Middlesex County to create sustainability plan Receives grant from DCA to create 'green' plan for other counties to follow BY TOM CAIAZZA Staff Writer EDISON - Middlesex County has been chosen by the state Department of Community Affairs to create an environmental sustainability plan that other counties in the state can model. The county will hold a series of workshops for representatives from the various counties to gain input from the officials to create a comprehensive way for counties to serve municipalities in an environmentally friendly manner. Freeholder H. James Polos, who has spearheaded many energy-efficient and environmentally conscious programs in the past, said that while the state as a whole and individual municipalities implement green initiatives, the counties of New Jersey need to have a comprehensive plan to bolster the work of the other entities and to cover the services they provide. "No one has focused any attention on counties creating a sustainability plan," Polos said, noting that the county has been at the forefront of similar initiatives in the past. "Some municipalities depend on the county for things like transportation, recycling, composting and other county-related services." Polos said having a plan for everyone to work from would help promote environmentally friendly programs and would help take the burden off counties to invest in formulating individual plans. "We want to make sure we are covering all the issues and provide an opportunity to learn about the process," Polos said, "so that when they get to the point where they want to develop a county sustainability plan for their county, they don't have to reinvent the wheel." To accomplish that goal, the county will use the $75,000 Smart Future grant it received from the DCA to hold a series of workshops for other county officials to take part in the formulation of the plan. "We will provide several forums during key points in the process to invite officials from counties throughout New Jersey to participate and learn what we're doing, and to get input from them about things that we may not have thought of or considered in developing the plan." Polos said integration of the various counties in the plan would be a crucial aspect. "It's really a two-way street," Polos said. The plan would include a definition of sustainability as it pertains to the counties' current programs, target goals for sustainability, and a tracking program to measure the progress as well as assess procedures and troubleshoot possible impediments. Polos expects the process to take 16 months and will consider such environmental buzz topics as alternative fuels and low-carbon-emission vehicles. The plan will also consider the economic development issues that arise from the plan and will take those into account, making the plan more able to be implemented and less like an environmental wish list. "All of these factors are areas we will consider in creating our plan," Polos said. The county has long been a leader in the state in creating environmentally and economically viable initiatives, sponsoring the Middlesex County Showroom on Environmental Technology, advocating the use of hybrid cars in government fleets, and offering grants to towns to promote green technology. Polos said the plan grew out of conversations with the DCA and support from state Sen. Bob Smith (D-17), who has long been a supporter of green initiatives in the county. The public will have an opportunity to contribute to the discussion at three public workshops to be held in November, and a Web site will be created to host the final plan and provide updates during the process. Most importantly, Polos said, was that other counties will be able to use the plan. "What we develop can be a model for other counties to utilize," Polos said, "since other counties provide similar services."