This year, 12 new Green Municipal Funds (GMF) projects are underway in British Columbia thanks to almost C$11.5 million approved by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the Federal Ministry of Natural Resources Canada last November.

The announcement of these projects increased GMF's investment in BC's mainland communities leveraging over C$31 million in funding through participating municipal governments and their partners.

The federal government, through Natural Resources Canada, endowed $250 million to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) to establish and manage the Green Municipal Funds. The Funds were created to stimulate municipal investment in "innovative environmental infrastructure projects and practices to achieve cleaner air, water, and soil, and to protect the climate." Program delivery to all Canadian municipalities was delegated to the FCM, which operates at arm's length from the federal government and describes itself as the national voice of municipal governments since 1901.

"Green Municipal Funds are successfully partnering with municipal governments to protect the environment, reduce greenhouse gases and improve quality of life," said North Vancouver Mayor Yves Ducharme, who is also President of FCM. "The projects announced support the leadership of British Columbia municipal governments in their commitment to strengthen their communities' environmental practices both for today and for future generations."

Green Municipal Funds are mandated to support projects which:

• Potentially may improve environmental performance by at least 35 per cent, and
• Generate measurable environmental and economic benefits that could be replicated in other Canadian communities.

GM Funds are governed by a 15-member council:

• Five representatives from the FCM
• Five from the federal government of Canada, and
• Five from non-governmental institutions and the private sector.

The Council oversees the FCM's administration of the Funds, develops and approves evaluation criteria, makes project and feasibility study recommendations, and ensures that contributions and investments are appropriately balanced among regions and project categories, and between urban and rural areas.

GMF approves and funds projects and studies that stimulate investment in environmentally advanced municipal-infrastructure projects and that improve municipal environmental practices. The diverse BC projects fit these criteria and include:

1. Pilot Project: Start Up and Financing for Lonsdale Energy Corporation, City of North Vancouver Grant: $2,000,000; Loan: $2,000,000; Total Project Value: $8,133,800.

2. Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability, City of Kelowna Grant: $100,000; Total Project Value: $200,000.

4. A Feasibility Study of Landfill Gas Collection and Utilization at the Cache Creek and Coquitlam Landfills Grant: $50,275; Total Project Value: $100,550.

5. Feasibility Study for the District Heating Project at Burnaby's Greater Vancouver Regional District Incinerator Grant: $40,350; Total Project Value: $80,700.

6. Alternate Waste Disposal System for the Whistler Conference Centre Renovation, Resort Municipality of Whistler Grant: $1,388,750; Loan: $5,555,000; Total Project Value: $22,223,297.

Since Green Municipal Funds were established in August 2000, GMF have invested in 254 feasibility studies, field tests, pilots and projects, totaling C$47.6 million and leveraging C$170.9 million in environmentally-sound investments.

For more information on the Green Municipal Funds, including details of the approved projects and studies, visit the FCM's Knowledge Network.

More information on the Government of Canada's action on climate change is available at http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/.