Area receives $2 million from state for sustainability efforts

Energy efficiency efforts, single-use plastic reduction, zero-waste events…

by Mark Reaman and Kendra Walker

A huge state grant has been awarded to local government entities to help address sustainability issues. The focus of a $2 million award from Colorado Energy Office’s Local IMPACT Accelerator Grant Program will include 1) reducing waste sent to local landfills through targeted policies and community engagement efforts in the North Valley, and 2) expanding programs that help homeowners and renters lower energy costs through energy efficiency, weatherization and electrification upgrades.

According to a press release on the grant, “in the North Valley, the Town of Crested Butte will lead the development of a single-use plastics reduction policy, while the Town of Mt. Crested Butte will explore future zero-waste event requirements and other waste reduction initiatives.

Crested Butte sustainability coordinator Dannah Leeman Gore said the grant does not require the two towns to adopt the same policy. “But the Town of Crested Butte must consider a jurisdiction-wide waste policy as a grant requirement,” she said. “Mt. Crested Butte is considering a zero-waste event policy, while Crested Butte is evaluating a single-use plastics reduction ordinance. Crested Butte’s ordinance will be shaped by its ongoing feasibility study, business feedback and an Elk Avenue waste audit, so several policy options are still possible.”

She emphasized that grant funding will support education and outreach once any policy is adopted in either town, “as well as the potential purchase of compost bins, likely for Elk Avenue, if the Crested Butte council chooses to expand commercial composting infrastructure.”

Regarding Mt. Crested Butte’s zero-waste event policy, the town has set a timeline to reach the goal of all town hosted events to be at a zero-waste status by 2028, and for all permitted events occurring in the town by 2030. Mt. Crested Butte planner Shannon Hessler said this year’s Mt. CB Town Picnic on July 31 will be a zero-waste event.

Hessler alo noted that while the single-use plastics reduction policy currently will only apply to the town of Crested Butte, Mt. Crested Butte will continue to build on waste reduction programs and policies.

Gunnison County will oversee the majority of the grant funding to expand energy efficiency and electrification programs across the valley. The project builds on the success of the Gunnison Valley Home Energy Advancement Team (GV-HEAT), which currently provides energy-efficiency upgrades and rebate programs for income-qualified households and deed-restricted homes.

“The cohort awardees, Gunnison County, Mt. Crested Butte and the Town of Crested Butte, will collaboratively decide how the funding will be allocated through intergovernmental agreements,” said Leeman Gore. “The programmatic details will be developed by the awardees in the upcoming months.”

Hessler confirmed that currently there is no predetermined funding allocation for each municipality. “The grant funding will be distributed based on the specific projects and initiatives undertaken by each partner, so the final amounts assigned to each municipality have not yet been determined,” she explained.

Leeman Gore did say that a significant majority of the funding is dedicated toward direct rebates to households for energy efficiency and electrification upgrades in addition to home energy assessments and workforce education, training and outreach. She said the group is open to exploring a county-wide approach to distributing funds. 

In addition to community-facing programs, the grant includes funding for workforce development initiatives aimed at increasing the number of local contractors trained to perform energy efficiency, weatherization and electrification upgrades. The press release states that “by strengthening the local workforce, the project will help ensure residents can access these services while supporting local economic growth.”

Hessler added, “We are really excited about energy efficiency projects and expanding existing programs like GV-HEAT to a wider range of incomes, and working throughout the county on initiatives.”

Workforce training programs are anticipated to begin in late 2026, with expanded rebate and energy-efficiency programs launching in 2027. Grant-funded activities will continue through June 2029.