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BRPC Submits Grants for Berkshire County
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission recently submitted grant applications on behalf of the county's municipalities.
On March 5, the BRPC agreed to submit four grants to the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Grant Program.
One was for the Clarksburg Bank Stabilization Project in partnership with the town. This will address the aggressive bank erosion where the former Briggsville Dam was removed, mitigating property loss for residents in the Carson Avenue area of Clarksburg. The area was graded and naturalized on the removal of the old dam but was scoured out by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.
Another is for "Ghost Dams Inventory Mapping." This will help address numerous unmapped nonjurisdictional dams throughout the county, many of which are not maintained and no longer serve a purpose. "Ghost dams" can often be an unknown safety hazard and are a barrier to fish and wildlife.
The Housatonic Road Stream Crossing Management Plans grant will help to complete a fully mapped and assessed inventory of culverts in the towns of Lee, Cheshire, Hinsdale, Dalton and possibly Lanesborough. Berkshire Environmental Action Team, Greenagers, Housatonic Valley Association and Mass Audubon will also work with the towns to identify priority culvert replacements based on culvert condition, environmental priority, and climate risk.
The Berkshire Climate Career Lab in partnership with Ethos Pathways, a climate readiness coach, to create a High School career program to prepare students interested in climate careers, explore opportunities, and build skills.
Also submitted were two applications to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center's EmPower Implementation Grant Program.
A $150,000 Housing Energy Efficiency Rehabilitation grant would create a more cohesive pipeline for residents within the Community Development Block Grant housing rehabilitation program to receive funding and support through the MassSave Program, which supports energy efficiency, and Berkshire Community Action Council.
A $150,000 Air Quality Monitoring grant would fund the rest of the current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency air quality monitoring grant. It will help to ensure that the indoor and outdoor air quality sensors will provide valuable data not seen before in Berkshire County.
The BRPC board also accepted $25,000 from The Nature Conservancy, which will be used to help support culvert replacements for municipalities in the county.
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