Congressman Seeks $1.6M For Petaluma Health Center Solar Project

U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman is working to secure $10 million in Community Project Funding, including for solar panels at Petaluma Health Center

July 22, 2021

PETALUMA, CA — U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman announced more than $10 million in potential federal funding for projects he nominated throughout California's 2nd Congressional District, including $1.6 million for energy upgrades at Petaluma Health Center.

If awarded through the Community Project Funding program, the money would offset the costs of constructing and installing a carport solar panel system at Petaluma Health Center's parking lot and on the roof of its facility.

The solar panels are projected to offset 33 percent of the clinic's overall electricity usage and allow it to have an additional power source to provide patient care during power shutoffs and/or during emergencies. As an onsite source of renewable energy, this project will avoid approximately 450 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually, Huffman's office said.

Inclusion of the money in the House Appropriations Committee's Fiscal Year 2022 draft funding bills was the first step in the process. Huffman said Tuesday that he will continue to push for the funds in the months ahead as the bill progresses to the House Floor and through negotiations with the Senate.

"In my role in Congress, it's an honor to work side-by-side with local governments, community organizations, and non-profits as we strive to improve the lives of people in our district," Huffman said. "Folks here on the ground know our communities' needs best, and the Community Project Funding process allowed them to give recommendations on what the federal budget should prioritize."

Other projects nominated by Huffman for inclusion in this round of funding include the Ceres Disaster Preparedness for Medically Tailored Meals in Sonoma County and the Greater Farallones Kelp Recovery Program in Sonoma and Mendocino counties.

The draft bill includes $100,000 for the Ceres Community Project, the sole provider of medically tailored meals — MTM — for low-income medically vulnerable patients living with chronic and acute health conditions in Marin and Sonoma counties. Eighty percent of those served are living on less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level, 73 percent are living alone, and one-third are Spanish Speaking.

Sonoma and Marin counties face annual threats from planned power shutoffs and wildfires. The organization is also part of Sonoma County's emergency food response, providing MTM for those in medical shelters and those with chronic health conditions that make them a high risk for emergency room visits and hospitalizations without appropriate nutrition. This project funds installation of a 160-square-foot walk-in freezer able to store three weeks of medically tailored meals, and a generator to protect that meal inventory and allow our main kitchen to operate during power shutoffs.

The draft bill includes $500,000 for the Greater Farallones Kelp Recovery Program in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. The money would be used to restore bull kelp forest along the Sonoma and Mendocino coastlines within Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary through large-scale urchin removal, planting kelp, and community engagement.

Since 2014, over 90 percent of kelp forests in northern California have disappeared; kelp forest recovery would benefit marine life, coastal communities, and groups impacted by kelp loss, including red abalone and red urchin fisheries and recreational companies dependent on this marine habitat. This project will partner with and compensate local divers to remove urchins from key sites already identified in the sanctuary and collaborate with research and community partners to restore kelp, Huffman's office said.

The draft bill also includes $400,000 for the Anderson Valley Affordable Housing Initiative in Mendicino County; $1 million for the Burre Dental Center Expansion in Humboldt County; $500,000 for Emergency Marine Mammal Field Response, Research and Rehabilitation in Marin County; $700,000 for the East Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Gap Closure in Marin County; $5 million for the Hammond Trail Bridge Replacement Project in Humboldt County; and $218,000 for Project Rebound — Humboldt County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy.

"The projects we put forward address some of the most pressing needs facing our region — from climate resilience and increased affordable housing to critical infrastructure improvements and disaster preparedness," Huffman said. "I will keep pushing to get our community the funding it needs to build back better, stronger, and more resilient."


By:  Maggie Fusek
Source: Patch