Montgomery Council members on Tuesday passed two resolutions that Council President George Leventhal said go a long way in ending the county’s growing dependency on fossil fuels.
Unanimously, council members supported a change to the county’s energy policy requiring the government to purchase more supplies of renewable energy.
Members also gave the thumbs up for an incentive program designed to reward county residents who use non-polluting energy sources.
“This is a very, very significant step,” Leventhal said of the two affirmative votes. “We can take great pride in our county’s leadership efforts [in environmental issues] even as we acknowledge that we have much more to do.”
The upgrade in the county’s energy policy sets a goal for the county to purchase at least 20 percent of its energy from clean, renewable energy sources by 2011.
As for the clean energy rewards program, officials estimate 6,000 citizens could be eligible for rebates averaging $60 a year once the program kicks into effect next spring. Some of the energy sources that will be included are wind power, energy from landfill gas and solar energy.
The county’s senior energy planner, Eric Coffman, said the idea behind the program is that it costs more for residents to make the environmentally friendly energy choices, so this way the county can help them make up the difference.
In other Council news:
There was a closed session Tuesday to discuss the legal case against Verizon Maryland, which sued over its right to provide cable service to Montgomery residents.
Also, both sides offered comments about a bill to ease background check rules for taxi drivers to speed hiring. Public Works and Transportation Director Arthur Holmes said he had major safety concerns for passengers if cab drivers were allowed to be behind the wheel without passing all tests.
