The Ohio Economic Development Association awarded the City of Athens the 2024 Gold Level Encouraging Environmental Excellence in Communities Award. The award recognizes an organization or local government’s commitment to environmental oversight and excellence.
Notable benefits of the award include enhanced environmental assistance from the Ohio EPA, reduced time to obtain permit modifications and marketing opportunities to highlight environmental accomplishments.
To obtain the award, the city had to complete environmental, economic and social sustainability requirements and meet at least 12 of the EPA’s criteria.
Policies such as banning plastic bag usage and increasing the use of solar energy have helped Athens earn the award.
In February 2020, City Council passed a resolution to declare a climate emergency and begin a mobilization effort to restore the climate. The resolution instructed Athens to make efforts toward reducing gas emissions.
The resolution also requested all city boards and commissions focus on climate protection strategies and that the Athens Environment and Sustainability Commission involve all residents in aiding the environment.
Other changes included making city vehicles more fuel efficient, increasing public transportation and the use of sustainable energy, decreasing plastic use and creating several programs such as tree planting to aid in sustainability efforts.
In 2025, Athens will have been deemed a Tree City USA for 35 years, a title created by the Arbor Day Foundation to recognize cities that create and maintain tree cover.
Due to Athens' commitment to sustainable energy initiatives, the city was awarded Solsmart Gold Status through the Department of Energy and joined the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council.
The city was also awarded the 2023 Duro-Last Sustainability Project Award for recycling 100% of the old roof materials from the community center roof replacement.
A greenhouse gas emissions study completed in 2022 found that Athens is one of the lowest producers of greenhouse gasses in the state and the U.S. Another comparative study is scheduled for 2030.
Several groups within Ohio University and Athens County are working to conserve and sustain the environment.
Donna Goodman, the president of Athens Conservancy, a group that protects open land in Athens County and surrounding areas, highlighted how important it is to conserve the environment.
“We’re experiencing an unprecedented amount of habitat loss from fragmenting of large lands due to more housing going in, other developments, timber harvesting and resource extraction,” Goodman said. “Unbroken, connected lands are critical for maintaining biodiversity.”
Goodman also noted which lands need the most protection.
“What we try to do is protect culturally and ecologically significant lands in the area, such as large forests, streams, wetlands, scenic vistas and lands that provide habitat for threatened or endangered species,” Goodman said.
Goodman emphasized that spending time outside, taking environmental science classes and volunteering with Athens Conservancy are good ways to get involved with environmental protection and conservation.
Despite Athens’ efforts toward sustainability, some community members have expressed concern that the city may not have been in compliance with some of its environmental laws.
The concern largely stems from water discharge coming from The Lostro project in uptown Athens, which might have been in violation of the Clean Water Act, a federal law regulating water quality, and Title 97, a local law detailing the rights of nature and Athens community members.
According to a previous report by The Post, the developers are abiding by Athens City Code Title 27, as the water is clean and natural following the filtering process.
