave Bary or Joe Hubbard at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov

(DALLAS – April 14, 2011) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today the City of Little Rock, Ark., is receiving $500,000 in Climate Showcase Communities grant funding. The project will implement an innovative program that partners with industry and its employees to achieve energy savings.

Little Rock joins 22 other communities across the country receiving a total of $8.3 million in funding, including three Indian Tribes, to pilot innovative local strategies to combat climate change. These new grantees join 25 other communities previously awarded funding in 2010. These projects will target every aspect of a community’s carbon footprint, including energy use in homes, businesses, vehicles, waste management practices, energy production and land use management.

“I am pleased that the City of Little Rock is one of the select communities leading the way to save energy,” said EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz. “This is a great example for others to follow in reducing energy use, saving costs and improving our environment.”

Grantees estimate that by 2014 these projects will reduce about 167,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually - equivalent to the emissions from nearly 33,000 passenger vehicles or 14,000 homes -and save nearly $13 million per year in energy costs. The projects will also improve people’s health and quality of life by improving indoor and outdoor air quality, increasing walkability, and reducing household energy bills.

“Little Rock is looking forward to partnering with EPA to showcase the efforts of the Clinton Foundation energy conservation project,” said Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola. “I am particularly excited about the tool-kit that will be created for employers to help their employees reduce home energy footprint and costs.”

These 22 communities are showing their commitment to combat climate change by contributing matching funds and committing to sharing their lessons learned to help other communities replicate successful projects. Communities selected for the Climate Showcase funds were required to show their ability to achieve ongoing greenhouse gas reductions as well as track, measure and show progress toward their goals.
“The goal of the Clinton Climate Initiative of Arkansas (CCI AR) is to improve health and increase wealth for individual homeowners by reducing utility costs and improving indoor air quality,” said CCI AR Program Director Martha Jane Murray. "Our program will demonstrate green job creation and enhance economic development in the Little Rock community with the products and services associated with energy retrofits.”

The William J. Clinton Foundation launched the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) to create and advance solutions to the core issues driving climate change. CCI takes a holistic approach, addressing the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions and the people, policies, and practices that impact them.

EPA will monitor the progress of grant recipients and will post quarterly updates about each recipient online. An additional $1.7 million is still under review and is expected to be awarded in the next few months to four additional local governments.

The Climate Showcase Communities Grant Program is administered by EPA, providing technical assistance, tools, and guidance to help state, local and tribal governments implement policies and programs to mitigate climate change.

More information on the grants and the grant recipients is available at https://www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/local/showcase/

More about activities in EPA Region 6 is available at https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.html

EPA audio file is available at https://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/apr2011.html