The Village of Montour Falls has been presented a 2023 Better Project Award by the U.S. Department of Energy for outstanding accomplishments in implementing energy and waste reduction projects that support the municipality’s sustainability and decarbonization goals.
“Partners in our Better Buildings Challenge are sharing their success and innovation to accelerate their energy efficiency,” said Carolyn Snyder, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency at the U.S. Department of Energy. “The Better Project awards highlight unique efforts to make meaningful headway in reducing energy, water, waste, and greenhouse gas emissions.”
In 2021, the Village, which currently has a population of 1,604 residents, created an educational pilot program for food waste reduction and diversion strategies available to residents and businesses. The results of the pilot program have included the removal of 26 tons of food waste, 4 tons of wood waste, 156 tons of CO2e, and 6.25 tons of methane from the waste stream — the equivalent of taking 35 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles off the road.
Based on the success of the pilot program, the Village is now developing a permanent solid waste reduction education program and has commissioned a study to determine the best location for a compost facility that will serve the Southern Tier region. The compost facility will provide a new municipal revenue stream and cost savings through composting wastewater sludge and food scraps.
“Developing a clear, comprehensive set of practical community priorities was key to driving sustainability actions,” said Mayor Jim Ryan, who accepted DOE’s award in Washington, D.C. “Over the past five years, the Village has demonstrated a strong commitment to community innovation and has networked extensively in order to create a variety of valuable partnerships. I am proud that the Village has been able to accomplish all of the projects to date without passing on any cost to residents.” This has been done “through a combination of grants, in-kind partner support, staff in-kind, and cost savings through increased building energy efficiency and LED streetlight conversion.”
Since 2018, the Village has engaged in climate mitigation and adaptation activities guided by DOE’s Better Buildings Initiative and New York’s Climate Smart Communities and Clean Energy Communities programs. These programs provide free access to regionally-based technical partners such as engineers, planners, and design specialists. Cornell Engineering supported the Village’s first building energy audits, and WSP USA, one of the world’s leading engineering, environment, and professional services firms, conducted the first community greenhouse gas inventory and climate vulnerability assessment, which have guided the municipality’s comprehensive plan.
“The Village leadership has successfully leveraged many resources at all levels and across all sectors to organize, develop capacity, and undertake a comprehensive set of actions that support broad sustainability and decarbonization goals,” said Katherine Herleman, Executive Director of Innovation for Cornell Engineering. “They did this in a way that respects community traditions, strengthens ties between local government and community organizations, and attracts commercial and residential developers who want to invest in an area where the infrastructure and social systems will be resilient to the impacts of climate change. They successfully turned potential threats into opportunities, resulting in an incredible success story that will help other rural governments across the United States figure out what sustainability looks like in their own communities.”
