EPA administrator praises Fort Collins

FORT COLLINS – Gina McCarthy, administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and White House officials said Tuesday that Fort Collins represented a model for cities nationwide that aim to thwart climate change.

McCarthy and White House officials joined Fort Collins Mayor Karen Weitkunat to walk on paths along the Poudre River behind the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, discussing the city’s response to flooding and wildfires as well as a new water diversion project to build a whitewater park along the river for kayakers. The officials spoke at a press conference later Tuesday morning during a visit to the Natural Resources Research Center in Fort Collins.

“The climate has changed,” McCarthy said. “We have to be prepared for that. Fort Collins, frankly, is one of the places and communities that has gotten out front of that issue.”

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The city of Fort Collins has helped lead FortZED, an initiative to change the downtown area and Colorado State University campus into a net-zero energy district through conservation, renewable sources and technology. The city also has taken environmentally friendly steps such as installing electric-vehicle chargers, encouraging solar energy development and improving transit options.

The visit by the EPA chief as well as Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and David Agnew, director of intergovernmental affairs at the White House, followed Weitkunat’s appointment in November to President Obama’s nationwide task force on climate change. Task force members such as Weitkunat will advise the president on how to prepare communities and help federal programs support efforts at the local level.
As for the whitewater park, City Council will review the proposal in May. The city has not determined the total cost, though a new water diversion structure along the river next to Colorado State University’s Powerhouse Energy Laboratory could cost around $500,000, said John Stokes, director of the city’s natural areas department.