Media Advisory
West Sacramento, Calif. – Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) is pleased to announce the publication of a new Biomass Utilization Fund (BUF) toolkit. This toolkit provides insights and guidance to assist biomass projects in California and other states.
The 2013 Rim Fire burned over 250,000 acres in and around Yosemite National Park and the Stanislaus National Forest. In response, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR), California’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), Tuolumne County, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC), California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), , California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire), and the U.S. Forest Service applied for and received a $70.4 million National Disaster Resilience (NDR) grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help the affected communities and lands recover and become more resilient to future fires. Working together with the HCD and SNC the state entities responsible for administering forest and watershed health and biomass utilization activities under the grant, RCAC created a $17 million BUF to support businesses that create local jobs by using forest byproducts in their operations.
The newly published toolkit reviews processes, challenges, and opportunities in establishing a fund to support the new and growing market of biomass-based solutions that support sustainable forest practices, as well as create jobs. The toolkit describes the awarded projects, issues related to environmental guidelines, financing, product marketing and lessons learned.
This toolkit will also help state and federal agencies to better understand biomass business’ financial and implementation challenges. Download the toolkit here: Biomass Utilization Fund – RCAC
Founded in 1978, RCAC seeks to collaboratively build the capacity of organizations that serve low-income people living in the rural West (13 states including Alaska and Hawaii). RCAC works in partnership with small rural and Indigenous communities and other local agencies to provide tools and resources necessary to improve their quality of life. RCAC offers a wide range of services to communities with fewer than 50,000 people including technical assistance and training for environmental infrastructure; affordable housing development; economic and leadership development; and financing to support community development. Since its inception, RCAC’s dedicated staff and active board have helped affect positive change in rural and Indigenous communities across the West. To learn more about RCAC, visit http://www.rcac.org
Media contact:
Julia Helmreich, director
Communications and Development
(916) 447-9832 ext. 1008
