EPA Awards $25M in Recovery Act Funding to Reduce Diesel Emissions
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In a move that stands to create jobs, boost local economies, reduce diesel emissions and protect human health and the environment for the people of California, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $25,403,971 million to replace, repower and retrofit engines in buses, heavy-duty trucks, locomotives, agricultural vehicles, construction vehicles, and cargo handling equipment in metropolitan Los Angeles, the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, San Diego, the San Joaquin Valley, and the Bay Area. These clean diesel projects will create jobs while protecting California’s air quality.
“With this Recovery Act funding for clean diesel projects, we’ll be able to significantly improve air quality in areas in California with the worst air pollution, while at the same time creating or preserving more than 3,000 jobs throughout the nation,” said Laura Yoshii, Acting Regional Administrator of the EPA.
The funds are provided under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) of 2009 National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program. Under this funding competition, EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region alone received over 100 grant applications requesting $500 million to help fund clean diesel emissions projects. The awards announced today were chosen to both maximize economic impact and emissions reductions.
Recovery Act funds will go towards the following projects:
Caltrans “Retrofit Construction Equipment”
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) was selected for $951,431 in funding to install diesel particulate filters on 46 Caltrans-owned construction equipment, including crawler tractors, excavators, forklifts, graders, rollers, rubber tire loaders, surfacing equipment, sweepers, scrubbers, tractors, loaders, and backhoes. A large proportion of this equipment will be located in the Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties, as well as the Bay Area.
CARB “South Coast New Switch Locomotives”
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) was selected for $8,888,888 in funding to repower eight switch yard locomotives that operate with new Tier 3 engines. The affected locomotives are owned by Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway and operate in the Southern California region.
Port of Los Angeles “Equipment and Vessels”
The City of Los Angeles Harbor Department, also known as Port of Los Angeles, was selected for $1,991,750 in funding to replace, repower, and/or retrofit a total of 27 pieces of equipment, including harbor craft, currently in operation at the port. The emission reductions achieved from this project will improve air quality and health in the surrounding areas.
Port of Long Beach “Cargo Handling Equipment”
The Port of Long Beach Diesel Emissions Reduction Project was selected for $4,008,250 in funding to implement a large-scale diesel emission reduction project involving equipment replacements, engine repowers, and/or engine retrofits for 112 pieces of cargo handling equipment including rubber-tired gantry cranes, and two harbor craft currently in operation at the port.
San Diego APCD “Lower-Emission School Buses”
The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) was selected for $1,563,652 in funding to retrofit, replace, and repower 125 high-polluting school buses with newer, cleaner engines and filters. This project will reduce major diesel emissions from school buses in San Diego County, in turn improving the health of children who ride these buses.
San Joaquin Valley Unified APCD “School Bus Engine Retrofits”
The San Joaquin Valley Unified APCD was selected for $4 million in funding to install 190 diesel particulate filters on 2001 model year and newer diesel school buses. Through diesel emission reductions, the project is expected to protect the health of children who ride these buses daily. The SJVUAPCD plans to leverage funds with Proposition 1B Lower Emission School Bus Program funds.
San Joaquin Valley Unified APCD “Agricultural Equipment Engines”
The San Joaquin Valley Unified APCD was selected for $2 million in funding to repower 30 agricultural off-road equipment vehicles with new engines that meet or exceed EPA’s Tier 3 emission standards for non-road diesel engines.
Bay Area AQMD “Trucks at Port of Oakland”
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (AQMD) was selected for $2 million in funding to retrofit 81 trucks with Diesel Particulate Filters and replace 22 dirty, old trucks with cleaner, newer ones that operate at and around the Port of Oakland.
In addition to helping create and retain jobs, the clean diesel projects would help to reduce premature deaths, asthma attacks and other respiratory ailments, lost work days, and many other health impacts every year.
The Recovery Act allotted the National Clean Diesel Campaign (NCDC) a total of $300 million, of which the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program received $156 million to fund competitive grants across the nation. The Recovery Act also included $20 million for the National Clean Diesel Emerging Technology Program grants and $30 million for the SmartWay Clean Diesel Finance Program grants.
In addition, under the Act’s State Clean Diesel Grant program, a total of $88.2 million has been provided to States for clean diesel projects through a noncompetitive allocation process,
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