Dr. Karl Brooks, U.S. EPA Regional Administrator, spoke to 75 RCGA Energy and Environmental Council members at their May 20th meeting. Previously an environmental law professor at the University of Kansas, Dr. Brooks was appointed by President Obama in February to oversee the U.S EPA initiatives in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska. He spoke about the Agency's top priorities (see sidebar) and their mission to be visible and credible in their regulatory functions. He said that his agency is working to restore confidence with industry and to apply their regulations with consistency, fairness and based in fact.
Dr. Brooks complimented the RCGA for leading the St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project and its efforts to connect sustainability with economic growth. He said that innovation will be found in places that take care of the environment. Dr. Brooks also praised the St. Louis business community for its hard work in improving regional air quality and for bringing the region into attainment for the current ozone standard.
The RCGA Environmental Council learned from Clayton Mayor Linda Goldstein (pictured right) that Clayton aims to become an EPA Green Power Community. If Clayton government, business and residents consume 2% of its energy from renewable energy sources, Clayton will be the first Missouri city to receive this designation. The plan calls for the installation of solar arrays around Clayton and the purchase of AmerenUE's Pure Power renewable energy credits by businesses and residents.
The meeting concluded with a presentation by Justin Carney of St. Louis County about their Green and Growing initiative. This program arose from an $8.4 million federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant to create a framework for sustainability in County operations and for the community. The mission of Green and Growing is to build internal capacity for sustainability, leverage federal and private funds, and transform the built environment. Carney said that The funds will be used for 19 initiatives in the areas of building management and energy conservation, transportation, land use and development, economic development, waste management and environmental conservation, advocacy and outreach. Examples of these initiatives include residential energy efficiency programs, expanded recycling in St. Louis County communities, renewable energy demonstration projects, county government building retrofits and more hybrids in the county fleet. Anne Klein, St. Louis County's Director of Energy Sustainability, will manage the Green and Growing initiative from the County Executive's Office. For more information, click on the presentation below.
The RCGA Energy and Environment Council will meet again in September. For more information on participating in their activities, please contact Eric Schneider at eschneider@stlrcga.org
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