Two Northern Colorado communities will receive support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as they work to green their towns.
Agency experts will train town administrators in Steamboat Springs and Nederland on how to reach their goals of becoming more sustainable, said Alexander Armani-Munn an administrative intern with the town of Nederland.
"We're really excited to be included in it because we believe it is a great way forward to be able to take some of our vision and our planning and really turn it into action with the professional assistance and knowledge that we'll get from this."
The awards are targeted at small or rural towns. Over 120 towns applied for 2015 and just 22 were accepted into the program.
Casey Earp, assistant to the city manager in Steamboat Springs, said his small town has been working to become more sustainable over the past few years. But with a limited staff and budget, getting help from experts is important.
"Basically what we are hoping to have happen is having these subject matter experts come in and establish criteria that is comparable to other cities, other jurisdictions," said Earp.
"We want to make sure we are not recreating the wheel because other cities have already established metrics and good goals. And through this program we are going to be able to tap into this knowledge base."
Nederland, which is a former mining community experiencing pressure from Front Range growth, is looking for ways to manage that growth, said Armani-Munn.
"We want to ensure that we are growing in a way that equips us with the tools to prosper in the future without really compromising the quality of life that we value up here."
