Pima County said Tuesday it will spend $1 million over the next four years to plan ways to reduce harmful emissions.
The Environmental Protection Agency awarded a Climate Pollution Reduction Grant to the 67 most populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas to develop methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Pima County plans to team up with Tucson and other jurisdictions to start a “stakeholder engagement process” to work on plans to reduce harmful air pollution, especially in “low-income and disadvantaged communities,” according to a memo from County Administrator Jan Lesher.
The Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 at its meeting Tuesday to accept the funding. Supervisor Steve Christy was the only “no’” vote, while Supervisor Rex Scott was absent.
After the planning process, the county will compete for part of $4.6 billion in federal funding for EPA-issued implementation grants set to be released in spring 2024.
The county plans to use the funding to cover staffing, data collection, and outreach to stakeholder groups among several other focus areas. Only activities identified in the planning process will be available for funding in through the EPA’s implementation portion of the grant.
The city and county with work with the Arizona Governor’s Office of Resiliency, which received $3 million in EPA grant money for the same purpose. A “Priority Climate Action Plan” is due in March 2024 and must specify the programs and policies for the work plan and all entities responsible for completing each task.
