FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 30, 2022

City of Kingston Awarded $50,000 for Refrigerant Management Program

KINGSTON, NY – Mayor Steven T. Noble is pleased to announce that the City of Kingston has been awarded $50,000 for a Citywide Refrigerant Management Program from the State Department of Environmental Conservation's Climate Smart Communities Grant program.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced more than $11.6 million to 25 municipalities across the state to aid projects that will often save taxpayer dollars over the long term while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping communities adapt to the ongoing impacts of climate change.

“The significant funding under the Climate Smart Communities Program is critical in supporting local efforts to protect residents and infrastructure from the effects of climate change,” Gov. Hochul said. “We continue to see increasingly extreme weather each year and these grants help empower locally-driven, bold action to help meet New York’s ambitious climate goals while setting an example for other municipalities to follow.”

With the grant funding, the City of Kingston will develop a municipal Refrigerant Management Plan, including an implementation program, to address the City’s purchasing, management, and disposal of refrigerants. The project, which will be managed by Julie Noble, the City’s Sustainability Coordinator, aims to educate the community and City staff about the dangers of refrigerants to the climate, as well as reduce the City’s greenhouse gas emissions from refrigerant sources.

“I would like to thank Governor Hochul and the Department of Environmental Conservation for their continued support of the City of Kingston and our ongoing efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and build a more sustainable community,” said Mayor Noble. “We could not create the refrigerant management plan without the generous support from the State, and programs like this are vital to the fight against climate change.”

“Grant funding is critical for this project, as a successful management plan includes asset management, proper procurement policies, educational campaigns, and a collection program, which require funding outside of the general municipal budget for consultants, trucking, evacuation, marketing materials, training, and more,” said Julie Noble, City of Kingston Sustainability Coordinator.

Kingston’s Climate Action Plans have set goals of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions in government operations and city wide. The Plans establish that buildings and facilities contribute emissions from heating and cooling systems, that our vehicle fleet uses refrigeration equipment which may have emissions, and that solid waste disposal, including large appliances, could be contributing to refrigerant emissions. Refrigeration and cooling systems contain GHGs that are many times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Leakage of refrigerants is a regular occurrence from HVAC equipment, refrigerators, chillers, window air conditioners and dehumidifiers.       

Refrigerants are also present in vehicle fleets. This project will focus on reducing GHG emissions from refrigerants in the municipal building and fleet portfolio. The Refrigerant Management Program will develop a comprehensive plan to address municipal refrigerant purchase, management, education, and disposal to reduce GHG emissions.

Established in 2016, the Climate Smart Communities Grant Program is a competitive 50/50 matching grant program for municipalities to implement projects focused on climate change adaptation and greenhouse gas mitigation. Project types include planning and assessment projects that are part of a strategy to achieve Climate Smart Communities certification. The City of Kingston was the first city in NYS to be certified as a Silver Climate Smart Community, making the City eligible for this funding. The program also supports the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which requires New York to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85% from 1990 levels by 2050. Since the Climate Smart Communities Grant Program's inception, DEC has awarded more than $50 million to municipalities in support of local climate mitigation and adaptation projects, including numerous grants to the City of Kingston.

More information about this grant program is available on the DEC website.