The $787 billion stimulus package signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday could bring new life to Orange County’s “green” community — not only by creating new green jobs, but by eventually reducing air pollution and even infusing cash into restoration of natural habitat.
Precise green job numbers are difficult to come by for Orange County. Overall, the stimulus bill is designed to create or save 3.5 million jobs nationwide. About 1.7 million of those could well be in the “green” investment area, and about 30 percent of those in construction, according to an estimate by University of Massachussetts economics professor Robert Pollin. (Photo of Obama signing bill by the Associated Press.)
A White House press release listed the number of jobs that could be created by the stimulus by Congressional district. While some of Orange County’s six districts cover parts of other counties, totaling up all six reveals that some 45,500 jobs could be created or saved in or near Orange County.
Orange County hopes to attract a significant amount of funding for green projects, many in construction, said Bruce Matthias, director of legislative affairs for the county executive office.
“I think we probably have more green projects than most localities,” he said. “Most of our projects are watershed-related. They quite necessarily involve not just the flood control and public safety issues, but it also involves a certain level of habitat restoration.”
Now that the stimulus bill has been signed, lobbyists hired by the county will talk to legislators and federal agencies to try to attract funding for county projects, Matthias said.
At the top of the list: the Santa Ana Mainstem project, a long-running flood-control project on the Santa Ana River.
(Flood control work in 2000 shown in this Register file photo.)
Another priority is dredging and habitat restoration at Upper Newport Bay — a project that could face financial jeopardy because of the state budget crisis.
“It’s really easier to make the case for green projects when you’re dealing with watershed issues,” Matthias said.
If the county were to receive all the funding it wanted for its wish-list projects for the next two years, it would be more than $846 million, county figures show. It would also generate more than 12,000 jobs, many of them “green” jobs.
Of course, everything won’t be funded, but the list of priorities gives an idea of Orange County’s biggest green projects.
McClatchy Newspapers contributed to this report.
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Many people bidding for many of these government funded construction projects will be left out in the cold if they do not have their OSHA training. Several states (NY, CT, MA, RI, NH, and MO) have laws requiring workers on publically-funded jobsites to take the OSHA 10 hour construction training class, like the ones available at http://www.osha10hourtraining.com . Without the OSHA card, they cannot get on the site. So be prepared, do not wait until the last minute.