EPA Grant Targets Emission Reduction in Mid-Hudson Valley
TL/DR –
Dutchess County in New York will use a $3 million grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency to reduce methane emissions from a closed landfill. The grant, funded under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, will enable the county to install biofilters and support biodiversity to help reduce its total greenhouse gas emissions, over 20% of which originate from landfill sites according to the county’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory. The biofilters, which can reduce methane levels by up to 90%, consist of mulch containing microorganisms and bacteria that digest the methane emitted from the landfill.
Dutchess County Curbs Methane Emissions with Boosted Biodiversity
Dutchess County is set to install biofilters and enhance biodiversity at a shuttered landfill in Wappinger. This improvement comes with a grant funding increase aimed at reducing methane emissions.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia, HVRC Executive Director Carla Castillo, and Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino unveiled the funding from the EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program for the Hudson Valley Regional Council (HVRC).
The $3 million grant, from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, will champion environmental initiatives to cut methane emissions in mid-Hudson Valley. The county plans to support biodiversity while reducing emissions from the region’s closed landfills with biofilters.
The HVRC’s grant application involved 14 players, including Dutchess County government, and the towns of Amenia, North East, Rhinebeck, and Beacon City. Half of these municipalities are historically disadvantaged communities, according to the EPA.
Selection for the grant involved reviewing almost 300 applications nationwide, with funding requests reaching about $33 billion.
Curbing Methane Emissions from Dutchess County’s Closed Landfill
The project’s focus in Dutchess County is a closed landfill along Route 376 in Wappinger. This landfill accounts for over 20% of county government’s total greenhouse gas emissions, based on the EPA’s Landfill Gas Emissions Model.
The project will monitor gas flow and methane concentration emitted from each vent, known locally as “candy cane” due to its shape. After gathering data, the required number, location, and size of biofilters needed will be determined and installed. Biofilters use mulch filled with micro-organisms and bacteria to digest methane, reducing levels by up to 90%.
The HVRC plans to help with biofilter installation and assist municipalities to pursue solar arrays, battery storage on landfills or ecologically reclaim the landfill through biodiversity support.
Dutchess County’s solar array began operations in 2020 at the airport. The panels produce clean energy to help offset the county’s utility costs. With the solar array already operational, the county will focus on boosting biodiversity with native plantings, attracting pollinators and benefiting the environment.
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