Centralia Coal Transition Board supports public service and emergency response project for Lewis and South Thurston Counties
Centralia, Wash. The Economic & Community Development Board approved a grant award in the amount of $90,000.00 to support a community service development project being led by the Chehalis Valley Educational Foundation – KACS Network. The project is expected to support improvements to the emergency network signal which will strengthen signals for the Lewis County and South Thurston County coverage areas. With the improvements at tower sites, the quality of the signals and reach to the community will improve the signal quality and reliability, while making public service and emergency response more impactful and efficient.
The Chehalis Valley Educational Foundation is a 501(c)(3) registered charity and nonprofit public service formed and incorporated in 1991 in Chehalis, Washington, by local Chehalis Valley business leaders with the express purpose of building and operating a family-friendly Non-commercial Educational FFC licensed FM radio service to southwestern Washington residents.
The Economic & Community Development Board was formed as part of the 2011 Agreement between TransAlta and the state of Washington to transition the Centralia plant away from coal-fired operations with one unit retiring in December 2020 and the second unit in December 2025.
Overview of the Centralia Coal Transition Funding Boards:
Annual payments for the funding boards began in 2012 with the last payment due December 31, 2023. The opportunity to start flowing dollars into projects became effective December 31, 2015.
Weatherization Board ($10M): established to fund energy efficiency and weatherization for the residents, employees, business, non-profit organizations and local governments within Lewis County and South Thurston County; up to $1 million shall be allocated to fund residential energy efficiency and weatherization measures for low-income and moderate-income residents of Lewis County and South Thurston County;
Economic & Community Development Board ($20M): established to fund education, retraining, economic development, and community enhancement; at least $5M shall be allocated to fund education, retraining and economic development specifically targeting the needs of workers displaced from the Centralia facility;
Energy Technology Board ($25M): established to fund energy technologies with the potential to create environmental benefits to the state of Washington.