EPA Funds Project to Prevent Pollution from Western New York Food Producers

From EPA:

EPA Funds Project to Prevent Pollution from

Western New York Food Producers

EPA Provides Over a Quarter of a Million Dollars to the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning

Contact: John Martin, (212) 637-3662, martin.johnj@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. –  December 5, 2016) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $259,963 to the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning to provide training and technical assistance to food production and processing companies in western New York. Erie County DEP will host a series of workshops and technical training courses to help area businesses reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and assist in preserving a sustainable future for the next generation.

"The EPA's pollution prevention grants fund programs that reduce or eliminate waste at the source," said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. "This grant to Erie County will help local businesses reduce their carbon emissions, saving energy and helping them save money in the process."

Erie County will work with the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute, the Western New York Sustainable Business Roundtable and other organizations to hold 18 workshops over a two-year period. Thirty businesses will also be selected to receive direct technical assistance in strategies to reduce carbon emissions through the use of renewable energy, and various energy conservation measures, with a focus on strategies successfully used by other area businesses. In addition, energy or pollution prevention audits will performed at eight businesses, with at least three of these being food manufacturers. Erie County and its partner organizations will conduct outreach to more than 200 food manufacturers in western New York.

This grant is part of the approximately $5 million in grants the EPA awards each year to prevent pollution across the nation.

For more information on the EPA's pollution prevention program, visit http://www2.epa.gov/p2.

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://facebook.com/eparegion2.

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