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02/12/2018 11:00 PMThe Board of Selectmen (BOS) voted last month to authorize a resolution supporting Clinton’s participation in the Sustainable CT Municipal Certification Program.
“It’s a new program”, First Selectman Christine Goupil said, adding that the program is compatible with Clinton’s stated goal of being environmentally sustainable by 2030.
According to its website, Sustainable CT is a voluntary certification program that provides environmental best practices and grant opportunities “to help communities promote economic well-being and enhance equity.”
“Everything we need for survival relies on natural resources,” Goupil said. “It’s not reinventing the wheel.”
Goupil said that the program works by the town self-selecting which initiatives it would like to pursue.
“You create the plan,” Goupil said.
Goupil said the certification program is “different than the sustainability plan, it’s encompassing and very broad,” Goupil said.
As examples of initiatives a town could pursue, Goupil mentioned making municipal buildings sustainable, which is something Clinton has been working toward over the last several years with the Energy Committee.
Goupil said the program expands on the initiatives of the Energy Committee and applies to them to wide net of the town’s boards and commission.
“We never had an all-encompassing plan,” Goupil said.
Goupil said there will be overlap between the goals of the some of the towns commission’s goals the town plan, and the initiatives the town can pursue under the program.
As an added benefit of being involved in the program, Goupil said that the town would be eligible for more grants than they are now—the program could “point you in the direction of grants you might not have been aware of.”
The town must appoint a sustainability team that must meet by April 3, according to the BOS vote. Goupil encouraged anyone who’d like to join the team to contact the First Selectman’s office at 860-669-9333.